I wanted some advice regarding an attachment of earnings which I have received through my work...
I was notified from my employer on the 24thJanuary 2017 that money would be taken out of Januarys payslip which I believed was work related, only to find out when I had been paid on the 28thJanuary 2017 that the overall amount that was taken out of my salary as an attachment of earnings was £591.60.
As you can imagine I was pretty annoyed and confused at the same time, so I looked into this further only to find out that I had been accused of travelling from Rochester without paying for my previous fare when boarding the train which was £2.60 on the 8th July 2016. This was the only information I had been given from the court when I rang.
So I contacted South Eastern to explain to them that I wasn't present or aware that this event had even occurred and someone had given my name in an act of fraud. South Eastern told me they have a third party organisation who deal with all of their penalty fares (Iris Penalty Fares)and I would have to contact IRIS for this matter.
After hours trying to track down their contact number I found out that the only way which you can contact them is to write a letter to appeal against your penalty fine. I have completed a letter of appeal which IRIS received on the 1stFebruary. I haven't received a letter back and they have stated on their website:
(Appeals can take about 2 weeks to investigate and respond, if all the information is readily available. IPFAS may write to you to ask for further details, or they will send a letter reply to you at the address you gave with your appeal, but only when the appeal decision has been reached.)
I am yet to receive a response as of yet but I very much doubt they will respond as you only have 10 days to submit your appeal after the event has taken place. Therefore I have arranged a Statuary Declaration hearing on the 7th April to give my plea (not guilty). In the meantime I am going to gather as much evidence as possible to prove my innocence.
I think I have done what is necessary for the time being but its always good to get a second opinion, so if anyone has any further suggestions/thoughts please comment and let me know!
I was notified from my employer on the 24thJanuary 2017 that money would be taken out of Januarys payslip which I believed was work related, only to find out when I had been paid on the 28thJanuary 2017 that the overall amount that was taken out of my salary as an attachment of earnings was £591.60.
As you can imagine I was pretty annoyed and confused at the same time, so I looked into this further only to find out that I had been accused of travelling from Rochester without paying for my previous fare when boarding the train which was £2.60 on the 8th July 2016. This was the only information I had been given from the court when I rang.
So I contacted South Eastern to explain to them that I wasn't present or aware that this event had even occurred and someone had given my name in an act of fraud. South Eastern told me they have a third party organisation who deal with all of their penalty fares (Iris Penalty Fares)and I would have to contact IRIS for this matter.
After hours trying to track down their contact number I found out that the only way which you can contact them is to write a letter to appeal against your penalty fine. I have completed a letter of appeal which IRIS received on the 1stFebruary. I haven't received a letter back and they have stated on their website:
(Appeals can take about 2 weeks to investigate and respond, if all the information is readily available. IPFAS may write to you to ask for further details, or they will send a letter reply to you at the address you gave with your appeal, but only when the appeal decision has been reached.)
I am yet to receive a response as of yet but I very much doubt they will respond as you only have 10 days to submit your appeal after the event has taken place. Therefore I have arranged a Statuary Declaration hearing on the 7th April to give my plea (not guilty). In the meantime I am going to gather as much evidence as possible to prove my innocence.
I think I have done what is necessary for the time being but its always good to get a second opinion, so if anyone has any further suggestions/thoughts please comment and let me know!