Magistrates Court Fine - Can the Debt be contested if it is incorrect?

[TheSpartanMoose]

Hey All,

Would really appreciate some help/advice here, I'm posting on behalf of my girlfriend as she's trying to sort this out while moving house and completing a very challenging degree.

A day or two ago she was called by a Bailiff from Marstons, who were chasing a debt for an unpaid train fine on behalf of Manchester Metrolink, at a station near a house she used to live at. Obviously the fine has accumulated fees up to the value of almost £700, which is hard for your average person to afford normally but with Covid it's a nightmare.

After getting more information about the date that the original fine was issued (and confirming that the magistrates had the same date as the bailiffs) we discovered that on the day in question she was living and working in Leeds and was actually at work on the day in question, therefore having no reason to be in Manchester, getting a tram near a house share property she moved out of almost a year prior.

We're currently trying to cobble together some proof, we're hopeful for some CCTV of some sort from her old workplace but there's a chance it won't have been kept for this long. My working theory is that either an old house mate of hers has given her name to get out of a fine, or that somebody else that moved into the property saw her name on a letter and used it for the same reason.

She asked one of her old housemates who still lives at the address and he told her that he hadn't received any urgent mail (IE court summons etc) with her name on it at any point - in fact I'm shocked they would even use that address for her considering she moved out almost a year before the alleged event and removed herself from the electoral register and council tax in Manchester (and declared her new address in the process).

My question essentially is can she fight this now that it has gone past the court and into the hands of Bailiffs?

If so, how would she go about doing so? Cause it seems ridiculous to pay £700 for a court fine that she didn't even know was in her name, that clearly wasn't perpetrated by her.

Thanks,
Jack

[monkeynuts]

Thanks for the post.

You mentioned in your post your GF was called by Marstons. Was this a telephone call or was it via a doorstep call?

As Marstons are now chasing the debt, was your GF aware there was a debt or even a Mag. Ct Judgement? She would have had court papers issued or letters sent. Can you confirm whether she received any of these?

Also, the amount they are chasing seems rather high, does your GF know the debt amount that was ordered by the court?

In the meantime, don't let them into the property, agree any payments or even speak with them. Be aware that they may clamp her vehicle so park it away from the property.

At this stage given the information you provided this information may be applicable: https://stopthebailiffs.uk/bailiffs-unk ... -fine.html

[zeke]

I concur with monkeynuts

This looks like an unexpected court fine. Make a statutory declaration ASAP.

That stops enforcement, all the fees, the fine as well as the conviction in one fell swoop.

[StandingJoke]

Thanks for the post.

You mentioned in your post your GF was called by Marstons. Was this a telephone call or was it via a doorstep call?

As Marstons are now chasing the debt, was your GF aware there was a debt or even a Mag. Ct Judgement? She would have had court papers issued or letters sent. Can you confirm whether she received any of these?

Also, the amount they are chasing seems rather high, does your GF know the debt amount that was ordered by the court?

In the meantime, don't let them into the property, agree any payments or even speak with them. Be aware that they may clamp her vehicle so park it away from the property.

At this stage given the information you provided this information may be applicable: https://stopthebailiffs.uk/bailiffs-unk ... -fine.html

++

May also be useful to invest in a trespass notice clearly displayed with - trespasses will be prosecuted !

Therefore if they attempt to visit you or clamp your vehicle without your prior consensual agreement in writing then ultimately they are liable for trespassing, and or any costs or damages incurred.

If they do breach your notice then hold the evidence accordingly - should they clamp your vehicles demand it’s immediate removal and that they bear all the costs including any loss of earnings or other accrued costs upon yourself - failing to comply will incur a civil claim for damages including but not excluding a reasonable rental fee for the device suppressing your day to day activities, at £ 50.00 pounds per day.

Set a specific time scale to your correspondence approx 7 days from correspondence, also stating failing to respond to the correspondence within that timescale is considered reasonable, in the absence of any formal rejection then it’s assumed you have agreed to the above mentioned terms and conditions.

[zeke]

A trespass action doesn't work on bailiffs unless he cannot show he has an enforcement power authorising him to be on land or enter commercial premises.

A trespass action on bailiffs can only be taken when the bailiff entered the land without an enforcement power authorising him to enter the specified premises or land.

A bailiff does not need consent to clamp a vehicle.

He can clamp a debtors vehicle on any highway in England and Wales, or where the debtor lives or trades, or specified premises on the enforcement power.

Without those, he cannot clamp anything, and if he does, the owner of the vehicle may recover damages together with costs.

I've never seen a rental fee being charged for an unlawful clamping.

The court awards what is called General Damages for non-compliant clamping. It is £100 for the first day the vehicle is clamped, then it is £30 a day until the vehicle is returned. That is on top of Special Damages and the legal costs of bringing the claim.

Suppressing day to day activities has a different terminology in legal proceedings. It's called loss of income, and it only applies when the clamped vehicle is used for work or trade. The arithmetic is to take the 90 earnings immediately prior to the clamping, then divide that by 90 and multiplied by the number of days the vehicle is clamped.

I've seen claims for an Uber driver being over £200 a day because the car was shared by 2 drivers on a 24hour cycle. The bailiff had to take it all on the chin because the car was hired and not owned by the debtor.

There is no need to specify a time limit for a response.

We just say ASAP. then if no response in a few days, the case is filed at court and the bailiff is given a Notice of Acting by the solicitor representing the applicant.

That way we have control over the legal process, and the bailiff is the respondent. If the bailiff wants to mess about then that only racks up a bigger bill and the court will take a dim view of the bailiff's attitude and adjudge accordingly.

One particular HCEO got funny with a debtors solicitor and became royally unstuck!

Communications with bailiffs are very minimal and the action is swift.