Help! Marston final notice

[mpelham]

Hi really need some help here,

I had a letter past on to me today from my old address that an enforcement officer went to today and produced a final notice for a criminal court fine.

This is the first letter I Personal have got about this as i moved address at the beginning of January.

I rang them up and they say I have to 8pm tonight to pay £478 or an warrant for arrest will be issued.

getting anything near to that is a physical impossibility.

I failed to pay the court fine because i am house bound due to mental illness and was unable to make payments on a card down the shop then I from whats being going oh my health i totally forgot about the fine untill te council past this letter on this morning.

I dont know wha to do can someone please help me

[fkofilee]

Woah!!!... .Whats this for? Have you spoken to the courts?]

How about Martsons themselves? They should have told you what its for?

 

Can i also add that you will be classified as vulnerable and the Bailiff should know this....

[mpelham]

Yea I got a fine from criminal proceedings back in September for £178 but they said it would be deducted from my benefits, couple months later i got a latter with a payment card saying I had to make payments on it. obviously with what I am going through health wise I was un able to and It just totally slipped my mind, I hadn't had any letters about non payment before I moved because If i had got one I would have made an extreme effort to sort something out and wouldn't be in this situation. Ive suffered from servere depression before and was suicidal less than a year ago I only been better for a few months now and I ahve enough stress without this, its going to have a seriously bad impact on my health, If I have an arrest warrent put out ill be forced to go to the statio and with my mental health i cant even bear the thought of it im close to tears and dont know what to do

[mpelham]

I told them i can pay on full wednesday they said they wont accept payment after 8pm itll be handed over too the police and ill do 8 weeks in prison

[mikeymack2002]

Welcome to CAG

 

 

A bit late now, but did you know you could have paid your fine online? You can see this link https://www.gov.uk/pay-court-fine-online

 

 

Have you at anytime informed the fines officer that you were unable to use this payment method?

 

 

First of all you should speak the office of the EA and let them know you maybe classed as a vulnerable household. You will need documentary evidence from your GP to conform this.

 

 

On the Arrest warrant it may be backed with bail. That means you will be ordered to attend Court to explain your reasons for non payment of the fine. The Magistrates can remit some or all of the balance under certain circumstances.

 

 

You should contact the EA's office and the Courts at the earliest opportunity to explain this situation.

 

 

More advice will follow shortly

[mpelham]

Nope I didn't know,with everything that's going on I just totally forgot about the fine, to be honest I thought If I didn't pay it they would just make an application for a benefit reduction. I can't believe I could of paid it on-line I'm so annoyed with myself for letting this happen I told the Enforcement officer why I hand't paid and about my mental health but it didn't seem to make a difference. he said once it turns 8 tonight he'll hand it over to the police and a warrant will be issued tomorrow for my arrest, and that I'll get 8 weeks in prison for a £180 fine. Proof of my mental health wont be a problem I have doctors from the mental health team see me and an on anti psychotics. In regards to contacting the courts who should I contact and what should I say, I assume I cant do anything until monday now anyway?

[josephbloggs]

i think you will find you are being spun a line by the agent in charge.

 

magistrates court fines, under a warrant of control are dealt with by bailiffs.

 

an arrest warrant would only be issued if they are unsuccessful in collecting the debt, even then the courts dont always go down that route.

 

your offer of paying wednesday should be more than acceptable, i dare say he wants you to pay so he can add your payment to his weekly invoice.

 

best thing you can do is call marstons when they are next open, ask to speak to the welfare department. first of all explain that they have the incorrect address and as a result any proceedings at your old address you had no knowledge of until today.

 

then send them proof that you suffer with mental health issues, and ask that under the national standards for enforcement agents they remove the £235 visit fee, and offer to pay the balance minus the fee.

 

oh and then complain about the bailiff threatening arrest, as they should not do this, whether an arrest warrant is issued IS NOT their decision to make.

[ploddertom]

I doubt very much you are going to be arrested, I think someone is over estimating his powers. As has been said previously if a Warrant does exist then it will be to explain why payment has not been made and you usually surrender yourself voluntarily at a designated time/place. In my view isn't it strange how all thsi happens on a Friday evening with no doubt more pressure ramped up for the weekend when you cannot get hold of the Court.

 

As for your MH issues I would suggest if you have current proof of this you sent it to Marstons addressed for the attention of the Welfare Team who I believe do work Saturdays even if only the morning. In case your new friend comes calling I would keep a copy by the door so you can give him a copy via the letterbox if need be. If you can I would also suggest you try & record any actions or conversation that ensues.