Those on here that have been to Court

What was it like please?

I've received my Summons and I have to attend the Court in mid July.

I just really want to know what happens.  Millie1 has mentioned that it will be a very quick affair and that I will need to go back to Court again.

Please feel free to private message me if you don't want details on the open forum, but I believe Admin has locked it all down now.

To be honest, mine was NOT straightforward simply because I had the worst legal practice in the world (Legal Aid is rubbish). They got one of their thick staff (it turns out she was a trainee so didn't know the ropes) to ring me and say...oh, just go along and ask to have it adjourned. Took her at her word, got there (my solicitors didn't bother to turn up) spoke to the (so-called) Duty Solicitor who said no, can't do that. Magistrates will not like it. As I supposedly had my own solicitor Duty Solicitor could not speak on my behalf (nor did he wish to). So went into court, told tham I had been advised to have it adjourned, fat magistrate informed me that if that was what my solicitors wanted, they should have come with me, that I HAD to plead there and then. So that was a day wasted (costing approx £490). RSPCA bitch solicitor then grabbed the opportunity to drag it out and said 'in that case, SIR,  we need a Case Management Meeting'. That took place three weeks later and cost the same again. RSPCA solicitors charge £175 travelling time each time they attend court (it will be more now) plus the same per hour in court.. Before they would sentence me, magistrates then decided I had to see a Dopey probation officer .I asked them why and they refused to explain. But my solicitors did not argue the point for me, as  obviously it was to their financial advantage too to drag the case out...
But saying that, am sure if you have a respectable solicitor, you should not spend much time there the first time. But remember, and it took me by surprise, there was a notice on the wall of the waiting area which said that if you plead guilty up front you get a much reduced sentence. British justice...!

My case has been taken on by Nigel Weller, but they will not be there at the Court in July.  They have told me that I must plead not guilty.

I guess I want to know what it was like etc. as I'll be on my own.

Out of interest, what happens if I loose in the end and I'm prosecuted.  Does my name go in the paper and stuff?

Have you asked SHG if any member could accompany you when you have to go to court? having support will make you feel so much more confident and they will be able to advise you:)

Real bummer that you are being prosecuted, but at least Nigel's guys have told you what to expect...like I said, I was told...oh, just go along and ask for an adjournment...I thought it odd that they were not doing the asking themselves, then found out that the advice had been given to me by their trainee wrongfully. But do take a look at the walls for the notice whch says you get a lesser sentence if you plead guilty...my friend and I could not believe what we were reading.

My name AND address were given to every horse magazine in the country, that was the fault of the World Horse Welfare rep who was paid to be in court (God knows why, it was RSPCA bringing the case). On each occasion, the lawyer accompanying me requested that my name and address be withheld as my car had been detroyed, according to the police by someone with whom I was in dispute and who was trying to intimidate me. Any guesses? Despite this, WHW rep issued a PRESS RELEASE to every horse publication/website in the country, including everything except the number on my front door. I do not know if RSPCA give out personal details or not, this was definitely WHW< I was told that by the editor of one of the magazines. I later told my solicitors, Messrs. Dickhead, Pillock and Twatface, that this had happened and that they were clearly in contempt of court and what could we do about it. Nothing. Oh, said Mr Twatface, your address is public domain. Er, no it's not. Of, but it is, I mean, you are in the phonebook, aren't you? Er, no, I'm not even with BT, and when I was with BT I was ex-directory. And before you ask, no I am not on the electoral roll which is for public display, I tick the box for privacy. Oh, I said, casually, I thought contempt of court could carry a custodial sentence. No comment. I know for a fact that it can. 

And another word of advice...be sure you have nowt in your bank account...and be sure to close any credit cards you may have, the sneaky miserable bastards go into Experian to see if you have a space on your cards then make you put the costs on your MBNA card. 

Sorry this is all very negative and depressing, but I am just telling you the very worst you can expect. On the plus side you have Nigel who is well able to stand up to them and very experienced and knowledgeable re. their lies and tricks. Mine were a bunch of fairies to be honest.

Are they allowed to access my file via Experian without my consent?????

Surely I have to sign something to say they can run a check on me.  Just so happens that I don't have anything in my bank account and I feel a spending spree coming up on the Credit Card!

Yes, the cow in the Fines' Office asked how I would pay, I said I was on Legal Aid and had been advised that I could pay in small monthly instalments (like I said, my solicitors were crap)... so she said, while I was sitting there...in that case we will have to check you out on Experian, which she promptly did, I did not sign to authorise her doing it. As these were cards I seldom used, she found enough space to put over 4k on them and told me if I did not agree to it she would have me brought back to court!! I have since tried to have her charged with bullying which carries a custodial sentence but they are saying she no longer works there and cannot be contacted. So either make sure you have no available space on them or close them. If you want a new mobile phone they will check with a similar credit reference agency to see if you are good for a few quid a month. They don't ask you.

