Marston Recovery Complaints: How to Complain and Escalate

Marston is the largest enforcement group in England and Wales and describes itself as instructed across many kinds of debt, from council tax and traffic penalties to magistrates' court fines, child maintenance and High Court writs (see the sourcing on our Marston Recovery profile for which of those relationships are independently confirmed and which are Marston's own description). That matters for a complaint, because who you escalate to after Marston usually depends on which of those clients instructed the case.

Step one: complain to Marston in writing

Whatever the debt, the first step is a written complaint to Marston. Set out what happened with dates, your reference number and any evidence, and say clearly what you want done. The national standards for enforcement expect firms to make their complaints route easy to find and to avoid putting obstacles in the way, so ask for a response by a stated date and keep a copy of everything.

Keep the complaint factual. If your real objection is that the debt is wrong, rather than how the agent behaved, that usually belongs with the creditor rather than with Marston.

Step two: escalate by who instructed Marston

Because Marston enforces so many different kinds of debt, the right external route is not the same for everyone:

• Council tax, parking or traffic penalties, business rates. Instructed by a council. If Marston's response does not resolve it, complain to the council, which can recall the case, and then to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if the council's own handling is still unsatisfactory.
• Magistrates' court fines. Enforced for His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, so a complaint about the fine or warrant itself is generally directed through the court rather than the council route.
• Child maintenance. Where the Child Maintenance Service instructed Marston, the arrears and the decision to enforce are handled through that service and its own escalation route, not by the enforcement agent.
• Consumer credit and similar regulated debts. If, and only if, the underlying debt is one the Financial Ombudsman Service covers, that ombudsman may look at it after the firm's own process. Most of Marston's work is council and court enforcement, which the Financial Ombudsman does not cover.

Independent oversight: the Enforcement Conduct Board

For how an agent behaved, as opposed to the debt itself, the Enforcement Conduct Board provides independent oversight of enforcement in England and Wales. It sits above individual firms rather than replacing a complaint to Marston, so it is generally used once Marston has had the chance to respond. The trade association for civil enforcement firms also operates a complaints route, although the Enforcement Conduct Board is the body now positioned as independent oversight of agent conduct.

If an agent broke the rules or the order was defective

A complaint usually produces a corrected fee or a withdrawn charge rather than compensation as such. A stronger remedy is a court one: under paragraph 66 of Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, a court can order goods returned and can award damages where an enforcement agent breached the rules or acted under a warrant, liability order or other instrument that is defective. Get advice before starting a claim, because the underlying paperwork usually needs checking first.

Where this page fits

For the complaint ladder that applies whichever firm enforced the debt, see how to complain about a bailiff. For what Marston can and cannot do, their fees, and how to deal with a letter, see the Marston Recovery profile.