You didn't know about a court fine

If you got bailiffs about an unknown court fine, the law says proceedings are invalid if you did not know of them. ⁽¹⁾

Make a statutory declaration and send it to the magistrates' court, 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 recorded delivery ⁽³⁾

Make a copy of the sworn declaration and a keep the post office recorded delivery 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 does 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!

DO NOT be tricked by court staff into going to court to make a statutory declaration.

Court staff may tell you to book an appointment to make a statutory declaration. This is a trick to get you into court so they can reinstate the conviction and the fine in an impromptu proceeding without allowing you to prepare a defence, and continue with enforcement..

You might be contacted by a surprise telephone call by a legal adviser telling you to send your statutory declaration by email. The law does not provide for service of a statutory declaration by email. ⁽³⁾.

Take the name of the adviser and contact the Parliamentary Ombudsman with a complaint that a member of court staff is perverting section 14(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

Court Staff may try and trick you to enter a guilty plea with your statutory declaration.

That will immediately revoke your statutory declaration ⁽⁹⁾ and reinstates the bailiffs and their fees.

Do not enter a guilty plea unless you are given evidence supporting the allegation you are accused. The CPS has the burden of proof. ⁽⁷⁾ and you are entitled to a fair and public hearing. ⁽¹⁰⁾

The court may re-summon you. Always require the court to give you the information which you are accused before entering a plea. The information might not be available any more causing the prosecutions case against you to fail.

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:

Date of the alleged offence

The written charge document showing the date of issue

The date the SJP Notice was issued

The information or evidence the prosecution relies on to bring the charge

Confirm the SJP Notice and the Charge document date of issue is less than 6 months from the offence alleged. ⁽¹⁴⁾

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⁾

Email and text message to give notice to the bailiff company and the bailiff the Amount Outstanding has been paid.

Take a screenshot of the sent email and text message to the bailiff recording the time they were sent, and exhibit them as evidence.

The Law:

Section 14 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980

14 Proceedings invalid where accused did not know of them.

(1)Where a summons has been issued under section 1 above and a magistrates’ court has begun to try the information to which the summons relates, then, if—

(a)the accused, at any time during or after the trial, makes a statutory declaration that he did not know of the summons or the proceedings until a date specified in the declaration, being a date after the court has begun to try the information; and

(b)within 21 days of that date the declaration is served on the designated officer for the court, without prejudice to the validity of the information, the summons and all subsequent proceedings shall be void.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1) above a statutory declaration shall be deemed to be duly served on the designated officer if it is delivered to him, or left at his office, or is sent in a registered letter or by the recorded delivery service addressed to him at his office.

(3)If on the application of the accused it appears to a magistrates’ court (which for this purpose may be composed of a single justice) that it was not reasonable to expect the accused to serve such a statutory declaration as is mentioned in subsection (1) above within the period allowed by that subsection, the court may accept service of such a declaration by the accused after that period has expired; and a statutory declaration accepted under this subsection shall be deemed to have been served as required by that subsection.

(4)Where any proceedings have become void by virtue of subsection (1) above, the information shall not be tried again by any of the same justices.

Paragraph 37.11 of the Criminal Procedure Rules

37.11.—(1) This rule—

(a)applies where a party is absent; but

(b)does not apply where the defendant has served a notice of guilty plea under rule 37.8 (written guilty plea: special rules).

Schedule 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998

Right to a fair trial

1 In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interest of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice.

2 Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

3 Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights:

(a)to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;

(b)to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;

(c)to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing or, if he has not sufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require;

(d)to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;

Regulation 3 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations

Application of these Regulations

3. These Regulations apply when an enforcement agent uses the Schedule 12 procedure.

Paragraph 59 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

(1)This paragraph applies if a further step is taken despite paragraph 58(3).

(2)The enforcement agent is not liable unless he had notice, when the step was taken, that the amount outstanding had been paid in full

(3)Sub-paragraph (2) applies to a related party as to the enforcement agent.

(4)If the step taken is sale of any of the goods the purchaser acquires good title unless, at the time of sale, he or the enforcement agent had notice that the amount outstanding had been paid in full.

(5)A person has notice that the amount outstanding has been paid in full if he would have found it out if he had made reasonable enquiries.

(6)Sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) do not affect any right of the debtor or a co-owner to a remedy against any person other than the enforcement agent or a related party.

(7)In this paragraph, “related party” has the meaning given by paragraph 65(4).

Paragraph 6 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

6(1)For the purposes of any enforcement power the property in goods of the debtor ceases to be bound in accordance with this paragraph.

2)The property in any goods ceases to be bound—

(a)when the goods are sold;

(b)in the case of money used to pay any of the amount outstanding, when it is used.

(3)The property in all goods ceases to be bound when any of these happens—

(a)the amount outstanding is paid, out of the proceeds of sale or otherwise;

(b)the instrument under which the power is exercisable ceases to have effect;

c)the power ceases to be exercisable for any other reason.

paragraph 50(3) of Schedule 12 of the tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

(3)The amount outstanding is the sum of these—

(a)the amount of the debt which remains unpaid (or an amount that the creditor agrees to accept in full satisfaction of the debt);

(b)any amounts recoverable out of proceeds in accordance with regulations under paragraph 62 (costs)**.

**If the bailiff has never taken control of your goods, there are no costs, therefore the value of (b) is nil.

^{(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}