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Testimony in court
Hello there,
I need some advice on the following case:
Just before I moved out of Belgium (01/2014) I received a letter to testify in court (in the case of a car accident which I had witnessed a year before). I called the number that was mentioned on the letter and explained that by the date the trial would be held I would have left Belgium (officially unregistered by the commune). They said in this case I would not have to come in court and this would not be a problem.
Now I received my tax return statement with a note saying that of the 1000 EUR I would be entitled to receive I will only receive 200 EUR due to outstanding claims. Inquiring further I came to know that apparently I have outstanding fines as I did not appear in court despite several reminders. I have obviously never received these reminders. And I don't have the original letter anymore as I disposed it assuming the thing was closed. Now they told me I can contest the fines using a lawyer.
Can anyone recommend a lawyer or have any tips on how to deal with this? Obviously I don't want to spend too much money on a lawyer given that the fee is not that high but still I'd like to try to get back my money as I feel I haven't done anything wrong.
Thanks a lot,
Mina
I suggest that you first talk to the tax office. If you pursue the matter through a lawyer you can easily spend the 800 € you are trying to retrieve. Try to get some proof from the commune about when you deregistered. Good luck to you, I really empathize.
I have to correct myself. I doubt the tax office would be helpful, It will probably be whoever has levied this fine. I hope someone else will give you a more consistent answer than I have.
I would certainly start with the Tax Office which has contacted you.
They have not suddenly picked a figure out of thin air so they must be able to tell you who has ordered them to withhold the €800.
You would then have to contact that person - at a guess someone working in the court system - and, with luck, you will get more useful info. At least you should be able to find out whether you will be able to claim the costs of taking further action and to decide whether it is worth the hassle and expense of going on if you are going to end up spending, say, €750 to get €800 back.
I chased a similar situation almost 20 years ago and, whilst it took many months, I did get everything back including my costs.
I would not bother using a lawyer. if you can talk to tax office yourself, find out who levied the fine, appeal against it. but I would not waste money using a lawyer for 800, costs could easily exceed that. if you were still in Belgium you could appeal to justice de paix, but not worth it if you have to pay fares back.