One surprising thing about the visits to court which I forgot to mention last time I posted. On the last day, the day they pass sentence, they made me sit in a bullet-proof glass cage!! I am not kidding...not sure if that was in case I tried to escape or in case someone tried to assassinate me. It had little holes in it, not sure if that was so I could hear what was being said or so I could breathe. Either way, it reminded me of the old newsreel footage of Adolf Eichmann being tried for Nazi war crimes by the Israelis. Do you seriously think that was necessary? I could not hear a word being said, sure if you are in a glass cage you should have ear-phones?

OMG Trilbybee, what a way to be treated!  I am appalled.

I will try and check into the credit checking now and let you know my findings.

I've just found this Trilbybee. Maybe worth doing a little more research and, if it's correct, complain again. Surely it's the Company she worked for that are liable?

The Data Protection Principles
The principle of primary concern is one that says personal data must be obtained “fairly and lawfully”. This is where the problems start. The question of whether the data you hold has been obtained lawfully and fairly from the individuals in question revolves around the question of whether the individual gave his or her consent to the data being passed on for processing. This consent can be given expressly or by implication. It also means that the individual should not have been coerced or misled into giving the information.

Consent
Lenders / Credit providers (be they banks, building societies, printers or whoever) must obtain consent from the individuals who come to them for finance / credit facilities of some sort. On the credit application form there will be a box for them to tick or some wording which confirms that they give consent to their personal information being passed to credit reference agencies for the purpose of doing a credit check and also for the credit reference agencies to retain for use for other clients of the agencies. This wording must spell out the purposes for which the data will be used. If the data will be passed on for marketing purposes, these days the individual must actually tick a box. It appears that whether or not a borrower / customer actively ticks a box, the Information Commissioner takes the view that it can be a condition of the finance that checks can be done and the information be passed on. Passing the information on for marketing purposes or checks on other family members is a separate issue. If the lender / creditor wants to pass on to the credit reference agencies more detailed information (e.g., a blow by blow account of repayments, etc.), this would also have to be spelt out very clearly on the application forms. Consent of the individual on whom a credit check is done must have been obtained lawfully and fairly. You must have wording in your documents making clear the uses to which the personal data of customers who are individuals will be put. It should include the right for you to pass information on to credit checking agencies such as ICSM.

You should also draw the distinction between your customers giving consent to credit checks being done and the sharing of information in relation to their credit record. Again, the initial application or order must make clear that in the event that they default on payment, that information may be shared with others for the purpose of debt tracing and collection.

Summary of consent point
It is important that you obtain your customers (in the case of Individuals) consent to the disclosure of information by including it in your credit application / order form. As long as the information on individuals which you hold and process is obtained with the consent of your customer and as long as your DPA registration is up to date and covers all of your business activities, you will be able to process that information. If you do not ask for consent or make clear that checks will be done on the original application form or order form, you could be in breach of your registration by receiving, holding and processing that information.

Consequences
The good news is that it is not an offence to be in breach of your DPA registration. The Information Commissioner can, if she becomes aware of some unauthorised activity, issue a compliance notice requiring that the activity be altered or stopped. Failure to comply with that notice is an offence.

Well, Candcane, thank you for your response.

I forgot the REAL classic comedy stunt they pulled on me though. The daft probation officer whom the magistrates decided I had to see, hence dragging out the costs said to me, as tho' she were being very reasonable, that she did not think a supervision order would be 'appropriate' in my case. I'm not even sure what a supervision order is to be honest, think you have to report to probation officer once a week or some such. (A friend of mine had twin boys who were just like the Krays and they used to see one every week...apparently they just sat there and refused to answer her questions, if she persisted they told her to go f*** herself. ) However, she did say that the magistrates on the day of the sentence were the worst they had and known to give very harsh sentences, totally over the top sentences, and that they would probably insist on me wearing an electronic tag! I kid you not, it's the truth. However, I would have to agree to being 'tagged', yeah, as if, they could not just chase me round the courtroom, rugby-tackle me to the ground and two of them hold me down while the fat one attached this item to my leg. I said there was no way I would wear a tag and they could take a flying leap. She became very uptight and red-faced and said these magistrates were such that if I did not agree to a tag they would quite likely jail me. I said in that case they could jail me, I'd be out in a week and could write a best-seller and would name and shame them all. But can you believe, a tag? If I really wanted to abuse animals I could do it with a tag on anyway, so talk about nonsense. It wouldn't stop me microwaving my cat would it? Or starving a dog to death...in the event they got their own back by giving me 160 hours 'community service' when a friend of mine twice the drink driving limit got 80 and not even a fine!! Plus a ten-year ban which is totally OTT.

Trilbybee, I think I would be trying to get a full investigation into this behaviour! It's like you were being treated as a murder suspect!

Before you've been involved with a Court and the Justice System you tend to see them as the great supreme and that they get nothing wrong....................................BIG CHANGE OF VIEW!