marstons visit for already paid? fine

[rsautocare]

I have today been visited by Marstons bailifffs in connection with an unpaid fine.

 

The dilemma I have is that I had a fine which was paid in December 2014 for £70

and upon speaking to the bailiff I was told the original amount was £70.

 

However they say it must be for a different fine.

I have proof that I paid £70 in December of last year but

I cannot find a matching reference from my online banking that relates to the visit from Marstons.

 

They are now claiming £380 from an original £70 fine which I beleive are one and the same

 

the question I have is

 

 

how do go about finiding the information I need to stop this.

 

I have 48 hours grace from Marstons before they say they will enter my home with locksmiths if neccessary to remove goods.

 

Can anyone help?

[ploddertom]

Welcome to CAG. I'll move you to the Bailiff Forum for help & advice.

[Bazooka Boo]

I have 48 hours grace from Marstons before they say they will enter my home with locksmiths if neccessary to remove goods. Can anyone help?

 

Complete BS....they will do nothing of the sort, unless the warrant is a distress warrant giving them express permission, by a Judge, to force entry into a property, then they can do absolutely no such thing!

 

Did you allow them access into your property?

 

Who did they say the fine is from?

 

Their time limits are arbitrary, if this is something to do with the local authority then get in touch with them and tell them to call off their tame dogs.

[josephbloggs]

Complete BS....they will do nothing of the sort, unless the warrant is a distress warrant giving them express permission, by a Judge, to force entry into a property, then they can do absolutely no such thing!

 

Did you allow them access into your property?

 

Who did they say the fine is from?

 

Their time limits are arbitrary, if this is something to do with the local authority then get in touch with them and tell them to call off their tame dogs.

 

this will be a warrant of control (no such thing as a distress warrant anymore),

issued by the fines officer at a magistrates court,

(which allows for the use of reasonable force to enter a property)

- no need for a judge to get involved its magistrates.

 

call the court service in the morning to find out if it is the same one or not.

if it is then marstons will be called off, if not then it needs to be dealt with

 

(or.. if its a parking fine then call council instead and get the info.

same applies to above except this debt doesnt allow for forced entry.)

[rsautocare]

Complete BS....they will do nothing of the sort, unless the warrant is a distress warrant giving them express permission, by a Judge, to force entry into a property, then they can do absolutely no such thing!

 

Did you allow them access into your property?

 

Who did they say the fine is from?

 

Their time limits are arbitrary, if this is something to do with the local authority then get in touch with them and tell them to call off their tame dogs.

 

I didn't speak to them in person I received a hand delivered letter when I came home,

the only information I could glean from them is that it is a motoring offence that was originally £70 and is now at £380 with their charges,

as I work all day I obviously did not wish to return home to a ransacked house.

 

 

FYI I have proof that I did pay HMCTS £70 in December 2014 and upon enquiring with my bank

they have told me the "merchant successfully collected that amount.

 

Marston Bailiff informed I would have to pay and take it up with the court afterwards,

which I am reluctant to do so as it means paying them nearly all my weekly wage

and not being able to pay any other bills ( mortgage, gas, elec, etc)

[josephbloggs]

call hmcts and find out if it is the same fine.

 

if it is & was paid before it was passed to marstons it will be returned as it should have never gone to them in the first place.

 

if it is a separate fine then deal with it accordingly.

 

i wonder if it was paid late, passed over to marstons and you have incurred their charges, then paid the court afterwards, but the court haven't advised marstons.

 

see what hmcts say in the morning

[josephbloggs]

or find out what your court reference is off the one you paid,

and then ask the enforcement agent which one he has on his paperwork, see if they match up.

