Can Fines Be Transferred

[nailit]

My son has fines and court costs outstanding. I am also paying off my own fines and costs at the rate of 5 pound per week.
My son has no income so hasnt been able to pay. He now has letters threatening bailifs, imprisonment etc. for non payment.
Can his fines be added to my account? I dont want him to end up in a YOI and its no use threatening him with bailifs, he lives with his mother and has no possessions of his own to speak off. He's learnt his lesson with the law but simply cannot pay the fines. Im willing to pay if they can be added to my account...and I continue paying 5 pound a week until all is cleared....but I cannot pay BOTH simutaneously (10 pound p/w)
Thanks.

[bednobs]

i don't know the answer for definate, but i'm pretty sure not ... as fnes are considered part of a sentence (punishment), it would be like asking if someone else can do you community service for you, or your prison sentence

[kvalidir]

He needs to make an application for the amount he pays per week to be reduced. contact the letter writers first and see what they suggest and then if no sense from them contact the magistrates court fines dept direct.

[nailit]

Thanks Bednobs, that was my way of thinking as well.
Kvalider, 5 pound a week is the minimum that the courts will accept. It would make no difference if the amount were 20 pence p/w as he simply does not have it.

[bednobs]

for some reason i thought your son was about 12 :)
can his mum or stepdad not help?

[nailit]

Bednobs, thanks for reply. My son is 18. his mum isnt much use (OK, I might sound a bit bitter here but she really is a waste of space and couldnt care less about what happens to him...I do). He doesnt have a stepdad since his mum parted from her husband.
Dont want to see him going to prison (young offenders) it will destroy him. Just trying to help him out here.

[bednobs]

is there any hope of him deferring till he gets a job? does he get any benefits?

[nailit]

just seems to me that if you are skint then your thrown to the lions. If youve got a pound or two your ok. I *** hate the law.

[bednobs]

what is he doing ATM?has he tried labouring, or working via an agency to get some money?

[kvalidir]

If he gets benefits they can make an attachment to benefits order and if not and he's not working he should be.

[nailit]

Bednobs, he hasnt got a job but has applied for several. He's claimed benefits and made several payments off his fines but constantly gets sanctioned by them to the point that he's given up even trying to claim anything. If he were to get sent to prison for non payment then it would effectivly be imprisonment for been poor.

[New Judge]

In short, no.

What your son will have to do is to ask for a hearing at the fines enforcement court. Here the Magistrates will enquire into his means (or lack thereof). They will ask if he is entitled to benefits and if so why he is not claiming them. They may give him an opportunity to do so if he is so entitled. They will enquire about his current circumstances. If he is living off his mother they will enquire into that (e.g. does he get "pocket money").

At the end of their enquiries they will decide if he has exhibited "Wilful refusal to pay" (self explanatory) or whether he has exercised "Culpable neglect" (i.e. he had funds but decided to spend them somehow else). Or they may decide he has not got the ability to pay and "remit" (i.e. write off) some or all of the sums owed.

If they do decide he has had funds, however, they will make a payment order of, say £x per week (minimum, as has been mentioned, £5), backed up by a suspended prison sentence, the length of which will be dtermined by the amount he owes. The sentence will be activated if the payment order is not kept.

If he does nothing and the bailiffs are unable to secure the debt he will be summonsed to court to undergo the hearing I outlined above. If he fails to attend he will be arrested and brought to court in custody.

Unfortunately "learning his lesson" includes complying with the court orders when he was sentenced, or at least explaining to the court why he has been unable to do so. Transferring the fines to you will not see that part of the lesson learned.

[kvalidir]

Why does he keep getting sanctioned? He's entitled to benefits, if they are unreasonably witholding those then they have a problem, if on the other hand he's not doing what's required of him he's causing his own. What's happening with him exactly Nailit?

[bednobs]

well i beg to differ (sorry i can see how you are trying your best for him)
if he's not claiming anything, then he needs to
if he keeps getting sanctioned, why? Why not just stay in the rules?
he was the one that got the fines in the first place.
the problem is, if you and his mum keep helping him, he's got no incentive to help himself
in the circumstances you describe you can't really blame society.
Sorry naillit im not trying to get at you, 7749*777777745

[bednobs]

sorry, that last comment was from my cat

[EDDIE51]

nalit, sorry but no you can't have his fines transferred to your account.
You of course can pay them by giving him the money if you have it.
Your son needs to go back to court and explain his financial situation. How old is he? surely he has some income even if only benefit money? The court should only issue a fine if the person has the means to pay.

[nailit]

OK thanks guys, especially New Judge for definitive answer.
Bednobs, yes I know that he was the one to get the fines in the first place but who hasn't made a few boo boo's when we were young? (Hell, I'm still making them at 48...), //Sorry naillit im not trying to get at you, 7749*777777745// ??? lost me there Bednobs?
kvalidir,, trying to claim benefits nowadays is a jumping through hoops exercise

[bednobs]

as it should be - unless you just suggest we hand out money just because someone asks?
sorry the last comment was from my cat

[nailit]

Sorry, cross posting going on. Bednobs, the cat? lol that explains it.
EDDIE, he has no income and no means to pay.

[kvalidir]

Yes I know he has to jump through a few hoops but he has to do this to get his benefit and pay his fines. Once he's done that he'll have a much cleaner sheet to start getting himself organised and move forward. I know everything will seem like a giant uphill struggle but it's a struggle he'll have to make or he'll never be free. Do as NJ suggests and help him get himself sorted out including getting himself the benefits he's entitled to.

[EDDIE51]

^^ sorry started to type and got called away. He IS entitled to benefit money even if he is not claiming it. The court will class him as having income. I would insist he reclaims his benefit and also arranges for the court to deduct the fines from it. Then if it is not paid the court will ask the job centre why no deductions are being received and the job centre will have to explain why. There is no way out of this other than your son starting to sort himself out, reclaiming what he is entitled to and making a start on rebuilding his life. If he does nothing he WILL get sent to prison and it will be adult prison as he is over 18. YOIs are for under 18s only.