You didn't know about a court fine

If bailiffs are pursuing you for an unknown court fine, the law stipulates that proceedings are invalid if you were unaware of them. ⁽¹⁾

Make a statutory declaration and forward it to the magistrates' court. This renders the conviction, court fine, and bailiffs' fees invalid.⁽²⁾

Accompany the statutory declaration with photo identification and payment to a Commissioner of Oaths. Retain a copy and send the original via registered delivery to the court.⁽³⁾

Keep a copy of the sworn declaration and the recorded delivery receipt from the post office for your records.

The enforcement action is stopped,⁽⁴⁾ the £310 bailiffs' fees become void. ⁽⁵⁾ upon delivery of the statutory declaration in the ordinary course of post.⁽⁶⁾

It's important to note that this doesn't nullify the initial information presented to the court. You may be summoned again to respond to the original information, affording you an opportunity to review it before entering a plea. The burden of proof remains with the prosecution.⁽⁷⁾

Send a copy of the sworn statutory declaration to the bailiff company via email to hold them liable for any subsequent enforcement actions taken.⁽⁸⁾

HM Court Service does not provide confirmation of receipt for the statutory declaration.

Template: Statutory declaration requesting a refund for money taken by bailiffs.

Include supporting evidence such as a receipt from the bailiff or a screenshot detailing the transaction from your bank account.

HEADS UP!

Do not fall for the deception of court staff urging you to visit the court for a statutory declaration.

Court staff may attempt to schedule an appointment for you to make a statutory declaration. This tactic is employed to lure you into court, where they can swiftly reinstate the conviction and fine without affording you the opportunity to prepare a defence, thereby continuing with enforcement proceedings.

You might receive an unexpected phone call from a legal advisor advising you to submit your statutory declaration via email. However, it's important to note that the law does not permit the service of a statutory declaration via email.⁽³⁾.

If you encounter such a situation, make sure to note the name of the advisor and file a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman citing the distortion of section 14(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 by court staff.

Beware of attempts by court staff to coerce you into entering a guilty plea alongside your statutory declaration.

Entering a guilty plea under such circumstances will immediately revoke your statutory declaration,⁽⁹⁾ and reinstate the involvement of bailiffs and their associated fees.

Avoid pleading guilty unless presented with concrete evidence supporting the allegations against you. Remember, the burden of proof rests with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS),⁽⁷⁾ and you are entitled to a fair and public hearing.⁽¹⁰⁾

The court might issue a new summons for your appearance. Always insist on receiving the information detailing the accusations against you from the court before entering a plea. It's possible that this information may no longer be accessible, leading to the prosecution's case against you collapsing.

Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN)

From the 13th of April 2015, a new procedure was introduced for summary-only non-imprisonable offences.⁽¹¹⁾ These offences encompass matters such as TV licensing, motoring infractions, littering, and others.

You'll receive a Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJP Notice) from the court, prompting you to enter a plea. Should you plead guilty, your statutory declaration becomes void, and enforcement proceedings proceed.

Before determining your plea, scrutinize the information underpinning your initial conviction to ensure its accuracy. Ideally, this information should be enclosed with the SJP Notice.^(12)(13)

If it's not provided, it indicates a lack of substantiation for the allegation by the prosecution. In such cases, if no information is provided, you should return the SJP Notice, stating that the information supplied is inadequate for you to make a plea decision, and affirming the validity of your statutory declaration.

Ask for the following:

The date of the purported offence

The written charge document indicating the issuance date

The date when the SJP Notice was dispatched

The information or evidence upon which the prosecution bases the charge

Ensure that both the SJP Notice and the Charge document reflect a date of issuance within six months of the alleged offence.⁽¹⁴⁾

If you enter a guilty plea, your statutory declaration becomes void, and enforcement actions proceed. Even if court personnel are aware you haven't received a statutory Notice of Enforcement.⁽¹⁵⁾ Bailiffs may still confront you.

After pleading guilty, settle the fine online to halt enforcement once more,⁽¹⁶⁾ and the court must furnish a receipt as proof of payment.⁽¹⁷⁾

It's essential to know the fine amount, typically provided in the bailiff's documentation; if absent, HM Court Service should supply it.

You're not obliged to cover the £310 bailiff fees if enforcement procedures weren't used.⁽⁵⁾

Alongside your plea, return the SJP Notice and a completed form MC100 Statement of assets and financial circumstances,to the court.

Failing to include a completed form MC100 could lead to additional fines, up to the maximum prescribed by the Sentencing Council's guidelines.

Notify the bailiff company that the Amount Outstanding⁽¹⁸⁾ has been settled and the enforcement authority is no longer in effect;⁽¹⁶⁾ otherwise, the bailiff may not be accountable for subsequent enforcement actions.⁽⁸⁾

Official Guidelines dictate that bailiffs should refrain from pursuing fee recovery when an enforcement authority is no longer enforceable.⁽¹⁹⁾

Inform the bailiff company and the individual bailiff that the Amount Outstanding has been settled.

Capture screenshots of the sent email and text message to the bailiff, noting the time of transmission, and retain 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}