Marstons coming today. Please help!

[sjdaniels]

Hello,

 

I am wondering if anyone can help me, we are in a big bit of bother with Marstons Bailiffs.

 

A very rude and arrogant officer came to our door yesterday

looking for my brother for a parking fine last year in London which we knew nothing about

 

saying that unless he pays the £512 before 6pm today

then he compounding the car which is a motorbility car.

 

I explained that even when he is home he will not be able to speak to him as he is severely disabled.

 

He has a tracheotomy tube in his throat and cannot speak!

He did not seem bothered and replied ''well he can drive''

Which I told him that he could not as he does not have a license,

and he could check with DVLA if he wanted.

 

He was tryign to find out who drives that car..

. I didn't know what to say, or if I should tell him so I didn't!

 

The car is driven by his carer, not him.

He said that it did not matter if it is a Motorbility car, they can over ride that.

. Which I am almost sure is incorrect,

but he also said that he will be taking goods and forcing entry in to the property if need be.

 

I explained that my 34 year old brother is disabled over and over, but he did not seem to care,

told me that I could pay!!!

 

I do not have £512 out of the blue like that!!

My brother only receives his ESA and his Higher rate motorbility and care payments

have been stopped while the switch to PIP claim goes through,

so he doesn't even have the funds to pay this extreme rate!

 

Obviously we are very concerned, he is very distressed and I am worried that they could force entry

and take goods from the home.

 

My brother is very self conscious of his disability and the way he looks

and this would cause more upset than I want to imagine.

 

The Bailiff said that he had sent letters here before that have been ignored,

I know nothing about these but he did say that he has a Distress Warrant.

 

This Bailiff is going to be at our doorstep at 6pm tonight and I do not know what to do!!!!

 

As it is my brother sleeps in the front room, he does not have a bedroom.

He cannot lay flat to sleep so has to sleep in a recliner chair.

 

Are they going to go round my little brother and sisters rooms and remove things,

and from the front room?

 

My Mother is also disabled and I really don't want to put the stress on her,

as it could be detrimental to her already ill health

, so I am trying to deal with this myself.... Only I don't know how to.

 

ANY help would be greatly appreciated, because I really do not know what I'm doing with this!

 

Thank you so much xx

[SabreSheep]

Bumped and flagged this post for urgent attention

Hope the site team dont mind me doing so

[sjdaniels]

Thank you SabreSheep... I haven't a clue how to work my way around this site yet, so your help is appreciated

[BankFodder]

Would you mind emailing us on our admin email address please - with some contact details and maybe a Marston ref no. if you have those details.

 

Ta

[sjdaniels]

First of all I would like to say thank you to ConsumerActionGroup for not only offering advice,

but for the speed it came at!

 

Following the telephone call from yourselves and then the call from Marstons

after you passed the situation on to them,

 

I am pleased and relived to say that all Bailiff action has been called off for 28 days

and they will not be attending our property,

instead somebody from the Welfare Team will be contacting me to discuss

how we go about sorting this for my brother.

 

I cannot remember the name of the person I spoke to from this site following

BankFodder' request for me to send over my information..

 

..But you were wonderful and helped more than you could possibly know,

no more stress or worry!

 

Without your help I don't want to imagine how the rest of the day would have turned out.

 

I would also like to thank Jacqueline from Marstons Customer Services who contacted me,

I have read many many horror stories about Marstons and was quite concerned

at how this was going to be handled by them,

 

however I have nothing but good things to say,

because in my experience, they have been wonderful!

(Apart from the rude officer at the door, he on the other hand was a complete (censored)

on a very big power trip..

 

. I think he needs to be retrained in his people skills! Just saying)

 

So not all Marstons can be tarred with the same brush,

those in Customer Services, Like Jacqueline gave me nothing but a pleasant experience.

 

So thank you, to both of you

[rebel11]

Here's some info from the Ministry of Justice:-

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/courts/enforcement-officers/taking-control-of-goods-national-standards.pdf

[sjdaniels]

Thank you Rebel11, I shall have a read

[ploddertom]

I'm pleased to hear this resolved for now. However the attending officer should have taken this in hand and hope that Marstons instruct him in what should have been done. It would be interesting to find out what was at the root of all this and where the "allegedly" sent letters etc went. Don't forget that if had been for an unpaid parking ticket there should have been several requests for it to be paid. Although the vehicle may belong to Motability I think I would be checking with them exactly what details they have recorded for this including postcode.

