Have you received a letter or text message from Marston Enforcement saying they are about to visit your home?
Do you need to make a payment? Arrange a repayment plan? Or stop the bailiffs form visiting your home?
Are they refusing to accept a repayment plan? Don't panic, we help people STOP bailiffs everyday
4. Who do Marston Bailiffs Collect Debts for?
6. The bailiff has clamped my car, can I remove it?
8. Can I avoid paying the bailiff fees?
9. What time do Marston bailiffs work till?
10. How many times can a bailiff visit?
11. How do I make a complaint about Marston Holdings?
12. Can I be arrested for not paying a bailiff?
13. Broken payment arrangement
Marston Enforcement Agents (previously called bailiffs) hold a certificate, which is granted by a judge at the county court, this certificate allows them carry out enforcement action.
All enforcement agents are regulated by the Ministry of Justice.
Marston provide Enforcement and Debt Collection Services for local Councils in England and Wales.
They collect Council Tax, Business Rates, Parking Penalty Charge Notices and Commercial Rent Arrears.
You can check whether the bailiff is registered at the Certificated Bailiff Register.
This register holds details of all enforcement agents (previously called bailiffs) who hold a certificate, granted by a judge at the county court. You can search by an enforcement agent's or applicant's name.
Only "fit and proper" individuals should hold these certificates.
If you know of serious conduct issues which would mean that an existing enforcement agent, or an applicant for a certificate, is not a "fit and proper" person, you can use this register to find out which court you should alert to these issues.
If you have any concerns or doubts over the bailiff please call us on 0800 3688 133 and we will check if they are real for you.
We have become aware of scammers phoning members of the public, posing as County Court bailiffs, High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) and Certificated Enforcement Agents (CEAs).
In a number of cases they are claiming to be a bailiff at Northampton County Court.
Please stay vigilant against fraudsters posing as enforcement officers and bailiffs, for more information please visit; https://www.gov.uk
They have the legal power to remove and sell your belongings to pay a debt you owe. In most cases, bailiffs only get involved after your creditor has taken you to court.
If you let a bailiff into your home they can take:
luxury items, such as a TV or games console
things you own jointly with someone else
money, jewellery and antiques
They can not take:
things you need to live, eg your clothes, cooker, fridge
work tools and equipment which together are worth less than £1,350
someone else’s belongings, eg your partner’s computer
Proving that the items don't belong to you isn't always easy.
Marston specialise in collecting debts owed to local councils.
If you owed money to a county council, whether from council tax, business rates, unpaid parking fines, or traffic infringements like driving in a bus lane and the council were unable to collect it, they may have passed that debt onto Marston enforcement.
If the bailiff has taken your goods you can still get them back, but you will have to:
Settle your debt before the goods are sold by Marston.
Make an agreement with your creditor and get them to ask Marston to return your goods.
You buy the goods back yourself.
Prove that the Marston bailiff did not follow the correct procedure when they took your goods.
Cars are one of the most popular things for a bailiff to seize. This is because they usually have value, are easy to seize and also for the bailiff to sell on.
Bailiffs are allowed to take cars and vehicles, but they have to follow certain rules.
A Bailiff can only take control of a vehicle that's actually owned solely or jointly by the debtor.
A car belonging to a third-party cannot be taken. So if your car is on a HP or lease agreement they can not take it.
A car displaying a Blue Disabled Badge cannot be taken.
Alternatively, the bailiff may leave the car with you as long as you to sign a controlled goods agreement, this means you promise that you won't try to sell or get rid of the vehicle and agree to a payment plan. If you don't keep to the terms of this repayment plan, the bailiff will come back and seize your vehicle.
Call the Bailiff Helpline on 0800 3688 133 if you need help with a bailiff and your vehicle.
No, do not remove the clamp from your vehicle.
Under section 68.1 of Schedule 12 (TCEA 2007) it is a serious offence to remove a wheel clamp or to obstruct the bailiff from clamping or removing the vehicle. You risk being fined or sent to prison for a term not exceeding 51 weeks!
Top Tip: Hide your car
If you don't want your car to be taken, you can park it on private land, such as a friend's driveway or a car park.
