Urgent Help

Semproxion

Hi

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, the only board I thought it would fit ins't open for new posts.

I have an urgent problem.


This morning I was visited by an agent claiming he was from Marstons acting on an order from the court.

He was looking for a woman named on the order.

The woman in question is the mother of my child and although she does not officially live with me, she is temporarily staying with me as she had nowhere to go and I'm not the type of guy to put her on the streets, especially with my child.

The house is registered to me and only me.

The agent states that he's been to the house on numerous occasions, a fact that I and my guest dispute.

After this morning's visit he pushed through 2 envelopes, one recording his visit today but another with a date from a few days ago.

Today's state that he will be back to take goods.

my guest has no goods in my house other than a few clothes and her ID.

I have stated this to the agent and he stated that it would be upto me to prove the goods are mine.

Many of the goods are 2nd hand and bought through facebook groups etc or goods that I've had through a couple of house moves so no longer have reciepts

My issue with the debt is that it is for a speeding fine. My guest doesn't even hold a driving licence, not even provisional because of a medical condition that prevents her from holding one.

What can I do?

StopIt

Don't let them in. They'll need a proper warrant to force entry, but because of the nature of the debt, they can get one if needed. If you already have let them in for this visit, you'll need to prove that the goods in the house are yours, and yes, they can force entry for a follow up visit if you've already had a controlled goods order.


Book a visit to your local CAB with absolute urgency.


If this is a speeding fine, it'll be a criminal matter, it cannot be ignored. You must contact the issuing court, via the CAB if you have to, and get this sorted via a payment plan ASAP.

Semproxion

StopIt wrote: »

Don't let them in. They'll need a proper warrant to force entry, but because of the nature of the debt, they can get one if needed. If you already have let them in for this visit, you'll need to prove that the goods in the house are yours, and yes, they can force entry for a follow up visit if you've already had a controlled goods order.


Book a visit to your local CAB with absolute urgency.


If this is a speeding fine, it'll be a criminal matter, it cannot be ignored. You must contact the issuing court, via the CAB if you have to, and get this sorted via a payment plan ASAP.

I didn't let them in, didn't even open the door (lock is broke atm) so spoke to him via an open window. Also forgot to mention, until this visit we have had NO communications regarding this alleged debt. We suspect that those have been going to one of her previous addresses, my guest's ex-husband. He does drive and his car was registered on disability, which is why I think the debt has come up in her name as she was the one who registered the tax.

If they break in, I'll treat it like a home invasion and take appropriate action to defend my child and property. He has been warned of this.

Am I right in assuming I can demand the debt be returned to the original source as it's disputed?

sourcrates

Semproxion wrote: »

If they break in, I'll treat it like a home invasion and take appropriate action to defend my child and property. He has been warned of this.

Thats a really bad idea, they will be acting on a warrant from the court, all that will happen is you will be arrested, which wont help anyone.

The bailiff is only the messenger in all of this, why get into a fight, all you need to do now is dispute this in writing.

Ask on Legal Beagles for free legal advice.

StopIt

Semproxion wrote: »

I didn't let them in, didn't even open the door (lock is broke atm) so spoke to him via an open window. Also forgot to mention, until this visit we have had NO communications regarding this alleged debt. We suspect that those have been going to one of her previous addresses, my guest's ex-husband. He does drive and his car was registered on disability, which is why I think the debt has come up in her name as she was the one who registered the tax.

If they break in, I'll treat it like a home invasion and take appropriate action to defend my child and property. He has been warned of this.

Am I right in assuming I can demand the debt be returned to the original source as it's disputed?

I'm afraid, if you don't follow correct procedure, your approach will backfire hard.


If your lock is broken, they wont need to force entry, and once in, they have the power to enforce the warrant granted by court. if you take ANY action against the enforcement officer at this point, the police will be called and you'll be liable to be arrested. Again however, even if they couldn't force entry this time, they can get the power to do so, so do not ignore this and think you can scare them off. This isn't a CCJ debt and will have the power of the law on their side, even if it is a case of mistaken identity.


This is why you need to find the issuing court, it'll be the local magistrates court, and get this looked at ASAP. You'll need legal advice to do so, as unlike a CCJ which can relatively easily be set-aside with a form, a magistrates fine is beyond that.

National_Debtline

Hi Semproxion

This sounds like a magistrates’ court fine. Those type of bailiffs can force entry as a last resort if they can justify it but it rarely happens. Get the lock fixed as soon as you can so they can’t let themselves in without forcing entry as that would be much more likely to happen.

A speeding ticket will be sent to the registered keeper of a vehicle, as held by the DVLA. It is then for the keeper to dispute the ticket if they were not driving. Is your guest registered as the keeper of the vehicle in question? If so, she needs to update the DVLA about her situation otherwise she could be having more tickets issued to an address she doesn’t live at.

She will also need legal advice on disputing the fine as this is possible up to 21 days after first finding out about it. You can google Law Centres and Law Works to find out what is available in your local area.

Susie
@natdebtline

Semproxion

Thanks for all the advice.

My guest and I contacted the courts.

They said it was a speeding fine. As it was disabled registered for the tax they were sending it to her name at her old (ex's address). Seems he's been ignoring the letters so it's come back to her.

We've managed to get them to back off with the bailiffs. They seem to understand that the accused doesn't hold a licence and was not the driver. We're also given them details of the actual driver.

They've said she still may have to pay the fine but they're willing to drop it to the original cost, which is significantly less.

StopIt

Semproxion wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice.

My guest and I contacted the courts.

They said it was a speeding fine. As it was disabled registered for the tax they were sending it to her name at her old (ex's address). Seems he's been ignoring the letters so it's come back to her.

We've managed to get them to back off with the bailiffs. They seem to understand that the accused doesn't hold a licence and was not the driver. We're also given them details of the actual driver.

They've said she still may have to pay the fine but they're willing to drop it to the original cost, which is significantly less.

She will need to pay if she runs out of time to contest the ruling. That's why legal advice is needed ASAP.


Sucks but that's the rules. She already will be in bother for not updating the DVLA etc as it's her responsibility, not theirs to update changes of addresses, usage of vehicle and keeper.


Also, not having a license hasn't stopped thousands of people from driving, and getting speeding tickets etc. That isn't actually a defence that'll work in court without more compelling evidence that they were not the driver. That, added to the time limit above means that it's probably best to pay the fine, sort out the DVLA stuff so she doesn't get any more speeding fines or worse.

National_Debtline

Hi again Semproxion

Good news that you’ve had some success. Your guest can either pay the reduced amount, or still seek legal advice on challenging the whole fine. I’d strongly advise her to speak to the DVLA about the car to avoid the risk of further fines being issued in her name without her knowledge. Good luck with it all.

Susie
@natdebtline