Marston rogue bailiffs HELP please!

FrustratedRosie

Apologies if this is in the wrong place!

My partner has a tv license fine from years ago being paid out of his benefits when he lost his job. He's changed from JSA to ESA a few times because of severe anxiety and the money has always come out of whichever benefit seamlessly.

In December we had a bailiff turn up with a 'final steps notice', saying they'd been out before, we were ignoring them, etc etc and the courts had granted them permission to break in and seize goods. On much further investigation it transpired that for no reason whatsoever, the money had stopped being taken out of the benefits. Even the courts said it was extremely odd the way there was constant regular payments for so long and all of a sudden just stopped but once the order had been granted, it couldn't be taken back.

We then realized that we were being charged £235 visit charge which did not take place.

The courts told us we were classed as vulnerable and Marston should do a payment plan. Bailiff agreed we had until 18th February to pay the outstanding £580, brilliant.

Today we had ANOTHER visit while we were out from a different bailiff, leaving a card that said they believed we were deliberating evading willful payment and they'd be back to seize goods.

Partner phoned her and she told him that the previous bailiff had been sacked, no bailiffs are allowed to give two months, it's not her problem what we were told by him because he doesn't work there anymore and gave us two weeks. Partner explain why we are classed as vulnerable, etc and she repeated it doesn't matter what the previous bailiff did, he doesn't work there.

He told her that it should matter because it's the same b****y company at which point she told him if he argued with her again, she'd come at 7pm TODAY with a locksmith.

She then gave a long lecture about how he's had years to pay this off and the fine is still too high - he explained the benefits situation and she didn't believe it happened. He explained that £235 of this fine was a visit the previous bailiff didn't make and she didn't argue it, just said "oh well, I visited today, that can be the £235 staying on there!".

I don't know what to do. We can do the £580 by mid-Feb now christmas is out of the way but there is absolutely no way we can do it in two weeks. Plus my partner has had a panic attack and has been physically sick since the phone call, his anxiety is through the roof that she'll be back at 7pm like she threatened.

grandma247

I don't know much about bailiffs but I was so concerned about your post I went looking for some info that might help and found this and this There are other pages that might help too.

National_Debtline

Hi there,

This can be a difficult situation, when you try dealing with bailiffs over the phone and someone is unwell and suffering with health issues. There are a few key things that I think I can help with at the moment, but it would also be helpful for you or your partner to seek full, free and impartial advice.

Magistrate Court Fine bailiffs do have the right to force entry to a property, even if they have not been inside before. However, this is very rare. They will normally try and gain entry through a peaceable means, this means that they can come inside through open or unlocked access, or by an invitation. Therefore, I would strongly advise that you keep your home locked and secure, do not let the bailiffs in and try not to deal with them face to face or over the phone. If they do attend your property then I would suggest ignoring the door, unless they actually have a locksmith with them (when they suggest they may force entry, they cannot use brutal force; they would use a locksmith if they were genuine). You also need to make sure that if your partner has anything of value outside your home (such as a car) that this is hidden as well.

Furthermore, the other two issues that you raised are in regards to dealing with the debt and the fees. Firstly, they are allowed to charge certain fees; they are a £75 compliance (admin) fee and a £235 visit fee. Although I understand the bailiff may have been unhelpful in explaining this on the phone, the fees they have added appear to be correct (as long as the bailiffs are chasing the fine) and would form part of what needs to be repaid.

To repay the debt I would suggest you only deal with the bailiffs in writing. Send them a budget plan to show what you can afford to pay and highlight your partners’ health issues again (in writing), try and send this recorded delivery. If they refuse to accept the offer then save the money to one side at home (to show that your partner is not refusing to pay, but cannot pay more than what is affordable).

Finally, write to the court (as opposed to calling them). Outline your partners’ health issues, good payment history, until very recently, and ask them to recall the bailiff warrant because of these things. I understand on the phone they have said they can’t, but they do have the discretion to do this in exceptional cases, it is not a guarantee, but worth a letter. We have a factsheet about Magistrate Court Fines that you may also find helpful - https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/13 EW Magistrates' court fines/Default.aspx

Laura
@natdebtline

G_Plumridge

Sorry for jumping on this post but Im having trouble finding the "new post"
If some one can point me in the right directon