A bailiff can take your car if it is parked on a public highway, but they can't take a car parked on private land belonging to someone else without a court order.
How much the bailiff can charge will depend on your situation.
The fees that a Marston bailiff/enforcement agent can charge are outlined under the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014.
There are three separate stages of baliff action, called compliance, enforcement and sale of goods.
Marston are therefore allowed to charge a fee for each stage of the process of taking action against you.
However, the bailiff fees can only be charged once for each stage of the process, no matter how much work was involved in that stage of the process. So even if a bailiff had to visit your home four times during the enforcement stage, they can only charge the enforcement fee once.
The fees can quickly add up though, and we think the £75 fee for issuing the "enforcement notice", which is basically just a standard letter, is excessive.
For each stage the bailiffs can charge two fees, as detailed in the table below:
| Stage of collection | Bailiff Action | Fixed Fee | % Fee (over £1500 only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance | Sending you an enforcement notice through the post, requesting payment. | £75 | 0% |
| Enforcement | Visiting your home or business premises to take control of goods. | £235 | 7.5% |
| Sale of Goods | Removing and selling your goods/belongings. | £110 | 7.5% |
So if you have received an "enforcement notice" from Marston through the post, don't ignore it. If you do not contact them they will proceed to stage two and charge you another £235, when they send a bailiff to knock on your door.
It may not be too late for you to negotiate a payment scheme with a bailiff on your own.
However, we suggest that you contact us immediately for free advice, we can easily deal with Marston for you.
Call the Bailiff Helpline on 0800 3688 133
As well as the fixed fees and percentage fees shown above, you may also be charged by Marston for disbursements. These can include the following:
Storage costs for your belongings after they were taken away by Marston.
Locksmith costs.
Any court fees Marston had to pay if they needed to apply to the court at any point.
Auctioneer's costs if they have sold your goods, including commission of up to 15 per cent of the selling price, out-of-pocket expenses and advertising the sale of your goods.
For all expenses charged by Marston, you have the right to see receipts and other evidence for the costs they have added to your bill.
The short answer to this is "NO".
Once a warrant or liability order has been passed to the enforcement agency and the enforcement agency has issued a "notice of enforcement", the bailiff fees becomes legally due and the ‘amount outstanding’ will include the bailiff fees.
They can attend your property between the hours of 6am and 9pm.
Enforcement should not be undertaken on Sundays, on Good Friday or on Christmas Day.
However they can carry out enforcement outside of these hours under the following circumstances:
If they have a court order saying they are entitled to operate outside the hours of 6am to 9pm
If your belongings of value are at a premises that trades outside the hours of 6am to 9pm, at a business premises for example, then the Bailiff can visit during this time. A good example of this would be a pub, restaurant or club.
If a Bailiff is in the process of seizing your belongings within the hours of 6am - 9pm but they have not finished before 9pm, then they may stay and complete their enforcement.
We often hear "they can only visit three times then they have to hand the debt back". This is not true.
Their is no fixed number of times a bailiff can visit you to try to recover the debt.
However eventually they may return the warrant to the court or local authority if they are unable to gain entry, or you do not have enough goods to pay off the debt and fees.
The ony way to stop visits is to arrange an agreement for the outstanding debt to be paid.
If the bailiff is refusing to accept a repayment plan from you call us on call the FREE Bailiff Helpline on 0800 3688 133(freephone, including all mobiles)
If you want to complain about a Marston Enforcement Agent you should call their head office on 0871 677 0070 or put your complaint in writing to: Compliance Officer, Marston, Bartleet Road, Washford, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 0FL.
They have an independent compliance department which will conduct an investigation into every complaint that they receive.
Remember to keep a copy of any letters that you send, so you have an audit trail of what was sent and when.
If you are not happy with their response, or have not received a reply wihtin 30 days you can escalate your complaint to the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association in the following ways:
Email your complaint to [email protected]
Call 0844 824 4575
No, a bailiff can not arrest you. They also can not call the police to arrest you unless it is to prevent a breach of the peace. EG you have theatened them with violence.
