Marston Recovery Payment Plans: How to Set Up an Arrangement

There is no statutory right to pay a bailiff by instalments, so an arrangement is something Marston agrees to rather than something you can demand. In practice, offering a sustainable amount with evidence gives you the best chance, and the national standards expect creditors to act proportionately when recovering a debt.

How to set up an arrangement with Marston

Contact Marston directly and quote your reference number. Explain your circumstances and make a specific offer, rather than asking what they will accept. If you reach an arrangement, get the terms in writing, including the instalment amount, the payment dates, and confirmation that visits are paused while you keep to it. An arrangement reached at the enforcement stage usually sits alongside a controlled goods agreement, so read carefully what you are asked to sign.

What Marston usually asks you to provide

Expect to be asked about your income and essential outgoings, so that the offer can be assessed for affordability. Setting this out on a standard financial statement, the format free debt advice agencies use, tends to carry more weight than an unsupported figure. If you are struggling or in a vulnerable situation, say so clearly and in writing: the national standards expect a creditor to be prepared to take control of the case where someone is identified as vulnerable.

How the enforcement stage changes the cost

The fee stages are statutory and are the same for every enforcement firm. Under the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 as amended in 2026, the compliance stage adds £79, and once an agent is sent to attend, the enforcement stage adds £247 plus 7.5% of any part of the debt above £1,900. A later sale stage adds £116 if goods are removed for sale. Reaching an arrangement during the compliance stage, before a visit, is therefore usually far cheaper than reaching one after a visit has added the enforcement fee.

You usually have at least 14 clear days from a Notice of Enforcement before goods can be taken into control, and a recognised debt advice provider can request an extension to a minimum of 28 clear days unless the debt is a non-eligible business debt. That window is the time to make an offer.

If you have more than one debt with Marston

Marston is instructed on many types of debt, so people often hold several cases with them at once, and the fees do not simply multiply. Under regulation 11 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, the compliance fee can be charged for each enforcement power, but the enforcement and sale fees may generally be charged only once where the powers are exercised together. It is usually worth asking for the cases to be handled together and checking the fees on any breakdown you are given.

If Marston will not agree

If Marston rejects an offer that you can evidence as affordable, you can ask the creditor who instructed them, the council, court or client, to intervene or recall the case. For what to do next, see our guide on what to do if a bailiff refuses your payment plan. For the full statutory fee scale, see bailiff fees. For what Marston can and cannot do generally, see the Marston Recovery profile.