Found this on another forum

Off-topic
1

Some jerk is asking for help:):):slight_smile:

I got a fine of £280 for having no insurance 6 month ago and was paying it off each week until i lost my job and could not afford to keep up the payments, now i have ballifs telling me that i owe them £460 is there anyway that i can just pay what i owe the court and get out of the extra charges

Some helpful person gave him this reply:
*The short answer is no. You could just pay the net fine direct to court with a credit card and keep the receipt inside your froint door. Bailiff fees for collecting unpaid fines are not specifically legislated and Section 92 of the Courts Act directs that fees must be reasonable. You can contend that £180 bailiffs is not reasonable. I’m afraid you need to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act. (fair use)

Quote:
The Court Manager
Name of Magistrates Court
Address 1
Address 2
Address 3
Postcode

[DATE]

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

I write asking for the following relating to fee agreements between the magistrates court and the form of bailiffs it employs for collecting unpaid fines. Please provide:

  1. Copy of written agreements between the court and its bailiffs enforcing unpaid fines

  2. The names and addresses of bailiff firms contracted by the court

  3. The schedule of fees a bailiff can claim from a debtor of an unpaid fine.

  4. Confirm those fees comply with Section 92 of the Courts Act 2003

This document is delivered by Royal Mail and I deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

Yours Faithfully

YOUR NAME
Section 9 of the Act says the Court can ask you for a fee.*

I couldn’t help it and said this:
*Mate no offence to you but someone driving without insurance is the scum of the Earth, frankly you should be in Jail. Sorry to sound harsh but if anyone on this site was hit by you… they would seriously come after your ass and so would I.

I think there is a difference between helping people that deserve it for whatever reasons and people that really deserve to get the end of the stick.*

and the guy that helped him with the reply says:

The law on driving with no insurance is clear. He was fined. That doesn’t give carte blanche rights for bailiffs to defraud him

I find it seriously disturbing how people would bother helping such a person… yet alone give them support:):slight_smile:

found thid post on the http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk forum, was just checking stuff about parking penalties and stuff

2

Errmmm…What’s your point exactly? The guy made a mistake - and paid the price (sort of). He’s now being stiffed by bailiffs and that’s what he’s asking help with…seems fair enough:)

3

Well I dont know if you know all the circumstances, I had a friend get done for no insurance …it had ran out by a day. He had been on holiday came back and hadnt gone through his mail yet. It was a lapse and a mistake which he regrets. This guy is one of the most law abiding people you will meet but was forgetfull. Maybe you know the full circumstance (then I take it back) but dont always judge people without knowing eveything.

4

guess you could be right…

Again I find it interesting how yoru mate forgot to renew since you get a renewal mail weeks before and if you used any insurance websites they will also e-mail you:):):slight_smile: and since most insurance companies will auto renew unless you tell them not to… kinda hard.

Anyhow, sorry to say but I have no sympathy whatsoever.

To be very honest your mate… law abiding or not was also in the wrong big time, since he had no insurance and driving on public roads which means that if he hit anyone… and I mean anyone or someone clsoe to you, I seriously doubt you would say the exact same thing. He obviously did not forget to put petrol in the car, get dress, put his shoes on, take car keys and remember where he was driving…

I see no excuse whatsoever for driving/riding without insurance.

5

the courts need cash to keep going, road traffic offences keep the courts in business otherwise they would have to close down…they will get tougher and more severe with people because of this need so dont expect any leniency, especially when people want to string them up and or throw away the key to a prison cell for such matters which is to me lynch mob mentality…

a day late with insurance is typical of todays uncharitable relationship between the people and the law…anarchy and maybe revolution are coming but it wont be nice…

6

I completely agree with this.

however, having had bailiffs coming after me for an unpaid fine/charges relating to a bike I’d sold 6 months before the incident relating to the fine, I’d also be asking for help.

Bailiffs are cnuts of the highest order, and can remove your bike or car from the street, with no warning, in the middle of the night etc. They don’t listen to reason…

7

No sympathy here no insurance no cover , if he would of hit someone they wouldn,t of got a penny that some one could be your wife husband son daughter ect Theres no excuse forgetfull or not … should think him self lucky he didnt hit any one imagine how much it would of of cost him if he would of been sued for hitting someone, no house no license no job, the list goes on …lifes a bitch ect.

8

Ahh yes in that circumstance I agree with you. One thing to bare in mind a baliff cannot take your car or motorbike from public road. It is illegal for them to do so or so I heard… might need to check that just in case. They cannot get inside your house by force and take your stuff unless you allow them inside freely, they cannot take anything unless you were taken to court and they won a case against you which means they have a court order and they are certified Baliffs. Usually only Baliffs chasing up are the hard ones:

• Council Tax,
• Business Rates (NNDR)
• Parking Charge Notices (PCN’s, not private ones like ASDA or other Shopping Parkings)
• Congestion Charging,
• Child Support Agency
• Inland Revenue
• Customs & Excise (VAT)
• Magistrate Court Fines

They would only be able to take your bike or car if they had a court order… which I assume in your case they didn’t. If they do take your car or bike they would sell it at auction. Of course you will sue them for this, distress and so on and get more money than your bike’s value.

My question is… if the uninsured driver, for 1 day bacause he forgot, and because he is your friend, hit me or another biker on this forum… now what would you say to that? what would the outcome be??? And let’s make it even more interesting, I only have 3PFT and I have no legal cover… what would happen to me??

