If you got bailiffs about an unknown court fine, then section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980, says proceedings are invalid if you did not know of them. You can revoke the fine and enforcement my making a Statutory Declaration.

Make a statutory declaration and send it to the magistrates' court,⁽¹⁾ and the conviction together with the court fine and bailiffs fees are invalid.⁽²⁾

Take the Statutory declaration with photo ID and payment to a Commissioner of Oaths, make a copy and send the original to court by secured postal delivery ⁽³⁾

Make a copy of the sworn declaration and a keep the post office Certificatwe of posting (a till-like receipt)for your records.

The enforcement action is stopped ⁽⁴⁾ and the £310 bailiffs fees are void ⁽⁵⁾ when the statutory declaration would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. ⁽⁶⁾

This does not revoke the original information laid before the court. The court may re-summon you to answer the original information and you will have an opportunity review the information before you enter a plea. The burden of proof remains with the prosecution. ⁽⁷⁾

You should send a copy of the sworn statutory Declaration to the bailiff company by email, otherwise the bailiff is not liable for subsequent enforcement action taken. ⁽⁸⁾

HM Court Service will not acknowledge receipt of the statutory declaration.

Template: Make a statutory declaration with a request to refund money taken by bailiffs.

Enclose evidence of money taken, a receipt from the bailiff or a screenshot of the flow of money from your bank account.

HEADS UP!

Be cautious of court staff attempting to mislead you into attending court for a statutory declaration.

Court staff might tell you to book an appointment to make a statutory declaration. This could be a tactic to get you into court, allowing them to reinstate the conviction and fine through an impromptu proceeding without giving you time to prepare a defence, thus continuing enforcement.

You might receive a surprise call from a legal adviser asking you to email your statutory declaration. Be aware that the law does not permit the service of a statutory declaration via email.⁽³⁾

Take note of the adviser's name and file a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman if you believe a court staff member is perverting Section 14(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

Court staff may also attempt to trick you into entering a guilty plea with your statutory declaration. This will immediately revoke your statutory declaration⁽⁹⁾ and reinstate bailiffs and their fees.

Do not enter a guilty plea unless you have been provided with evidence supporting the allegation against you. The CPS has the burden of proof,⁽⁷⁾ and you are entitled to a fair and public hearing.

Always demand to see the evidence of the accusation before entering a plea. The absence of this information could significantly undermine the prosecution's case against you.

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Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN)

From 13 April 2015, the law introduced a new procedure for summary-only non-imprisonable offences. ⁽¹¹⁾ These offences include TV license, motoring offences, littering etc.

The court gives you a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJP Notice) asking you to enter a plea. If you enter a guilty plea, your statutory declaration is revoked and enforcement continues.

Before deciding a plea, examine the information giving rise to your original conviction is true, it should be enclosed with the SJP Notice. ^(12)(13)

It is not given then the prosecution has given no proof of the allegation. If no information is given then return the SJP Notice stating the information provided is insufficient to enable you to decide a plea, and the statutory declaration stands.

Ask for the following:

If you enter a guilty plea, your statutory declaration is revoked and the enforcement continues. Bailiffs will ambush you even when court staff know you have not been given a statutory Notice of Enforcement.⁽¹⁵⁾

After entering a guilty plea, pay the fine online to stop the enforcement power again ⁽¹⁶⁾ and the court is required to give a receipt. ⁽¹⁷⁾ Proving you paid the fine.

The bailiff's document should tell you how much the fine is. If no document was given, then HM Court Service should provide it.

You don't need to pay the £310 bailiff fees because the bailiff has not used the enforcement procedures. ⁽⁵⁾

Return the SJP Notice with your plea together with a completed form MC100 Statement of assets and financial circumstances..

If you do not include a completed form MC100, you could be fined again to the maximum allowed by the Sentencing Council's guidelines.

Send a notice to the bailiff company the Amount Outstanding ⁽¹⁸⁾ has been paid and the enforcement power ceased to have effect, ⁽¹⁶⁾ otherwise the bailiff is not liable for subsequent enforcement action taken.⁽⁸⁾

Official Guidelines states that bailiffs must not seek to enforce the recovery of fees where an enforcement power has ceased to be exercisable.⁽¹⁹⁾

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^{(1) Section 14 of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
(2) Section 14(1) of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
(3) Section 14(2) of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
(4) Paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(5) Regulation 3 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
(6) Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978
(7) Woolmington v Department of Public Prosecutions [1935] UKHL 1
(8) Paragraph 59 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(9) Criminal Procedure Rule 37.11(1)
(10) Article 6 in Schedule 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998
(11) Section 46 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
(12) Section 46(5) of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
(13) Part 16 of the Criminal Procedure Rules
(14) Rule 7,2(5)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Rules
(15) Paragraph 7.1 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(16) Paragraph 6(3)(a) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(17) Rule 52.3 of the Criminal Procedure Rules
(18) Paragraph 50(3) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(19) Paragraph 31 of the Taking Control of Goods, National Standards, published by the Ministry of Justice in April 2014}

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