Help With Marston Group Train Fine!!

dannygrave

I recieved a fine originally for £60 for travelling 2 stops on a bendy bus without a ticket on 30/8/2007.
I did not pay this fine on the spot and recieved a letter about 1/2 a year later asking for me to pay the fine which I did not do. I then recieved a further letter with an increased fine of £110 which included a bailiffs fee of £50. I recieved this on the 4/12/2008.
I paid £11 of this and incurred a £1 charge.
I was asked to pay the same again on the 24th December but due to bereavement I forgot about this.
I did not recieve any further contact until Friday 13th February when my girlfriends number was called by Mr Driscoll of the Marston Group demanding full payment of £270 which my girlfriend paid for me in two installments in the space of a week. However they have taken £275 from my girlfriends account as I did not have the money at the time(he demanded that I borrow to pay). I did not recieve any correspondence that he would be attending my house to levy or of the increased charges. When I asked for a full breakdown Mr Driscoll diverted my question and said that the receipts for payment have been posted. WWhat can I do to challenge this as I am sure I have been scammed? I am also unemployed and had to deffer entrance to university due to the costs of travel. Please help. What can I do?

LondonDiva

You illegally travelled on public transport
Refused to pay the on the spot fine due
Refused to pay the fine when they followed it up by letter (and I assume did not follow up the letter by ringing/engaging with the company??)
You only acted when the matter was escalated to the baliffs - and even then only paid the money due in part

It seems to me that the mess is due to you letting fees and costs build up. Contact their helpline and ask for a breakdown of costs / fines / fees to date which will give you an idea of what sums are involved and how they built up. Also ask for an account of money paid and you should be able to see where the current situation. If once you have had the information, you are still unsure, you should take it to the CAB.

I would advise you to not ignore requests for payments due in future, especially when things have escalated to involve baliffs. This may impact your credit rating if the company wants to be malicious.

dannygrave

I didnt ignore the first letter I recieved.
The first letter I recieved was saying I owed an extra £50 on top of the penalty fare.
I went on to pay £12 of this on 13/12/08.
I did not recieve a penalty fare notice from the bus conducter who issued me with the fare.
I also did not recieve a letter from the bus company saying that I had been issued a penalty fare.
The first letter issued was from the bailiffs

dannygrave

LondonDiva wrote: »

It seems to me that the mess is due to you letting fees and costs build up. Contact their helpline and ask for a breakdown of costs / fines / fees to date which will give you an idea of what sums are involved and how they built up. Also ask for an account of money paid and you should be able to see where the current situation. If once you have had the information, you are still unsure, you should take it to the CAB.

I would advise you to not ignore requests for payments due in future, especially when things have escalated to involve baliffs. This may impact your credit rating if the company wants to be malicious.

Also when I asked the bailiff for a cost break down he diverted the question and instead left me with a reciept for the 2 payments I made for the total of £275.

chuckley

all this over a £2 fare.

why did you ignore the letter?! if u wanted to appeal it that woulda been your chance!

*smh*

dannygrave

Sorry I obviously haven't made myself clear
I didnt ignore the letter.
The first letter I recieved was one saying I owed £110.
I paid £12 of this and started a payment plan.
As I said due to bereavement of a very close family member I didnt pay the 2nd installment as this slipped my mind.
I wasn't contacted after that point till the 13th Feb when the above happened..

dannygrave

Sorry I didnt explain it properly. Thius is all gettting very stressful.
I only recieved the letter to say I owed £110 half a year later.
I didnt recieve a letter to say that I had been given the penalty fare and the conducter did not present me with a the penalty fare slip once he had taken my information.

Hope this helps u help me a bit more

chuckley

dannygrave wrote: »

Sorry I obviously haven't made myself clear
I didnt ignore the letter.
The first letter I recieved was one saying I owed £110.
I paid £12 of this and started a payment plan.
As I said due to bereavement of a very close family member I didnt pay the 2nd installment as this slipped my mind.
I wasn't contacted after that point till the 13th Feb when the above happened..

as you defaulted they took that as an indication you werent tryna pay it off... hence the bailiffs.

did you contact them when the 2nd payment bounced?!

GaryS

Most of us buy a ticket that covers the distance we travel.

Maybe you will next time.

Sorry but you've only got yourself to blame.

dannygrave

No I didnt contact them but surely they cannot turn up without prior warning.
Also I am unemployed doenst this mean that they cannot demand payment.
Also they are not allowed to bully you into borrowing it from elsewhere are they?

Along with this I dont believe the charges are justifiable???

£60 penalty fare becomes £270 and I have only recieved one letter??

He also was falsely implying that he had the right to break into my parents house which he didnt.

I realise I shouldnt have jumped the bus anyway but times are really hard and students cant afford the prices of transport.

Seems very dodgy to me

Something must be done

dannygrave

That is a totally unneccesary comment.
Especially when you live in Oxfordshire and therefore do not have a clue what its like being 20 years old, living in London and trying to afford an education.

I am aware that I have done something wrong but is this stress justifiable when there are people out there commiting far worse crimes and are getting let off scott free.

We are the future of this country and we have been dealt a crappy hand.

Look a bit deeper and you might see Gary