Help with fines and Court?

I got fined last year for no t.v licence and started to pay my fine but in july my mother died leaving myself and my sister to pay the remainding cost of her funeral so subsequently missed some payments due to some hardship. I moved house in march and didn't inform them of the move at which time i was issued a summons to appear in court last month. I was unaware of this obviously as i had moved address. I phoned the courts today just to find out how much i owed and they told me a no bail warrant was issued after i failed to attend court. I know what this means but i have been told to attend court and sit and wait to see a person. Will i be arrested, or can i make arrangements to clear this debt with him??? any help would be appreciated.
Additional Details
thanks for the info everyone but i'm am not summons to appear in court i just have been told to go and see someone there with regards to the no bail warrant

groovymaude

You'll probably need to go to the office and speak to someone - there is usually a non payment (of fines) court every week, so it may be that you have to go up there, the ushers will have all the non payment paperwork, including yours, you just give them your name and then you'll be called in to the court where you may be able to put forward your reasons etc for non payment, the clerk may do a means enquiry ie. ask about your income/outgoings, why you haven't paid - they can be quite harsh, but it's their job! then you may be able to make another arrangement to pay - it will all depend on the day, sometimes the mags are sympathetic, sometimes they are not. Unless things have changed an awful lot, I think you'll be directed to the non payment court

edit: just to add, you don't need a solicitor, you have already been fined - duty solicitor may give you some advice on what to say etc, on the odd occasion they will go in with you,but it is rare, as they've already done their bit. Best to go and see what they say, sooner rather than later as the warrant does mean you could be arrested - honestly it's not as bad as you may think. I know you still have the fine to pay, but it isn't as scary or unusual as you probably feel it is - non payment of fines for no TV licence used to be about 70% of cases in non payment court. Clerks can be scary with the means enquiry, but it's only a short time and a good usher always has a box of tissues!....trust me,they can make grown men cry! but it'll all be over soon! they will prob give you a form to fill in on which you list all income and outgoings - then ask why you paid some silly amount eg. renting a DVD and didn't pay your fine - they do get that much into the means enquiry, just to give you an idea what to expect. Good luck, you're not the first and won't be the last, you'll be OK

Bardic

As the no bail warrant means the court has ordered you to be arrested and brought before them, you'll be achieving the same if you voluntarily present yourself to the court without the stigma of having your collar felt and being dragged off. You really need some professional advice, and quickly too.

I have to say that the court won't be pleased that you apparently didn't consider your legal problems important enough to advise everyone of your change of address, but at least it can only help that you turned up voluntarily.

Laura S

with situations like this it is hard to tell, its usually based on the judge and the county you live in. I'm sorry that your mother had died, you should've contacted the court with that hardship and made different payment arrangements. As well as when you moved again you should've notified the court, then the notice would not of been lost. Was someone collecting your mail or was it returned to sender, i do not know how mail differs in the UK so i could be wrong on this part.

THE best thing that you can do for yourself is go in, if you hold off any longer you are just making yourself look bad. You may go to jail, you may not, it depends on the judge. But dont wait any longer attend court, and clear up this matter.

Just to clarify things, did you miss your payments and continue to not make them after you moved? And havent made any since, then you might be looking at jail time.

Chris

Your best bet is to go to court and tell the judge everything. They really are people too, although I fear he will ask you why you didn't forward your address. Judges usually are very compassionate to people's hardships and will most likely drop the warrent. This could be even more true if you have two or three months payments on your fine. Try very hard to get that money, it could be a major factor in if you get locked up or not. Just be ready to go into handcuffs when you go into the courtroom, because you could, depending on the judge's mood, be going to jail.

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