Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

[Deeplay]

Hi i wonder if anyone can give me some advise. 2 Years ago I broke up with my then wife we have no contact but not divorced. A few months back my council chased me for an outstanding amount of around 600 quid. Made repay plan as they said i am libel jointly for debt. Not really disputing this. But could not meet repayment plan so they passed it to Bristow Sutor

Was out today and came back to a filthy scary letter from them

NOTIFICATION OF BAILIFFS VISIT

They are saying they need to enter my home to make a list of goods for removal for this debt and can not speak to me until they come in.
they also charged me £24.50 for knocking on my door.

I have very possesions a tv worth around 100 quid and my labtop but I need that for work.

My question is as this is an old council tax bill can they charge me the 24.50 fee to visit my home ?
what rights do they have ? Can they go to court to get a walk in possession order as it is council tax albeit an old one.

My currect Ctax here is up to date but council now refuse to discuss the old bill with me saying i have to deal directly with bailiffs.

I want to pay but can only afford around 20 quid a month. But dont want them in my home .

What can people advise here ? do i have to let them in etc.

thanks so much for taking the time to read this.

Dave

[ploddertom]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

There is no law that says you have to speak to or deal with a Bailiff. Whatever happens do NOT under ANY circumstances allow them entry to your home. If you have a car outside then move it well away or put it under lock & key. By doing this you will limit the fees they can charge you to a maximum of £42-50.

To pay use the Cpouncil website, automated phone or use your own online banking but pay the same amount regularly - £5 every Thursday for example.

[Deeplay]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

There is no law that says you have to speak to or deal with a Bailiff. Whatever happens do NOT under ANY circumstances allow them entry to your home. If you have a car outside then move it well away or put it under lock & key. By doing this you will limit the fees they can charge you to a maximum of £42-50.

To pay use the Cpouncil website, automated phone or use your own online banking but pay the same amount regularly - £5 every Thursday for example.

Hi thanks for the reply. So what action could this baliff take if i do not respond to him ? I have no car and my home is such as there is only 1 entry point through front door. Even windows downstairs are sealed and dont open. Can he go to court to get an order to break into the house and take goods (not that i have much) sorry for the questions but this is really stressing me. thanks again

[ploddertom]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Hi thanks for the reply. So what action could this baliff take if i do not respond to him ? He could jump up & down & throw his toys out of his pram. I have no car and my home is such as there is only 1 entry point through front door. Even windows downstairs are sealed and dont open. Can he go to court to get an order to break into the house and take goods (not that i have much) No, he has to gain peaceful entry first sorry for the questions but this is really stressing me. thanks again

Bailiffs act on intimidating & bullying people. Deny them any access and eventually he gets the message & moves on. However he will attend and knock very loudly, may shout loudly & even threaten all sorts of things including the end of the world. Remember bailiffs Lie.

[Deeplay]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Bailiffs act on intimidating & bullying people. Deny them any access and eventually he gets the message & moves on. However he will attend and knock very loudly, may shout loudly & even threaten all sorts of things including the end of the world. Remember bailiffs Lie.

Thanks again for your reply. I have now made a first payment of £10 via the automated online council payments. I called the council and they said they wont discuss it with me and wont stop balif actions but have noted the payment. So from now will ignore the knocks on door and pay each week a tenner to clear it. Does not bother me how loud he knocks as im pretty rural. I was just under the impression that as it was council tax they have more powers. end of day want this paid and done. thanks again my mind is at ease now.

[ploddertom]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

The Council will have you believe it now has nothing to with them. Wrong they are responsible 100% for the actions & charges of their contractor. Your newest mate will visit a few times and may even try levying on a car in the vicinty in the belief it may be yours, this is all done in order to garner fees for himself & his company.

There is plenty of help & advice available here and usually there is someone around most of the time.

[Deeplay]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Hi yes they were pretty horrible on the phone and almost seemed disappointed I had paid 10 quid of the debt. And my new friend will have a hard time finding any car attached to me as i dont even hold a drivers license The lady from the Council said to me she is not allowed to discus this further with me and although they will accept payments it is now fully out of her hands and advised me to let the bailiff in so i could reach an agreement with him directly. Which I wont be doing. But I will be making a further 10 quid payment next Friday and so forth.

A really helpful forum this invaluable !!!!

[bizzybob]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

"The lady from the Council said to me she is not allowed to discus this further with me and although they will accept payments it is now fully out of her hands and advised me to let the bailiff in so i could reach an agreement with him directly."

