COLLECTICA - DVLA FINE?

[Sonicmouse]

Hi

I recieved a letter out of the blue at the weekend regarding an unpaid fine of £622 enforced by HMCTS West Yorkshire. This is the first document I've ever recieved. Apparently it relates to a vehicle that I part exchanged in September 2015 with a local Ford Dealership. I sent off my V5 document that very day to say I didn't own the vehicle anymore.

A few weeks later, I moved house. Apparently, they DVLA has been sending letters, fines and escalated it to Court who also fined me whilst sending all these letters to my old address for not having car insurance on the vehicle despite declaring it no longer being my property and it was fully insured up until the point of exchange.. The first I heard of this was when Collectica traced me to my correct address and demanded this extortinate amount within 14 days otherwise they will instruct Bailiffs to raid my house and take my assets.

Is there anything I can do? I part exchanged my car almost 2 years ago and this is the very first thing ive heard. Collectica are already threatening to add even more charges to the debt and I can't sleep at night because of this

[Amy]

Write to the DVLA and tell them what you have written above.

There is no requirement by law which says you must have proof of posting for sending off your V5. The fact that either they or the Post Office have lost it, is not your problem.

Tell them you do not expect to hear from them or Collectica again and if you do, you'll claim an amount in damages for the harassment.

[Sonicmouse]

Thanks for the quick reply Amy. I've sent them a letter, special delivery yesterday to explain the story to their 'Special Cases Team'. My worry is that, it apparently takes up to 6 weeks for them to come back to me with a response and Collectica want a payment of £622 by February 14th or bailiffs will attend my house.

I've found out the fine is actually £352, a compliance fee of £75 on top to be paid to Collectica and an enforcement fee of £235 is also payable to them despite nothing actually happening and this being the first and only letter I've received about this

[Amy]

DVLA do not have a leg to stand on. Email them or write to them again and tell them that your obligation only extends as far as posting the V5 and that under section 7 of the Interpretation Act, your letter is deemed served.

Your legal obligation extends as far as posting the V5, it is not your legal obligation to prove to the DVLA or anyone else that that is what you did.

Furthermore, DVLA know this too, they are always being called out for this behaviour they just hope you do not know.

[Sonicmouse]

Would a Statuary of Declaration be any use in this case as I didn't know about this fine or any court summons etc until the debt collection letter from Collectica

[Syd Snitkin]

Yes - send it to the fining court.

[Sonicmouse]

Thanks for your help. Would this be enough to hold back any further advances from Collectica?

They said they can't stop any further action until instructed by HMCTS West Yorkshire and with them demanding full payment in 7 days, I'm feeling at a loss

[Amy]

You should not be speaking with Collectica. They are not calling the shots here, you are.

[zeke]

Hi

I recieved a letter out of the blue at the weekend regarding an unpaid fine of £622 enforced by HMCTS West Yorkshire. This is the first document I've ever recieved.

You need to make that is called a Section 14 Statutory DEclaration and send it by RECORDED DELIVERY to HMCTS West Yorkshire. Their address is:

• HMCTS West Yorkshire
  Collection and Enforcement Centre
  P.O. Box 135
  Leeds
  West Yorkshire
  LS27 7ZT

That will quash the conviction and stop the bailiffs.

Here is a https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3un_K ... sp=sharing

It needs to be sworn in before a solicitor. The fee is £5, and take Photo ID with you.

Make a copy by taking a photo of the swon in document and send the original by RECORDED DELIVERY to HMCTS West Yorkshire




The law:

Section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 states:

• Proceedings invalid where accused did not know of them.
  
  (1)Where a summons has been issued under section 1 above and a magistrates’ court has begun to try the information to which the summons relates, then, if—
  
  • (a)the accused, at any time during or after the trial, makes a statutory declaration that he did not know of the summons or the proceedings until a date specified in the declaration, being a date after the court has begun to try the information; and
    
    (b)within 21 days of that date the declaration is served on the designated officer for the court,
  without prejudice to the validity of the information, the summons and all subsequent proceedings shall be void.
  
  
  (2)For the purposes of subsection (1) above a statutory declaration shall be deemed to be duly served on the designated officer if it is delivered to him, or left at his office, or is sent in a registered letter or by the recorded delivery service addressed to him at his office.
  
  (3)If on the application of the accused it appears to a magistrates’ court (which for this purpose may be composed of a single justice) that it was not reasonable to expect the accused to serve such a statutory declaration as is mentioned in subsection (1) above within the period allowed by that subsection, the court may accept service of such a declaration by the accused after that period has expired; and a statutory declaration accepted under this subsection shall be deemed to have been served as required by that subsection.

[danielburridge]

Thanks for your help. Would this be enough to hold back any further advances from Collectica?

They said they can't stop any further action until instructed by HMCTS West Yorkshire and with them demanding full payment in 7 days, I'm feeling at a loss

Hey guys - I've had exactly the same thing happen... Thanks for the advice and info above. Could I just check though - did you ring Collectica themselves to find out what the reference related to? I understand that if you ring certain debt collectors it can legalise the claim or something. Don't quote me on that I'm sure!

Basically I have exactly the same letter as you and the same numerical fines / terms - but I don't know what my actual offence is.

Any help much appreciated!