 

FYI the reference is 8 numbers followed by 1 letter (eg 12345678X)

[mikeymack2002]

(1) If you were totally unaware of this fine it is simple to deal with by means if a Statutory Declaration at Court

 

 

Secondly you can make a payment online for fines here https://www.gov.uk/pay-court-fine-online

 

 

Are you sure this is the same fine or one you did not know about if the later follow the advice above. (1)

 

 

Finally go/call the local Court to find out if this old fine is paid or not show them the statement showing the payment has been sent.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

(1) If you were totally unaware of this fine it is simple to deal with by means if a Statutory Declaration at Court

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly you can make a payment online for fines here https://www.gov.uk/pay-court-fine-online

 

 

 

 

 

Are you sure this is the same fine or one you did not know about if the later follow the advice above. (1)

 

 

 

 

 

Finally go/call the local Court to find out if this old fine is paid or not show them the statement showing the payment has been sent.

 

But its already covered on another thread that if payment is made online direct to the court, it doesn't get rid of the bailiff costs and they will still attend to collect those.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Like has been advised, act quickly.

Speak to the court and confirm if this has been paid. Ask them to check that this is the only fine you have or have you had a prior fine.

If you have to pay, pay it before the enforcement agent arrives as you will save £235.

The enforcement agents do have the power to force entry WITHOUT prior peaceful entry if they believe there are goods worth taking inside and they believe that you are inside and refusing to pay the matter.

Should you pay when they attend, you will have to pay the £70 + £75 + £235. If they use a locksmith, a further £110 will become payable.

Your best hope rests on the magistrates having made a mistake.

[Bailiff Advice]

As has been advised above, if an error has been made and you have paid this fine already then it is for the court and NOT the enforcement company to sort out. You need to be aware that the bailiff company are under an order of the court to enforce the warrant and must continue to do so unless instructed otherwise by the court.

 

Please post back once you have spoken with them.

[rsautocare]

Having called HMCTS and also contacting my bank I have found the payment was collected by Denbigh Court which has now closed down, although the bank can only suply an authorisation code for payment NOT a reference that relates to what MArstons have.

 

However the helpful guy I spoke to at HMCTS has frozen the account for 21 days to allow me time to search where my payment went. The only other help he could give was an obsolete phone number for Denbigh.So alhough I have 3 weeks breathing space I'm still at a loss as to how I can prove this to the courts satisfaction and thus get Marstons off my case.

[lookinforinfo]

Do you remember if you paid by card or by cheque.

If you haven't got a copy of your bank statement from December, you can ring your bank and ask them to check their records. If by cheque the bank will have the original probably still at the branch and can provide you with a photocopy. If a card you will need to ask the bank how to get a photocopy of the payment as proof.

[ploddertom]

From what I see Denbigh finally closed down at the end of September 2013 and everything to do with them was transferred to Prestatyn https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/prestatyn-magistrates-court-and-family-court but I notice the address given for writing to them is now Llandudno https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/llandudno-magistrates-court-and-family-court . It could be that this was issued by the Wales Enforcement Office https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/wales-enforcement-office .

 

Hope these help

[Bailiff Advice]

In fact, nearly half the Magistrates in the country have closed or amalgamated with others. Therefore all the court records will still be available .

 

You say that a different reference is given on the one being enforced by Marston's. Have you contacted them to ask for full details?

 

They will be able to tell you the court that issued the fine, the date of the offence, the date that the fine was issued and details of the offence.

 

PS: I am pleased to hear that this court is acting responsibly by putting the account on hold for 21 days. Sadly, this is not usual.

[lookinforinfo]

C'mon you two. How is this helping the OP. Please don't let us get tarnished by the same brush as those other forums and remember that these

threads are read by many respected members of the community because of the top quality advice that is usually given.

 

Yes Bazooka boo's first post perhaps could have benefitted from some rewording but that did not merit the response it received. It would surely have been better to inform the OP that if Marston's were calling as a result of an unpaid fine for example, then EAs do have the right to force entry even

without permission of the Court, providing that the debtor is on the premises. [Then you could have suggested that the OP, in the event of a visit

could jump out the back window, run around the front and say cooee to the bailiff].

[ploddertom]

Thread tidied a little, let's keep it civil please.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Apologies to all. In a grump today.

[ploddertom]

 

Apologies to all. In a grump today.

 

 

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes sorry......