NO NO NO it is NEVER fully out of the hands of the council, they retain full control of the debt, and it would be a VERY BAD IDEA indeed to let the bailiff in, it opens you up to a whole new world of fees the bailiff can charge. If you keep him out, and have no car, and he doesn't gain entry the most he can have from you is £42.50 for two visit fees. Let him in however, and the levy fee, the spurious attending to remove and van fees will add hundreds of pounds even more in fees potentially than the original debt.

[ploddertom]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

"The lady from the Council said to me she is not allowed to discus this further with me and although they will accept payments it is now fully out of her hands and advised me to let the bailiff in so i could reach an agreement with him directly."

If it were me I would be making a Formal Complaint about what you have been told as someone is in serious need of re-training.

[Deeplay]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

If it were me I would be making a Formal Complaint about what you have been told as someone is in serious need of re-training.

Hi yes after doing more research I will be making a formal complaint. All calls are recorded they say for monitoring and training purposes so I will request they pull the call recording.
The letter left from Bristow an Sutor was vile and full of threats. It is not phasing me now at all but god knows the effect it could have on others.

Really appreciated the quick reply's here !! :-)

[ploddertom]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

The letter left from Bristow an Sutor was vile and full of threats. It is not phasing me now at all but god knows the effect it could have on others.

It is the interpretation of the letters that are designed to bully & intimidate you, they do however leave out all the bits that you you don't have to do. Not in itself wrong but morally looks bad. They work on the principle you have stuck 2 fingers up and to a certain extent it has worked as you are now seeking help - no criticism intended of course, most of us have been there and got more than the T-shirt.

[labman]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Indeed, I've got the T shirt, but prefer to forget about those times as they are indeed scary until you know your rights.

Do as above. All you haven't been told is that you will incur legitimate charges of £42.50 by the bailiffs, assuming they're going to make at least one more visit for which they can charge £18.00 (chargeable only once). They may well threaten to come with a locksmith and all sorts, and will try every trick in the book to gain peaceful access (which includes letting themselves in through an unlocked door or climbing through an open window - so locked and shut!) - ignore them. They can do none of this for a CT debt. :beagle:

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Hi deeplay, welcome to the forum, now listen very carefully I wil say this only once (spoken in a truly greek accent....might be the wrong sit com,,,but who cares?)

Seriously now:

1. DO NOT LET THE BAILIF IN!!! Even if he/she says that they are bursting for a pee and there are no public toilets in a mile range, tell them to pass water in the bush across the road.
2. A bailiff serving a Liability Order has NO power of entry whatsoever.
3. Bad news, the visit fees are payable
4. Good news, they must accept a payment plan offer (must be sensible...i.e. 1/12 of what is owed over the next 12 months)
5. DO NOT ignore the bailiff, becaus, although they are an agent for the Council, they can return the unpaid liability order to the issuing Authority with advice to arrest you and send you to jail for non payment of Council Tax.....By the way, when you come out you still owe the money!

On the last point I know that there are a lot of contributors who will disagree with me, but I have seen it happen.

However, if what you can afford is a realistic figure (filling in one of those means test thingies that you can get your local Citizen's Advice Bureau can do for you) then you should be OK.....I can't remember the validity of a Liability order for Council Tax, but if I am not wrong it is 6 years from the the date of it's issue.

Ny advice.......find family, friends, acquantaincies ho would lend you the money and pay for whatever you were asked to. It make life ever so worth living!

[labman]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

DO NOT ignore the bailiff, becaus, although they are an agent for the Council, they can return the unpaid liability order to the issuing Authority with advice to arrest you and send you to jail for non payment of Council Tax.....By the way, when you come out you still owe the money!


On the last point I know that there are a lot of contributors who will disagree with me, but I have seen it happen.

However, if what you can afford is a realistic figure (filling in one of those means test thingies that you can get your local Citizen's Advice Bureau can do for you) then you should be OK.....I can't remember the validity of a Liability order for Council Tax, but if I am not wrong it is 6 years from the the date of it's issue.

Ny advice.......find family, friends, acquantaincies ho would lend you the money and pay for whatever you were asked to. It make life ever so worth living!

Re the last point, I don't disagree with you, BUT it is extremely unlikely happen, and will almost definitely not happen as long as the OP is showing willing to pay what they can afford.

A Common Financial Statement showing your income and expenditure, or one like this:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/en...=england_wales ------> Section 3

sent to the bailiffs, the council and the court would back up the fact you are paying all you can and strengthen your case massively. :beagle:

[Deeplay]

Re: Old Council Tax Bill - Bristow & Sutor

Hi thanks for the further responses. So how do I not ignore the bailiff without letting them in (which i am not gonna do) they do not seem by the tone of the letter open to doing a settlement over the phone. Is it worth calling them ? just not sure how to approach this. Is it best the bailiff or direct to the council as i did last week ? thanks