The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has concluded a pilot scheme in which three debt collection agencies were employed to pursue £602m of unpaid court fines.
The sum covers money owed in England alone, and incorporates fines imposed in the magistrates and crown courts, compensation, costs, victims surcharge and the outstanding value of unpaid fixed penalties transferred to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for enforcement.
Around £420m of the outstanding amount (comprising roughly 1.2m accounts) is considered “aged” debt by HMCTS, and each supplier was given 7,000 randomly selected aged accounts to work over a 3 month period.
The pilot scheme concluded in January and the results are being assessed to allow the department to better understand the collectability of its aged debt, and the best combination of techniques and innovation to collect it.
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