Cheers

Dan

[zeke]

You make a section 14 statutory declaration. That will kill the fine and the conviction. Here is how to do it: http://www.dealingwithbailiffs.co.uk/Co ... iliffs.htm there's a template in the above-post.

[mrgloverglover]

Hi all,

What a brilliant site - this is so helpful.

My wife is in the EXACT same position as the original poster in this thread:

- V5 was posted, but for some reason seems not to have arrived.
- Collectica sprang up from nowhere asking for around £700
- Leeds Magistrates apparently made a judgement, but we knew nothing of it.
- First contact from Collectica to us said pay in full, or the bailiffs will come in 14 days.

Having followed the advice on this thread so far, we've found a Statutory Declaration form and we're filling it in to send, however it asks for original case number from the court, which we don't have because we've never seen the original documentation. Any ideas how to proceed?

Much appreciated everyone!

[zeke]

You don't need a case number because its a case you knew nothing about. It's a trick they play on you to see if you knew about the proceedings. Send by recorded delivery to the following address only.

Port Talbot Justice Centre
Harbourside Road
Port Talbot
South Wales
SA13 1SB


Once posted and you have the receipt for recorded delivery, the proceedings are dead.

Do not reply to communications unless you receive a fresh summons and you have been given the prosecution statements. DO NOT get sucked into the internet myth doing the rounds stating that you "make an appointment to book" a statutory declaration at a magistrates' court. Court staff will try and re-convict you in an ad-hoc trial. Demand to see the prosecution documents so you can prepare your defence.

[daz_easty]

Hi guys, i've got a similar situation, Collectica dropped a letter through my letterbox followed by Marstons bailiff, anyway after getting advice off the CAB i need to do a statutory declaration, this is where i've hit problems as i have no idea what i need to do to do it!!!! do i fill a template form out or write one from scratch? do i send it by post or take it in myself? do i do it in court or before i go? any advice would be gratefully received, cheers in advance

Daz

[daz_easty]

PS: it's with West Yorkshire magistrates if that makes a difference!

[zeke]

Here is how to make a statutory declaration

http://www.dealingwithbailiffs.co.uk/Co ... iliffs.htm

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1R6lzh ... qKok3Wxxk4

[daz_easty]

Cheers for that, couple of questions - do i get it signed at a county court then send it to the magistrates? and on the template where it says "the proceeding" what do i put there?

[zeke]

You can get it notarized by any solicitors (fee usually £5) or free at a county court, but expect a bit of a wait. Court Service is in disarray due to staff cuts and underfunding. An Usher gets £21k a year and if they can save that then its only one Usher on the whole days shift on front-of-house duty and nobody available during lunch times, and in any case, Court Service are starting to use Ushers to prepare documents and collate information. So don't expect anyone to be willing to notorise a statutory declaration.

• I was unaware that I had been a defendant in a proceeding in a magistrates court ("the Proceeding") until I received a document from a bailiff company on [DATE] and delivered to the above-mentioned address.

[Bazzer1066]

PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW COLLECTICA to collect payments for you. I have unfortunately in the past allowed Collectica to collect monies owed to west Yorkshire magistrates that I thought had already been dealt with. The vehicle I owned was tested and insured but has I had only bought it 2 days prior to the ecu going ..which took 2 weeks to repair , I inadvertently forgot the £30 annual tax. . Yeah I know.. crazy.. I was stopped and the checks came back as above mot..ok.. insurance ok.. tax ..zero. the officers were ok with me and dud inform me that I would be fined for not taxing the car but could take it home as long as if was taxed the next day. A fine of £100 followed some weeks later ... which was duly paid... then some months later Collectica sent me a demand for £707 With regards to a court fine from West Yorkshire courts. I questioned this and was told by collectica that it was a motoring offence and that is all they knew. I decided to cut my losses and agreed a payment plan. After 5 weeks I called Collectica to explain I had changed jobs and was going to pay monthly instead of weekly. I was told that it had been returned to court and my payment plan was no longer effective yet that same day Collectica took a further weekly payment. In total £300.. of which £145 went to the courts and the rest Collectica kept. The initial £100 was to hull magistrates for having no mot on the same day as having no tax. This is not true.. if I had not had mot or tax then my insurance would have Been void and subsequently the car would have been impounded.. What further frustrates me is how i can be stopped in south yorkshire by south yorkshire traffic police yet fined by both Hull and west Yorkshire forces... yet hull deny all knowledge of the fine

[JulieB]

Hi
We as a company have received 2 letters from Collectica - one of which they can tell us the vehicle registration number, the other they cant yet - apparently they are both for 'keeping a vehicle without a valid licence' - the letters have been sent to our accountants address which we feel is a little strange. However, I see on the thread that there is a link to a template which seems to have expired - can you resend the link?
Cheers
Julie

[zeke]

Herewith https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ue8WP ... jiOCMfQk2k

[Laurasharpe1994]

Hi all,

Again I’m in the exact same situation. Came back from holiday to find a £650 fine and bailiff summons with no explanation of what the fine is for.
So after reading this thread it seems I also need to send a statutory declaration. Both the links have expired on the forum, could anyone post it up again?

Thanks so much

[zeke]

Template

https://www.nationalbailiffadvice.uk/Te ... -fine.html