You got bailiffs about an unknown mystery court fine.

You may have been convicted of an offence in your absence because the court did not know your current address. The court issued a warrant to the bailiff who has traced you.^[1]

If a bailiff contacts you a fine you know nothing about, then the fine and conviction are invalid.^[2]

Within 14 days of learning about the conviction, make a statutory declaration and send it to the magistrate's court by recorded delivery.^[3] That revokes the fine and the conviction,^[4] and ends the enforcement power.^[5]

If you send the statutory declaration by ordinary post, and not by recorded delivery, the court service will ignore your statutory declaration,^[6] and the enforcement power is still active.

You do not have to contact the bailiff company, but you are recommended to tell them the enforcement power has ended.^[7][8] In any case, the Court Service will contact the bailiff company and withdraw the warrant.^[9]

Court Service staff do not give you an acknowledgement of receipt of your statutory declaration, so keep a copy of the postal receipt for your file.

The bailiff may not recover any fees and charges.^[10]

Template Statutory Declaration

The Statutory Declaration must be signed before a solicitor or commissioner of oaths. Take photo ID with you. There will be a fee payable of £5.^[11]

Send the Statutory Declaration to the address on the template document by recorded delivery. Get a certificate of posting from the post office.

Keep all screenshots for your file.

^{[1] Contrary to Paragraph 12 of the Taking Control of Goods: National Standards, 6 April 2014
[2] Section 14 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980
[3] Section 14(2) of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
[4] Section 14(1) of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
[5] Paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
[6] Section 14(2) of the Magistrates; Courts Act 1980
[7] Paragraph 59(2) of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
[8] See: Serving a bailiff a Paragraph 59 Notice
[9] Section 88(8) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
[10] Regulation 17(1) of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
[11] Section 2 of the The Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993}