Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

[tucomanco]

Hi all,

Today I received a notice of seizure of goods from Bristow and Sutor on my car. (I own the car - it was bought for me)

I have a council tax debt of nearly 1,700.

I didnt know about this debt until 5/3/2012 when i was contacted by bristow and sutor - i was on ESA and agreed to pay £10 every fortnight.

I have continued to pay this up until this time (have paid 570 off the debt since 2012), in fact i have sometimes paid more than the agreed 10 every fortnight.

I thought everything was ok - then Today, without prior notice and absolutely no prior correspondance i received this Notice of seizure of goods on my car. (it was in an envelope posted through my door) Attahched is a walking possession agreement notice that they presumably want me to sign.

I am currently still on ESA (after a serious neurological condition) - does this mean i qualify as a vulnerable person?

What is the best way of tackling this problem??

The bailliff wants me to contact him tomorrow and has left a number for me to contact.

Thankyou all in advance this is driving me crazy,..,..

[ploddertom]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Are you saying someone else actually purchased the car? Have you ever had a breakdown of the fees they have charged you? What sort of value would you put on the vehicle?

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Hi,

Yes car was purchased for me by a family member, but registered with dvla in my name.

Yes i have a breakdown of fees, the vehicle is worth 800/1000

Thanks

[ploddertom]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

I would guess what they are trying to do is get this all sorted quickly and hope the car may be the solution. If you reckon it is worth 800/1000 then at auction may only realise 250 top. As you have registeered the car in your name the DVLA only keep records of Registered Keepers and not legal owners. I would be tempted to ask the family member who purchased the car to make a 3rd party claim as to ownership with the proviso it is lent you on x, y or z terms and making you responsible as to tax, insurance & MOT.

Is it possible you can list the breakdown of fees you have?

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Thx for the reply - does the fact i am on sicness benefits not carry weight?

4 seperate council tax amounts.

Amount £740, first visit on 5/3/12 fee £24.50 levy fee £47
Amount 450 levy fee £40
Amount 530 levy fee 24.50
Amount 390 levy fee 37

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

ps - i notice that it is exactly 2 years since i was first visited..

[Guest]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

A few points worth considering here;

1. A levy should not be carried out on items that will only recover costs of removal, storage etc (ie bailiff costs only). There must be some value to pay of a percentage of the debt.

2. As The levy was conducted in your absence, it is invalid in any case. A bailiff should make the debtor aware of his intentions-Especially a private bailiff who is debt collecting on behalf of the council. Posting letters can be done via Royal Mail, it does not require a bailiff to do so.

3. There is a question of abandonment given that there is no signed agreement. DO NOT SIGN THIS AGREEMENT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

The levy was served whilst i was out - but the car was outside my home - so this makes the levy invalid?

What approach should i take when i call the bailiff tomorrow

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

ps "there is a question of abandonment" - what does this mean?

[Guest]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Any levy that is carried out in the debtors absence is open to challenge. Case law has confirmed that a levy may be completed without a WP being signed but only so long as the debtor was present for the bailiff to make his intentions known. I would always argue that a levy had been abandoned if the bailiff left the property without a signed WP. Without an agreement, the bailiff really needs to follow up the original seizure every few days in order to maintain possession.

If you really weren't given any notice prior to this action and had been paying for around 2 years with no problems then I would consider sending in a formal complaint to your council.

I am concerned that there now appears to be 4 levies-Has the bailiff levied on 4 separate cars? A bailiff may only use an item once and should not put a levy on 4 separate accounts with the same goods.

As PT has indicated, a full breakdown of fees is really required in order to determine where you are with this. Knowing Bristow & Sutor, they will have added in Head H fees (probably listed as "redemption of goods fee")

If you could post a list of all fees you have been charged and the dates that these fees were incurred, it would be helpful.

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Any levy that is carried out in the debtors absence is open to challenge. Case law has confirmed that a levy may be completed without a WP being signed but only so long as the debtor was present for the bailiff to make his intentions known. I would always argue that a levy had been abandoned if the bailiff left the property without a signed WP. Without an agreement, the bailiff really needs to follow up the original seizure every few days in order to maintain possession.

If you really weren't given any notice prior to this action and had been paying for around 2 years with no problems then I would consider sending in a formal complaint to your council.

I am concerned that there now appears to be 4 levies-Has the bailiff levied on 4 separate cars? A bailiff may only use an item once and should not put a levy on 4 separate accounts with the same goods.

As PT has indicated, a full breakdown of fees is really required in order to determine where you are with this. Knowing Bristow & Sutor, they will have added in Head H fees (probably listed as "redemption of goods fee")

If you could post a list of all fees you have been charged and the dates that these fees were incurred, it would be helpful.

Thanks for the reply - the above charges are all i have - the four amounts are not 4 seperate cars - they are four council tax debts

[Guest]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

I am aware that they are 4 separate council tax debts-My point is that they can only charge you for 1 levy on 1 car. They cannot charge 4 levies for 1 car.

The £530 account appears to have incurred a first visit fee rather than a levy fee but the others all appear to have levy fees added. If there was already a levy on the car for 1 account, they could not levy again using the car for other accounts-You could be entitled to a refund of these fees.

You really need to contact B&S for a breakdown of charges so you can see exactly what you've been charged for that you shouldn't have.

[tucomanco]

Re: Help required on Bristow and sutor seizure of goods (car)

Hi all,

Just to update you i went to CAB today.

A really brilliant chap was disgusted they issued me with this seizure and levy.

He called the council, and over the phone, due to my regular and sometimes over payments they reclaimed the debt form the bailliffs and this is back in the hands of the council...

A happy ending!!!!!

Thanks all