Marstons letter re Magistrates Court Fine from 2008

[fedupofallthis]

Hi

 

I'd love some advice if anyone can help.

 

I gather there's a lot of mis-information floating around various forums

and this seems to be the place with people that actually know what they're talking about.

 

On Monday my wife received a letter from Marstons with 7 days to pay a magistrates court fine

in excess of £1000 (which we don't have) for an offence dated 2008!

 

She has moved house twice since then, and her surname has also changed since.

 

The letter is addressed to her current name but her name in 2008 when the offence was alleged was different (just due to marriage btw).

 

This is the first we have heard about the alleged offence.

Had nothing from any court asking to attend.

 

It's a 'fail to give information' so I assume it is vehicle related and that she didn't change her DVLA details in time (but they are up to date now).

 

There is an HM Courts & Tribunal ref number on the Marstons letter if that helps.

 

what should be my first course of action taking into account that payment in full is just not an option at the moment?

 

I read that she can send a staturory declaration the court - is this the way to go?

 

I'm loathe to belief anything I read on the internet now after reading some of tomtubby's myth debunkings!

 

I know all the usual stuff about not letting them in etc but I know it's not going to go away.

 

I can afford monthly payments but I don't expect to get any joy from Marstons in that respect.

 

Any advice most welcome. Thanks in advance.

[ploddertom]

Hi

 

I'd love some advice if anyone can help.

 

I gather there's a lot of mis-information floating around various forums

and this seems to be the place with people that actually know what they're talking about.

 

On Monday my wife received a letter from Marstons with 7 days to pay a magistrates court fine

in excess of £1000 (which we don't have) for an offence dated 2008!

 

She has moved house twice since then, and her surname has also changed since.

 

The letter is addressed to her current name but her name in 2008 when the offence was alleged was different (just due to marriage btw).

 

This is the first we have heard about the alleged offence.

Had nothing from any court asking to attend.

 

It's a 'fail to give information' so I assume it is vehicle related and that she didn't change her DVLA details in time (but they are up to date now).

 

There is an HM Courts & Tribunal ref number on the Marstons letter if that helps.

 

what should be my first course of action taking into account that payment in full is just not an option at the moment?

 

I read that she can send a staturory declaration the court - is this the way to go?

 

I'm loathe to belief anything I read on the internet now after reading some of tomtubby's myth debunkings!

 

I know all the usual stuff about not letting them in etc but I know it's not going to go away.

 

I can afford monthly payments but I don't expect to get any joy from Marstons in that respect.

 

Any advice most welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

If she knew nothing about the original offence and had no notifications of any Court action from where she originally lived then yes a Stat Dec at Court is the way to go. You have 21 days to this from being made aware of it so time is of the essence.

 

The chances are the Court where this will have been heard at is that where she used to live at that time. You need to contact the Fines Officer or Court Manager to get this sorted. If you now live a long way from the Court you can ask to this at a Court local to you and it can be forwarded on.

 

I assume all you have heard about TT comes from one place, you are seriously misinformed.

[Andybars]

I think the OP intended to refer to TT debunking the myths rather than being responsible for the myths themselves. If this was the case they are right to take head as TT is more knowledgeable on the subject than the vast majority even of those involved in the industry

[tomtubby]

With regards to your post, the most worrying comment from you is the second to last sentence where you say that you can afford monthly payments etc. What appears to have happened here is that the initial summons had very likely gone to a different address and in doing so, your wife has undoubtedly been convicted in her absence (this is quite clear from the amount being demanded).

 

There is a very simple solution to this and this is to approach the court to get their permission to file a Statutory Declaration.

 

Sadly there is a lot of misinformation on the internet that swearing a Statutory Declaration automatically revokes the fine. This is not so at all and is frankly dangerous information. Just this week alone I have received two separate enquiries where permission to file Statutory Declarations were REFUSED and in one case, the Judge questioned the debtor for quite some time as she stated on her Stat Dec that the warrant should be 'expunged'. The Judge warned the debtor that she could have faced a charge of perjury as she has sworn on oath that she had not received a summons and had no knowledge of the fine. It transpired that she had 'downloaded' a letter from an internet site. However, the Judge stated that she had LIED on oath and this was because, the court file demonstrated that she did know about the fine given that she had telephoned the court on 3 occasions and furthermore....that she had made 4 payments against the fine over the past year!!! She was asked to provide details of the website to the Magistrates. Naturally it was not Consumer Action !! With the second debtor, she too has relied upon 'internet advice' . She had apparently not received a Further Steps Notice. However, the court stated that she KNEW of the fine given that until last August payment was being deducted from her benefits !!

 

It for precisely the above reason that you will see that on this forum you will be asked a few questions to ascertain whether a Statutory Declaration is the correct route. One other point that I would make regarding wrong advice is that it is nearly always the case that the court will arrange an appointment for the debtor to attend the court IN PERSON to swear the Statutory Declaration. You will note that on other forums their 'advice' is to send the Declaration by post. This is very rarely accepted.

 

Coming back to your wife's case, she needs to contact the 'issuing court' (which could be slightly difficult given that many courts have closed. On the letter it should state which court. Could you respond back and I can then advise you of the number to call.

 

Has you wife made any payments against the fine in the past or alternatively has she spoken in the past with the court about the fines?

 

She then needs to speak with the Court to advise them that she has received notification of a court fine and that she had not received a summons and that she has sought advice and would like to arrange a Statutory Declaration. Every cost arrange for Stat Dec's to be sworn before court business starts. some larger courts have hearings daily others one or even twice a week. She will be given an appointment time and it is important that she mentions that Marston's Group are seeking to enforce a Distress Warrant. Most courts will advise the enforcement company that an appointment has been made and that the account should be put on hold to await further instructions from the court.

 

One you have the information about the relevant court, please post back.

 

 

 

to where she had

[wonkeydonkey]

Lol ......I suspect that as usual PT is running around like a headless chicken and posted in haste. Andybars is correct, if you have been reading a certain site that spends considerable time creating the myth CAG does not know what it is talking about, it is good to read you can see through such rants and reached the conclusion this is where you will get the correct advice.

 

PT has addressed your post and given good advice, if you have further questions please don't hesitate to fire them off and we in return will do our best to answer them in a simple but clear form.