Hi all, I'm totally out of my depth with this and could do with some advice!
I came home from work on Fri 17th October to be greeted with a letter from Collectica demanding I pay £660 immediately. After calling them I was told the fine was for owning a car with no insurance, but they had no information of which car etc so they put a hold on the case till the following Tuesday until they got more info.
Tuesday arrives, and I ring them again - find out it's for a car I used to own (Car A), apparently it had no insurance. I'm guessing the reason why this is the first time I've heard of any of this, is all the correspondence was sent to a previous address that the car was registered to.
I contacted my old insurer and found that Car A was in-fact uninsured on the date of offense (5th Dec 2018), which was strange as I was paying for insurance. But I found out the issue, I was in the process of selling Car A, and was given an old car by my brother (Car B), I rang my insurer to add Car B to Car A's policy so I had a run-around in-case Car A sold, everything went through and seemed fine. After looking into it now it appears my insurer changed the car and didn't add the car. I've requested & received the transcript from the insurer for the call, and in it you can plainly hear me say "I want to add an additional car to my insurance policy". I'm unsure how I stand with this as I feel I was mis-sold a policy, however I am happy to pay the original court fine, definitely not the bailiffs ridiculous fees.
For reference I sold Car A on the 20th of December 2018. Also the client on the letter is HMCTS West Yorkshire.
I've written a Statutory Declaration Section 14, had it signed by a solicitor and sent it off recorded delivery yesterday (24th). As I wasn't aware of this fine until the 17th of October 2019. Collectica have said if I pay a downpayment of £139 they won't send baliffs until next Thursday (31st).
What should be my next move? I'm losing sleep over the thought of baliffs arriving at my home, as I work full time, my partner is on her own with the dogs during the day (off work due to long term illness), and I dread to think of some meathead bullies turning up to try and intimidate her. Or taking my car as I have to park it on a public street.
Any help is appreciated
Collectica Fine - help needed!
Re: Collectica Fine - help needed!
It is a conviction and a fine you had no previous knowledge until a bailiff company traced you and made a demand.
Your correspondence address proves about the proceedings were sent to a previous address.
Once you send that Section 14 declaration, the enforcement ceases and all the proceedings are invalid. Section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980.
You need not give money to the bailiff company.
You won’t hear from the bailiff company any more. If the court wants to re-summon you, then it will send you a summons to your current address. You then ask for the information giving rise to the allegation before you enter a plea. The Crown has to prove the offence.
If the information giving rise to the allegation cannot be sourced, then the court cannot re-try the case. The case is closed, you will hear nothing more.
If a bailiff takes an enforcement step here forward, there are legal remedies available. Given the costs exposure to the bailiff company, I think it's unlikely they will try.
Your correspondence address proves about the proceedings were sent to a previous address.
Once you send that Section 14 declaration, the enforcement ceases and all the proceedings are invalid. Section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980.
You need not give money to the bailiff company.
You won’t hear from the bailiff company any more. If the court wants to re-summon you, then it will send you a summons to your current address. You then ask for the information giving rise to the allegation before you enter a plea. The Crown has to prove the offence.
If the information giving rise to the allegation cannot be sourced, then the court cannot re-try the case. The case is closed, you will hear nothing more.
If a bailiff takes an enforcement step here forward, there are legal remedies available. Given the costs exposure to the bailiff company, I think it's unlikely they will try.
Re: Collectica Fine - help needed!
Hi Zeke,zeke wrote: ↑25 Oct 2019 13:36 It is a conviction and a fine you had no previous knowledge until a bailiff company traced you and made a demand.
Your correspondence address proves about the proceedings were sent to a previous address.
Once you send that Section 14 declaration, the enforcement ceases and all the proceedings are invalid. Section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980.
You need not give money to the bailiff company.
You won’t hear from the bailiff company any more. If the court wants to re-summon you, then it will send you a summons to your current address. You then ask for the information giving rise to the allegation before you enter a plea. The Crown has to prove the offence.
If the information giving rise to the allegation cannot be sourced, then the court cannot re-try the case. The case is closed, you will hear nothing more.
If a bailiff takes an enforcement step here forward, there are legal remedies available. Given the costs exposure to the bailiff company, I think it's unlikely they will try.
Thanks for the response - hopefully this is the case. However as everything seems to go on in the background, is there a way I can confirm this with the court?
Re: Collectica Fine - help needed!
No. Court rules do not require the court to acknowledge a Section 14 statutory declaration.
The law says the proceedings are revoked. I'd leave it there until you hear otherwise.
The law says the proceedings are revoked. I'd leave it there until you hear otherwise.
Re: Collectica Fine - help needed!
Right - thanks for the help!