Crime.Victim compensation

whatsthenews

Son had his mountain bike stolen in April last year. Police arrested and charged 2 individuals but were unable to locate the 8 bikes they stole over the space of 3 days from the same location.They "failed to appear" in court the first time but were eventually located and appeared in late September.
Ordered to pay £190 each to son. Below is copied from the letter that was sent to son in October, but sent to incorrect address initially so we had to chase the courts to find out what was going on

Compensation owed of £190.00 made payable by x- The court ordered payment terms of £10.00 per fortnight commencing 29.09.17. As no payment was received, a further steps notice has issued to him advising of further enforcement if no payment is made. If no payment or contact is received, enquiries will be made as to whether he is in receipt of benefit or working. An attachment of benefit/earnings order can then be made.

Compensation owed of £190.00 made payable by y - A deduction from benefits order was made however we received confirmation that y was no longer in receipt. A further steps notice has been issued to him to advise payment in full is now due. Enquiries have found that he is now in receipt of benefits and I can confirm that an attachment has been made.

Just contacted the court enforcement unit as he still hasn't received any money. Apparently "it takes months not weeks"! Our son graduated last July, gets £55 per week universal credit and is currently a Volunteer trainee officer with the Wildlife Trust . This involves him staying away from our home 2 nights per week at a cost of £90 and paying for train fare at £25.

I've looked at the resolver site, but it doesn't seem to be appropriate in this case.
Any advice regarding moving this on and getting him his money appreciated.

hollydays

If he’s a volunteer why is the wildlife trust not paying his expenses?

sheramber

While it is annoying not to get the money £190 would pay for two weeks accommodation then what?

Can you not give him £190 and he can repay you when he gets the payment?

stuartJo1989

I don't even think you can send the bailiffs to remove assets because the debt is so small.

It is probably going to be a case of waiting for the money to come, potentially in dribs and drabs (ie don't rely on it for anything).

Had these two people paid on time since 29th Sept then you'd only have £160 to date, and even then there's a fair chance that you'd either have been paid either weekly/monthly (and spent it as extra income) or the monies held in escrow until the whole balance had been paid (June 22nd). So either way, it probably doesn't impact on you needing to find money for accommodation + transport fees.

Plus, £45 a night is quite steep. Has your son looked into youth hostels? If there are any around the location then you can usually stay for like £10-£15 a night which saves a load of dollar. Or maybe he could cash in on the voluntary experience and look for paid employment a bit closer to home?

pmduk

You should never rely on court compensation until you have received it. If the two in your case are taken back to court for failure to pay and serve time for that failure, your son will receive nothing at all.

hollydays

My son had his bike stolen many years ago as a teenager.
The culprit resprayed it badly .
He was dobbed in by friends who liked my son.
My son never got any recompense
The police said the mother had enough to cope with.
Try explaining that- sometimes life’s unfair.

Starrystarrynight1

I was awarded £40 against the teenager who mugged me, stealing my bag and it's contents. I got £6 and that was it. I wouldn't be holding your breath about getting this money back anytime soon, if at all.

pogofish

My experience of victim compensation was a cheque for a tenner a time, delivered intermittently over a period of around eighteen months as they got the money off the perp.

I am however puzzled by the PVW aspect to the OP - what is it..?

tykesi

hollydays wrote: »

My son had his bike stolen many years ago as a teenager.
The culprit resprayed it badly .
He was dobbed in by friends who liked my son.
My son never got any recompense
The police said the mother had enough to cope with.
Try explaining that- sometimes life’s unfair.

What a lovely poem.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Is this a gripe about a bike that was stolen or about a son who has a degree and cannot get a job?


I had more than one bike stolen and got compensated by my insurer. As for the £25 train fare, I would have a guess as to why the wildlife company cannot pay this!

whatsthenews

stuartJo1989 wrote: »

I don't even think you can send the bailiffs to remove assets because the debt is so small.

It is probably going to be a case of waiting for the money to come, potentially in dribs and drabs (ie don't rely on it for anything).

Had these two people paid on time since 29th Sept then you'd only have £160 to date, and even then there's a fair chance that you'd either have been paid either weekly/monthly (and spent it as extra income) or the monies held in escrow until the whole balance had been paid (June 22nd). So either way, it probably doesn't impact on you needing to find money for accommodation + transport fees.

Plus, £45 a night is quite steep. Has your son looked into youth hostels? If there are any around the location then you can usually stay for like £10-£15 a night which saves a load of dollar. Or maybe he could cash in on the voluntary experience and look for paid employment a bit closer to home?

The cash would be used to purchase another bike, which would his social travelling expenses as he could cycle to places he currently pays for public transport to, plus let's remember that they had the money for the bike when they sold it!

Yes,the WLT pay his travel expenses, up to a maximum of £30 per week. The nearest youth hostel is about 20 miles from Doncaster. The £45 per night includes breakfast and his evening meal, he has use of a fridge for food for his packed lunches and it's a 35 minute walk to work.

He did (of course) look for employment closer to home but even (for example) an entry level position in his field requires experience. He also applied for other jobs (cleaning, retail etc) with the idea he could continue to volunteer with the local WLT, but I guess there's a lot of competition for jobs like that. He's also signed up with an agency for work at Royal Mail sorting office about 10 miles from home but he works different days each week for the WLT and offers of shifts are usually only half a day in advance.
Regarding insurance, he wasn't covered because the bike was stolen from student accomodation and the door to the secure parking had been left unlocked by an unknown person. Suspect it was the caretaker as it was refuse collection day.

pmduk wrote: »

You should never rely on court compensation until you have received it. If the two in your case are taken back to court for failure to pay and serve time for that failure, your son will receive nothing at all.

Didn't mention relying on it. Would rather they were sent down. I'm sure if the option at the start had been pay all the money now or a sentence then they would've managed to find the money.

pogofish wrote: »

My experience of victim compensation was a cheque for a tenner a time, delivered intermittently over a period of around eighteen months as they got the money off the perp.

I am however puzzled by the PVW aspect to the OP - what is it..?

PVW aspect???