| |
|
|
Dealing with Magistrates Court Fines, Child Support and Maintenance arrears
If a Magistrates Court has ordered you to pay a fine (such as for a driving offence or not having a television licence), or if you have been ordered to make maintenance payments (such as Child Support payments or Maintenance payments as part of a divorce or separation), then these debts must be considered as priority debts because failure to pay could result in Bailiffs being sent to your home to seize your goods and sell them, and ultimately could even lead to imprisonment.
|
|
When should I contact the court?
Immediately! Do not delay in contacting your lender to explain your difficulty. It is never too late to come to an arrangement. Where possible, you should complete a personal budget to support the offer you are making – if you are feeling overwhelmed and you cannot face contacting your lender, then you should seek professional advice straight away – for more information on where to get advice, please click here
How much will I have to pay?
There is no set amount, however, your financial circumstances should be taken into account when the court decides on the amount that you will be expected to pay. You must contact the court immediately if you cannot afford this amount and explain your difficulties, as they may be able to reduce the amount to a more affordable level.
If you are receiving either Income Support or Income-based Job Seekers Allowance you can have a standard amount deducted from your benefit. This will be paid directly to the court to ensure that your arrears are paid. Your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to tell you the current figures and the maximum amount that can be deducted from benefit.
You can also use these amounts as a rough guide of how much to offer if your income is around the benefit level – however, if your income is a lot higher than this, then you will probably have to offer more money to pay your arrears, and there is no set formula of what will and will not be accepted by the lender.
If you are receiving any other form of welfare benefits, such as the Contribution-based Job Seekers Allowance, deductions can only be made from your benefit in certain circumstances, so seek advice.
What if I don’t pay?
If you are in arrears and you do not contact the court to make a suitable arrangement to clear your debt, the court can take the appropriate action to recover the money. This may involve bailiffs being sent to your home to seize your goods (such as your stereo or television) and sell them, making deductions from your wages or benefit payments, and they can even order you to be sent to prison.
If bailiffs are sent to your home, you do not have to let them into your home. The bailiffs cannot force their way into your home unless you have let them in before, or there is an open door or window. Although they cannot enter your property without you letting them in, they can take your car if it is parked on a driveway or a nearby street (however, they should not take a vehicle if it is needed for employment or business purposes). If they have entered your property, they cannot take any clothing or basic household items, such as a cooker or bed.
The court will only order you to be sent to prison as a last resort. Most courts will not imprison people until they have been given a number of opportunities to pay their debt by instalments.
You can be sent to prison only if the magistrates believe that you ‘won’t pay’ rather than ‘can’t pay’, such as you have deliberately refused to pay even though you have the money or because you have chosen to spend the money on other things that weren’t essential.
If this is the case, the court will probably issue a ‘suspended committal order’, which involves an ‘instalment order’ being set by the magistrates, which will order you to pay certain amounts on certain dates to repay your debt. You would only be sent to prison if you missed any of these payments.
If you fail to make the necessary instalments, the court would issue a warrant for your arrest and you would be brought before the magistrates. There must be a court hearing before you can be sent to prison (known as a ‘committal hearing’). You should always attend any court hearing, and you should take with you a copy of your personal budget to illustrate your financial circumstances. If you can, explain why you have not paid and make a new offer to pay by instalments. The court may suspend the arrest warrant, and let you go (providing that you stick to paying the instalments, as promised). In exceptional circumstances, the court may order that your fine is written off!
If you are threatened with the possibility of court action, seek professional advice immediately – for more information on where to get professional advice, please click here
BACK
|
|
