Non Payment Of Fines

[nailit]

My son was fined £360 in mags court over a month ago. It was to be paid at £5 p/w. Hes made no attempt to pay it and is burying his head in the sand hoping it will go away. Ive paid off some of his fines in the past but told him hes on his own now.

1) How long will it be before the courts start chasing him up for it (its been over 4 weeks now and not heard anything so far.

2) Presuming the next step will be bailiffs to recover the debt, approx. what value of goods would the bailiffs take to cover the debt (ie, if they took a £300 tv what would THEY value it at...auction cost?)

3) If it came to the point of having to be imprisoned for non payment, how long can he expect for a £360 fine?

Thanks.

[TWR]

Tell them your son does not lie at your address otherwise they will lift your goods, I hope you don't fall and start something that you will be forever doing, pulling him out of the soup.

[TWR]

Live

[nailit]

//Stop mollycoddling your boy and show him tough love//
You missed the part in my post where I said that ive told him hes on his own now then?
BTW this section of AB is for advice not your opinions...

[nailit]

TWR, I'm aware that the bailiffs will take my goods to pay his fine. Just waiting for a letter from the courts so I can write back and say not known at this address.

[ummmm]

Bailiffs won't take anything. Second hand stuff is not worth eff all, and it's not his!

[Hopkirk]

The bailiff's costs will be added to his debt.

[TWR]

Nailit, I can feel for you knowing it's your son, son or no son, he's got himself into the red let him sort it, keep pulling him out & you will always pull him out, would he do the same for you & be honest with yourself, daughter wanted me to be a Guarantor for a car a while back as she enjoyed going on the IZZZ, did I????

[Electrochem]

If I am correct, it won't be a visit from the bailiffs, but a visit from the plod for non-payment of fines.

[nailit]

TWR, I hate the thought of him ending up in prison but I cant keep bailing him out and when I try to warn him of what will happen if he doesn't start taking responsibility he goes off on one. He had £60 last week for a bit of cash in hand work, instead of paying a few quid off his fines he blew the lot with his mates on weed and takeaways. As I said, hes on his own now. Just need some answers to my 3 question above.

[nailit]

Electro, the courts will try to get the money via bailiffs first.

[Tilly2]

I can't answer any of your questions Nailit, as I have no experience of such things. However, I hope that this situation does not impact too greatly on your personal life.
Good luck.

[Buenchico]

If a £300 TV is sold at auction it's unlikely to sell for more than about £70. Let's assume though that it goes for £60. There would be commission to pay on the sale of, say, 15% taking the net sale figure down to £51. After the bailiff's fees (which would be spread across whatever was seized on that visit) there might be around £30 left to go towards paying off the debt.

Those figures are consistent with estimates I've seen given elsewhere, which give a guideline figure of 10% of the purchase cost of an item going towards the debt repayment after bailiff's have become involved.

However (as a regular auction-goer) I've seen some £300 TV sets go for £30 or less (simply because potential private buyers don't know whether the set is fully working or not and not many trade buyers are looking for electrical items anyway). In such a case the loss of a £300 telly might only provide a fiver (or even less) towards paying off the debt.

Bailiff action is always best avoided!

[nailit]

Thanks Tills :)

[nailit]

Thanks Chris, was just trying to get a handle on exactly how much 'stuff' bailiffs would actually have to take in order to cover the actual costs. I actually don't have a tv, that was just an example. The only things in my flat worth taking (next to stuff that they CANT take such as washing machine, freezer etc) is my laptop and a £600 cycle that's only 2 yrs old. I like to live fairly minimally, but the goods I DO have, I have no receipts for and cant prove that they are not his if the bailiffs do turn up.

[nailit]

I also presume that bailiffs wouldn't be interested in a sizeable book collection??

[AlfStewart]

"I also presume that bailiffs wouldn't be interested in a sizeable book collection??"

How much is it worth?

[nailit]

How much is it worth?
No idea. My home pretty much resembles a library.

[TWR]

You have a given a good answer there Nailit, that's his priority, let him get on with it, if he's old enough to work cash in hand, he's old enough except his actions, I'm sorry to say this, let him go down it may teach him Mummy's not always there.