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Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

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  • Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

    Hi

    I have received a letter from Bristow & Sutor for outstanding Council Tax. The amount they are requesting is £1153.19. I called them to set up an AFFORDABLE payment arrangement which they refused and told me that I had to pay it all within 6 months - totally unacceptable taking into consideration my current financial situation.
    I called my local city council today only to discover that they have not applied the single persons discount to my tax bill since 2011! I now need to 're-apply' to have the situation rectified, which could take nearly 3 weeks for them
    to update. I pointed out that since the council has made an error on the amount they are requesting the enforcement agent to recover , then any action on my account should cease until they have the correct figures. I was told no they were not going to accept this and action will continue. I believe this is totally unfair. What am I supposed to do now? Bristow & Sutor are requesting payment in full or a payment arrangement that is totally unaffordable.

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

    I assume you have had a Notice of Enforcement from B&S - what date is one the letter, how was it sent, when did you receive it, what date & time do you have to respond to it?

    You should also get your local Councillor(s) involved and ask they intervene for you. The next argument the Council will possible put up is that it should have been your reponsibility to note your Single Person Discount and they may refuse to backdate it.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

      Hi I need urgent assistance, I now owe Bristow and sutor £450 council tax arrears (original debt was £101) my o/h made an agreement to pay £10 a week but only paid £30 had a baby and has been suffering a form of post natal depression and has not been paying any debts anyway the long and short of it is if we don't pay the £450 in 36 hours the bailiffs will come to seize our possessions is there anything I can do to stop this happening the bailiffs claim I can't start a new payment plan?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

        Do you know if your O/H signed paperwork & if so, what goods have B&S taken control of?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

          Yes tv, wardrobe, microwave, tumble dryer, our bed and 1 of 2 sofas

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

            Originally posted by kyleolly View Post
            Yes tv, wardrobe, microwave, tumble dryer, our bed and 1 of 2 sofas
            These are potentially exempt. You have now found out why Bristow & Sutor are also known as Busted and Stupid and Brainless and Stupid. :grin:
            Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

              Well I don't want to be bedless and sofaless

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              • #8
                Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                Originally posted by kyleolly View Post
                Well I don't want to be bedless and sofaless
                I would complain to Leicester City Council about this asap. They are 100% vicariously-liable for B & S's actions and need to kick them into touch.
                Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                  That lot would fetch all of around £20 at auction imho, so get on to the council and tell them that their agents Bristols & Hooters, or if you prefer Bonkers & Stupor have taken control of exempt goods and the remainder on the Order that will not even cover the £75 Compliance fee if sold at auction.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                    Bear in mind that B&S will probably not want to remove these goods as the fee is only £110. What they WOULD like to do is "start removal" (remember these fees kick in once they are started). This means that if they turn up in a van, the debtor will be charged a further £110. B&S will then miraculously find a way for a new repayment plan to be set up-One that was apparently impossible to do prior to the visit.

                    What you should do here is write a letter to the CEO of your local council. Advise of the severe financial difficulties that you are facing at present and that your partner has been suffering post natal depression. You are very keen to re-set up a payment plan but B&S are refusing. If they were to visit again, a further £110 would be added to your account, this money could have gone towards your arrears.

                    It is highly unlikely that the goods listed on the inventory would fetch much at auction, the bed being an exempt item in any case. The electrical items would require safety checks as per legislation prior to auction which would add to the cost. With the existing fees, storage, auction, removal and electrical safety costs all added together, sale of these goods by auction would leave quite a significant defecit, plundering you into further debt. It would be futile to auction these items when their sale would even not cover enforcement costs.

                    With the above in mind, there is no point in B&S returning to your property in the guise of intending to remove goods. The only real purpose of such a visit would be to profit further from your debt. You are now aware that another repayment plan is possible to set up, despite what B&S have been telling you and this is clearly a more logical route to go down in order to clear this debt. Do the council really want to see a family with a new born baby deprived of their personal items over a debt of around £100 that has multiplied 4 times by enforcement charges? There is no need for B&S to visit you to set up a new plan, other than to charge you an additional £110 for the privilege. You are now asking the council to intervene in order to enable you to set up a new plan without incurring further costs.

                    If you can get this off in email today, it would help. Copy B&S in: enquiries@bristowsutor (you'll have to check if its .com or.co.uk, can't remember off hand).
                    Follow up by sending letters 1st class also today.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                      it is a .co.uk

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                        Originally posted by kyleolly View Post
                        Hi I need urgent assistance, I now owe Bristow and sutor £450 council tax arrears (original debt was £101) my o/h made an agreement to pay £10 a week but only paid £30 had a baby and has been suffering a form of post natal depression and has not been paying any debts anyway the long and short of it is if we don't pay the £450 in 36 hours the bailiffs will come to seize our possessions is there anything I can do to stop this happening the bailiffs claim I can't start a new payment plan?

                        Can you post back to let us know the precise amount of the Liability Order.

                        Is the debt against you, your partner or is it a joint debt?

                        When was the 'levy' made against the goods?

                        What fees were applied when the 'levy' had been made?

                        Are Bristow & Sutor aware that your partner has had a baby?

                        When was the baby born (this is to ascertain 'vulnerability').

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                          It seems to me that the attendance simply to garner fees practice is alive and kicking, despite the new regulations. So much for the trumpeting of the MoJ that the new regulations would stop this. It has done nothing of the sort. Malpractice is just as bad as it was before 6 April 2014.
                          Life is a journey on which we all travel, sometimes together, but never alone.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                            Originally posted by bluebottle View Post
                            It seems to me that the attendance simply to garner fees practice is alive and kicking, despite the new regulations. So much for the trumpeting of the MoJ that the new regulations would stop this. It has done nothing of the sort. Malpractice is just as bad as it was before 6 April 2014.
                            Looks likely BB, they will do anything to engineer fees, but isn't the Control of Goods Order faulty as an old levy would be with exempt and low value goods, as i won't even cover a fraction of the fees?

                            Kyleolly should provide proof of PND to Council and Busted & Stupid.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Bristow & Sutor / Leicester City Council Help needed ASAP!

                              There is a problem here-if everyone simply claimed that "levied" (can we use this as a short cut for Taken control in future?) goods wouldn't meet bailiff costs at auction then the threat of enforcement dies. we already have many who claim that simply being on benefits exempts you from enforcement, what next, a box of chocolates & some flowers for people on benefits who don't pay their bills? We have to weigh up both sides of the equation.

                              My issue is with companies (and B&S are guilty of this, as seen on YT) who state categorically that a defaulter cannot enter into a new repayment plan, only to allow them to do so once they've been able to add more charges. If debtors can get something in writing, as per my previous post, it puts these companies on the spot. I think we all know that the last thing they want is to have to do some work and remove goods which with respect are virtually worthless in many cases-Its all a bluff.

                              This case is obviously entirely under the new regs, only 3 payments have been made. B&S claim they try to deal with debts at compliance stage so surely they are open to negotiation with debtors who are clearly finding it difficult at present? These people are not debt avoiders, they are genuinely in need of a bit of help & support. I've had dealings with Leicester council, they're not the best, far from it, putting everything in writing covers the debtor. After all, its highly unlikely that Leicester will authorise B&S to go through doors for a £100 debt, all the debtor needs do is not answer the door & argue the toss in the long term (if extra costs are added) whilst continuing to pay the original; agreement.

                              Comment

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