9

Whats Insurance:D

10

Be warned: a bailiff CAN take any vehicle from the public highway. They check with DVLA computer and if it’s registered IN YOUR NAME then they have the right to do that, based on the order from the court. Bailiffs only work on the orders of a court, so have legal backing for all their actions. To call them off I had to go to the Court, they do not deal directly with the public, only Court officials

They also based the value on 1/4 of market value - so if you have a £500 debt, they will seize goods to the value of £2000 to cover that debt.

11

but:
Bailiffs (except bailiffs acting on behalf of the magistrate’s court - see below) cannot seize the following goods:

  • tools, goods, vehicles and other items of equipment necessary for use by you in your employment, business or vocation;
  • clothing, bedding, furniture, household equipment and provisions as are necessary for satisfying the basic domestic needs of you and your family

Bailiffs acting on behalf of the magistrates’ court cannot seize the following goods:

  • clothing, beds and bedding tools of the trade
  • basic domestic needs of the family would normally include fridge, cookers, freezers, but may not include video recorders, second TV’s, jewellery, washing machines, stereos or microwave cookers.

God forbidds but if a Baliff would ever come around I would cut him in little pieces and throw him in the sewers…

Plurker mate… don’t mind me asking but did you actually lost in court and they had a court order to take your car/bike or other goods??? Since the bike was no longer on your premises and I assume they had the number plate for it… they should have went to new owner not to you.

Like I said, they have no power whatsoever unless backed up by the Court and they are Certified by the Court.

12

yeah he’s worse than Fred West and Gary Glitter.

No insurance. Send him to Guantanemo straight away.

13

wow, so if I own £10,000 they can take my house eh??? :):):slight_smile:

14

in my case I sold a scooter to a trade dealer in august 2006 (once i passed my DAS!). I told DVLA the new owner details at the time. DVLA sent the letter saying ‘you are no longer the registered keeper’ in august. I moved house in Sept 06.

In october 2006 the scoot was CCTV caught doing an illegal right turn, and the fines were sent by Southwark Council to an old address. This apparently went on since oct 06 until august this year, when i suddenly got a letter fomr bailiffs, saying southwark had been to court for unpaid fines, obtained an court order and they would be round within 7 days to remove goods to the value of £480.

i have a bike a campervan and a car so i **** myself. had to go to court to get them to call bailiffs off.

15

that’s interesting, so who cocked up, the DVLA?? seems so to me…

16

yeah, looks like DVLA updated their records to tell me, but then when southwark asked for vehicle owner details 2 months later they gave out the old ones!

I’m currently waiting for southwark to respond to my letters…

17

I’ll give you the details then, he was in Australia for four weeks and he signed up over the phone with Honda care (who send reminders by post, I know as I am also with them) he got back and it didnt even cross his mind that his insurance was up. He did not complain about getting done and took his punishment, to call someone scum of the earth seems a bit strong when you dont know the full details.

also by the way if you get hit by an uninsured driver you claim from MIB http://www.mib.org.uk/Default.htm

I got hit and while a pain and takes time I got through with my claim in the end.

ps He who is without sin cast the first stone

18

A few points worth noting.

When I bought my last bike I tried to tax it online after having the bike a couple of weeks. I couldn’t do it online as the system wasn’t updated. Tried on the phone same problem. Spoke to a human being, who said something on the lines that they have 7 (or so) databases that all get updated at different times! WTF? So depending on which one you are looking at, at any one time you could have potentially 7 different owners, etc. You would think that the databases would have some sort of interaction to cross update, but NoooOOOooo.

On the point of uninsured drivers. Back in 1993, my mum was driving to work, when some scrote drove into the back of her. Luckily the car behind her was an off duty police officer who took the details of the car, but surprise, surprise, the car had no registered owner, no tax and no insurance. The car was found abandoned behind a local chippy about a week later.

My mum’s car was written off in the accident (only made the last HP payment a month before so that was annoying), she suffered extensive whiplash. I got a call from the police saying that my mum was in the hospital but with no details as to her injuries. Needless to say I was imagining all sorts as I made my way to the hospital.

Mum finally got some recompense by using the Motor Insurance Bureau. They are the only recourse to follow when uninsured vehicles are involved and the third party cannot be traced. It took over 2 years and several medical reports and loads of correspondence before any money was received (for the injuries as she was off work for some time). She still suffers from the effects now.

So forgetfulness to renew or not, uninsured drivers are a danger to all road users, plus our insurance premiums go up to cover for these numptys as the MIB is funded from the Insurance companies and guess where they get their money from.

Rant over, anyone want the soap box?

19

I agree people who are un-isured are an absolute disgrace…but you have to take other facts into consideration. I was done for being uninsured last year, I had bought a damaged R6 to repair and wasnt about to fork out insurance until it was on the roads, i rode the bike 5 houses up the road to a mates to get it sprayed and was done in that 30 second distance. now i know you might say why not just insure it straight away. but have you seen the cost of insurance for young drivers/riders?? not worth it until i was sure it was fix-able. so its not always so cut and dry, dont judge unless you know all the facts :wink:

20

I agree that there has to be discretion in the way that people are dealt with by the law (mitigating circumstances etc) - however if some scrote is driving habitually without insurance then the penalties should be severe. There is a trend in this country at the moment towards lack of personal responsibility and respect/care for others that is frankly getting on my tits - if I ever get hit by an uninsured driver (touch wood I won’t again uninsured or insured) - if I am physically still capable I will track the f*cker down and exact justice.