[sjdaniels]

Thank you PlodderTom, I definitely do need to look in to this a lot more and find out where and when, all the little details really. On the Red notice the Bailiff happily gave to me it just said Hamersmith & Fulham, which is where his specialist hospital is. So this could well have happened when he was in for one of his operations/Consultant appointments. It's something I need to speak to his old carer about, as they were who drove his car for him up until last month... She would also be the one who dealt with any mail that came/if it even came at all. But you are very right, it does need looking in to. I am assuming that the Parking ticket was never for anywhere near the £512.00 he has to pay and the fees are those Marstons have added themselves! I don't drive, but Google says they are nowhere near that amount! For today, I am just glad that no Bailiff will turn up... Marstons Customer Service have assured me that the Bailiff has been told that under no circumstances is he to return to the property and now a payment plan is in place, I am hoping that I never have to meet that vile creature again! I feel extremely sorry for anyone who has to come in to contact with him again! My brother has been lucky, I was at home to deal with him whereas I am sure their are many vulnerable people out there who do not have that luxury and with the way that he operates it is a worry for those, whether they be disabled, elderly or just a scared individual. I'm sure his bully tactics could lead to some very awful situations. I actually hope that Marstons do read this and prevent it happening to another person. I am not scared easily, but I know if that was my brother he would have been. To be honest, I'm sure not ALL Bailiffs are as hardhearted and bad mannered as him, however unfortunately it is occasions like this that people like him can give Marstons/Bailiffs a bad name. I cannot thank this forum enough for all the help that has been so willingly given and I hope it continues to offer people in worried states like we were today the reassurance and help we were so kindly extended. Thank you... to ALL of you! xx

[SabreSheep]

28.

Enforcement agents must act in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998 and

the Equality Act 2010. They must not discriminate unfairly on any grounds

including those of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or sexual

orientation.

30.

Where enforcement agents have identified vulnerable debtors or situations, they

should alert the creditor and ensure they act in accordance with all relevant

legislation

 

64.

Enforcement agents should not remove anything clearly identifiable as an item

belonging to, or for the exclusive use of a child (person under the age of 16) or

items clearly identifiable as required for the care and treatment of the disabled,

elderly and seriously ill.

 

67.

Enforcement agents should not take control or remove goods clearly belonging

solely to a third party not responsible for the debt. Where a claim is made, the

third party should be given clear instructions on the process required to recover

their goods

 

68.

Enforcement agents should be aware of circumstances where a “no goods”

valuation may be appropriate – for example where no goods of sufficient value

have been identified; or where the removal of goods would lead to severe

hardship for the debtor. In such instances the enforcement agent should make

the creditor aware of this situation.

 

Vulnerable situations

70.

Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that they each have

a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially excluded are protected and that

the recovery process includes procedures agreed between the agent/agency and

creditor about how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of

discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance could cover

every situation. Therefore the agent has a duty to contact the creditor and report

the circumstances in situations where there is evidence of a potential cause for

concern.

71.

If necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor if further action is

appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is needed, not only to protect

the debtor, but also the enforcement agent who should avoid taking action which

could lead to accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

72.

Enforcement agents must withdraw from domestic premises if the only person

present is, or appears to be, under the age of 16 or is deemed to be vulnerable

by the enforcement agent; they can ask when the debtor will be home - if

appropriate.

73.

Enforcement agents must withdraw without making enquiries if the only persons

present are children who appear to be under the age of 12.

74.

A debtor may be considered vulnerable if, for reasons of age, health or disability

they are unable to safeguard their personal welfare or the personal welfare of

other members of the household.

75.

The enforcement agent must be sure that the debtor or the person to whom they

are entering into a controlled goods agreement understands the agreement and

the consequences if the agreement is not complied with.

76.

Enforcement agents should be aware that vulnerability may not be immediately

obvious.

77.

Some groups who might be vulnerable are listed below. However, this list is not

exhaustive. Care should be taken to assess each situation on a case by case

basis.



the elderly;



people with a disability;



the seriously ill;



the recently bereaved;



single parent families;



pregnant women;



unemployed people; and,



those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading

English.

 

 

[ploddertom]

It will certainly pay to find out what has happened. There may be a possibility of applying for an Out of Time if no paperwork was received, if accepted this could then roll everything back to the original ticket - it may be even be possible to argue the ticket was not given out properly, depending on the circumstances as I would assume your brother would have had a Blue Badge displayed at the time. I'll ask Tomtubby to have a look as she will be able to ask the relevant questions that you are going to need answers to.