Letter asking for historic HM Court debt over 8 years after court hearing

m33r4

Not sure if this is the right place to post - please move it to the right thread otherwise please mods.
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Yesterday I received a letter from HM Courts & Tribunals Service, signed by HISTORIC DEBT ENFORCEMENT TEAM, informing me that "There is still an outstanding balance on the above account which was imposed at THE MAGISTRATES COURT on 09.01.2008." The sum is for £240.

Attached to this letter is a pink "How to pay your fine" double-sided page containing details of a Payment Line, Allpay Card, Direct Debit. I recall receiving a summons to Derby Magistrates court in 2008 for non payment of a bill. I attended Court and was informed it was non payment of TV Licence or SKY (not quite sure). I informed the magistrate that the bill in question was from my previous address in Wembley during the time I was living there and married to my ex-husband. He was the owner of the house and paid all the bills and all utilities were on his name. I was not working, not earning and a full time mum to 3 kids. I informed her I was not responsible for the bills but my ex-husband was. I believe I gave the court his business address. The magistrate noted it all and informed me I was not liable for this bill. I believed that was the end of the case. I never heard back from them since attending court.

Now over 8 years later, I get the letter I mentioned above (scanned images of all I received are below). What's going on? Is this a scam?

Rich7111

Personally I'd pay it, it's £240, then deal with it, otherwise, you could be arrested. If you can't afford it in one go, call them explain and offer a monthly payment, you may have to attend courts to arrange this, but then deal with the ifs and buts after.

sourcrates

You will not get arrested !!!!!

Send a letter back stating what you've told us, or ring the number they have provided and explain yourself.

Looks like a simple clerical error.

Voyager2002

sourcrates wrote: »

You will not get arrested !!!!! FGS

Send a letter back stating what you've told us.

If more than 6 years have passed since judgement the creditor would need to go back to court to enforce there rights.

Looks like a simple clerical error.

No: this is from a magistrate's court, not a country court, so the rules about debts becoming statute-barred do not apply.

Ben8282

If this is MAGISTRATES COURT it is a criminal not a civil case. It is nothing to do with non-payment of sky or bills. Non-payment of tv licence is of course criminal. The other possibility is that you have been convicted of some criminal offence or other and have failed to pay the fine.

Voyager2002

Since the letter is from a magistrate's court the 'problem' would have concerned a TV license, not Sky.

When TV licensing find someone using an unlicensed TV, that person (in fact anyone whose name they can get) is held responsible. So when the matter went to court and you gave your explanation that your husband was liable, the magistrate should have told you that your name was on the summons and so you would have to pay.

It follows that either your memory is wrong, or the magistrate had some reason for not following the rules. The eight-year delay does suggest that something unusual happened, so best if you check back with the court.

As for possible consequences if you ignore it: the most probable is that you might be summoned to appear in court again to explain yourself, and if you failed to turn up then a warrant for your arrest could indeed be issued. Further hearings could clarify what is going on and would enable you to give details of your financial situation and agree a payment plan, although additional costs might be added on. And once a court has ordered you to pay and you fail to do so, a process begins that in principle could lead to prison, although that is highly unlikely.

rkc86

Sorry to hijack this thread as I couldn't locate a similar post.

My father received one similar and we thought it was a scam, however we received a second letter asking to pay the amount owed. The funny thing is that the date of birth stated on the letter is not of my father but of my my mothers! So what's going on? lol. Do I ignore it or ring to explain what's going on?

Shakin_Steve

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hm-courts-tribunals-service-advice-to-debtors-on-unpaid-historic-fines

john2054

Just pay the debt. It could negatively affect your report, if you don't.

27cool

To be fair. Historic Debt Team does sound exactly the sort of name that a dodgy DRA might try to use. But in this case obviously it is not. As the link in post#8 seems pretty genuine.

MIKELC

Hi, I've received a similar letter today so will speak to them on Monday but does this mean I have a CCJ? Thanks