You cannot be arrested for refusing to allow a bailiff into your home.
You cannot go to prison for not paying your debts. However, non-payment of council tax, child maintenance or magistrates court fines can lead to imprisonment if you 'wilfully refuse' to pay.
This means that you have the money but choose not to pay.
You would be told to attend a magistrates court ‘means enquiry hearing’ before this is decided.
This gives you the chance to explain why you have not paid.
Marston will cancel your repayment plan if you miss an agreed payment date or pay less than the agreed amount.
This often happens because the payment plan they forced you to make was simply too high and unaffordable.
Therefore it was only a matter of time until a payment was missed, and they could add more fees onto the job.
If they cancel your payment plan they will move your case to enforcement. This means an agent will visit your home.
They will not offer or negotiate with you to put a new repayment plan in place.
IMPORTANT!!! If this has happened to you call our helpline now on freephone 0800 3688133. We can force the bailiffs to accept a new AFFORDABLE repayment plan from you.
Unfortunately they do not have a freephone number
So if you have no credit on your phone you can call us free on on 0800 3688 133 and we will help you.
Please note that we are not associated with Marston (Holdings) Limited in any way. The information on this page is provided to help people contact their creditors.
If you’re finding it difficult to make your monthly payments to Marston bailiffs you may need help looking at your budget and managing your debt. We deal with such companies all day, every day and we know exactly how to approach them. If you’re struggling to repay a debt and would like us to deal with the Marston Group on your behalf, or simply need a bit of advice, just click on the GET HELP NOW button below.
Enforcement agents, sometimes called bailiffs, are companies or individuals authorised by the Courts to take possession of goods or assets to recover money owed by a debtor.
They can attend your property between the hours of 6am and 9pm. Enforcement should not be undertaken on Sundays, on Good Friday or on Christmas Day, unless special permission has been gained from the Court.
However, simply ingnoring the bailiffs will not stop them coming back, you should seek help to arrange an affordable repayment plan.
No, you do not have to let a bailiff enter your property. They cannot break in without permission or use force to gain entry, unless they have previously taken control of goods.
Enforcement agents can take possessions that are not considered essential, such as TVs, computers, and jewellery. They cannot take essential items like clothing, cookers, fridges, washing machines, clothes, dining tables and beds. They can not take tools needed for work, or anything belonging to a child, such as toys..
No, Marston Enforcement agents do not have the power to arrest you.
If you can’t pay the debt, you should seek advice from a debt advice service. They can help you negotiate an affordable repayment plan or look at other options, such as bankruptcy, an IVA or a debt relief order.
Yes, you can ignore Marston bailiffs, but it will not stop them carrying out enforcement action. They will continue to visit your home. They may also recommend to the creditor that they apply for a Court summons ordering you to appear at the Magistrates Court
No, you cannot be sent to prison for most unpaid debts. However if the debt of for Council Tax you can be sent to prison for up to 3 months if the court decides you don't have a good reason to not pay your Council Tax and you refuse to do so.
If your debt relates to Council Tax or Business Rates, you need to contact the relevant Local Authority if you do not think you owe any money.
If your debt relates to one or more Penalty Charge Notices then you need to contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre in Northampton
In the case of a High Court writ of control, please contact the court directly. Enforcement action will only cease if instructed by the client or via court order.
Bailiffs can be extremely persistent when it comes to chasing outstanding debts. After all it is what they are set up to do.
Bailiffs usually have 12 months to chase the debt from the date of the court order. After this time, they may need to apply for a new court order to continue enforcement action.
Although enforcement agents may eventually decide you are not worth chasing. Most outstanding debts are then passed to another enforcement agency and the whole process starts again.
If you ignore a CCJ the creditor can ask the court to send bailiffs to your home to collect the money you owe. If you do not pay, they make take some of your personal possessions instead.
They accept payments via Credit Card, Debit Card, or bank transfer. You can also pay by posting a cheque made payable to 'Marston', to: Marston, PO Box 324, Rossendale, BB4 0RE. Make sure that you write your name and our reference number on the back of the postal order, cheque or banker's draft so they know what the payment is for.
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