bristow and sutor notice of intended seizure of your goods

[cagjohn]

Hello, I am new to this site and have been told about it by a freind, I really appreciate it if you can help here please.

 

I have come home today to find a letter from bristow & sutor, they want over £300 from me including a £56 charge for their visit.

 

It is from the city of worcester and as i pay my council tax to dudley and after reading this site I dont think that it can be todo with council tax as I havent lived in worcestershire since council tax was poll tax! but i have seen on google that it may be parking fine.

 

My wife was out and the letter was half sticking out of the postbox in the front door, but our neighbor says that this strange man in a mondeo was trying to break in to the back gate and side door so its really creepy.

 

Does anyone know what I should do? I dont really have £300 spare (does anyone) but I really dont want my wife getting scared at home when Im out or anything like that.

[gloryhunter]

Hi hope this helps Bailiffs are well aware of their limited powers and may use a variety of different means to gain entry peaceably. They may attempt to walk in as soon as a door is opened. They may ask if they can use your telephone to check if an arrangement is satisfactory with their office. They may simply ask you if you would prefer to discuss matters inside. You do not have to go along with any of these methods.Most bailiffs do not have the right to force their way into your home to seize your goods. The only exception is that bailiffs from the Collector of Taxes (Inland Revenue) can get a warrant to force entry, but this is very rare.All other bailiffs have a right of peaceful entry only. This means that they cannot use force to enter your home, for example, by breaking a window or a door. However, they can enter your property through an open door or window (front and back) and can climb over fences and gates, but cannot break them down.

I take it that this has been to court and they have got a judgement against you ?Regards GH

[slick132]

Moved into Bailiffs forum

 

[cagjohn]

yes you are right, dont leave windows open which isnt hard with the british summer hehe

 

how do i find out if they have a judgement?

 

I was going to phone them but it is a premium rate number and i only have a top up mobile. I was going to send a letter but I dont know what to put as Im not really sure what I owe and why?

[Adam69]

If you want to call them which isn't always recommended unless you can record the call, I think their landline number was 01527 504030 when I used to supply them.

[cagjohn]

thanks for the number.

 

i know its not always recommended to speak but at the end of the day, they are just doing their jobs like any of us.

 

should i call to confirm what the debt is for and then ask for them to cease action and put it into writing as i think anyone could go around asking for money and they should have some way to prove there is a judegment?

[slick132]

Avoid speaking to them. They are only interested in getting money from you.

 

Keep everything in writing.

 

You need to find out what the alleged debt relates to and who it was owed to.

[brassnecked]

thanks for the number.

 

i know its not always recommended to speak but at the end of the day, they are just doing their jobs like any of us.

 

should i call to confirm what the debt is for and then ask for them to cease action and put it into writing as i think anyone could go around asking for money and they should have some way to prove there is a judegment?

 

If you do phone the bailiff, make sure you can record the call, as they suffer from severe memory loss when asked to recall what they said.

[cagjohn]

is there anything i should include in the letter to halt proceedings at this point?

[wonkeydonkey]

Send them an email asking for details of the Judgment...if it is pcn then you will have to apply OOT as you have not received the notice, that will stop enforcement

and give you time to pay if successful.

 

 

WD

[cagjohn]

ok thanks.

 

i will send an email and report back when i get somewhere.

[cagjohn]

I spoke to someone who was helpful at first and told me that it is in fact a parking fine but couldnt tell me where or when etc.

As soon as i said thta this wasnt right and i at least wanted some proof before i hand over money, they got nasty and said that the police would come along with a locksmith and take my things. Basically they wanted me to setup a direct debit.

 

So I have sent a bout 3 or 4 emails this week and finally received a reply this morning...

 

We note that you feel that you do not owe the Penalty Notice that is the subject of the Warrant of Execution we seek to enforce.

 

The Council will not normally withdraw a Warrant of Execution unless a valid Witness Statement is sworn but this will only normally be accepted if sworn within 21 days of the service of the County Court Order. It should be sworn at the County Court at which the Order was made. They have not informed us that such a Witness Statement has been accepted therefore we must continue.

 

Even if you are within the time limit, there are only four grounds on which a Witness Statement can be validly accepted . They are :-

 

1) You did not receive the Notice to owner.

 

2) You made representations to the local authority about the penalty charge within 28 days of service of the Notice to Owner and did not receive a rejection notice.

 

3) You appealed to a traffic adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject your representations but received no response to that appeal.

 

4) The Penalty Charge Notice has been paid in full.

 

Please note that unless the Council tell us not to proceed, we will continue with our recovery action.

 

 

 

There is a lot of timelimits on there and a lot of information that I think should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

At this moment, I can honestly say that I have no idea if the county court order was three days or three months ago.

 

What is the next step? Write to the council?

 

Is there a way to put these people on hold as they seem to think burglary is legal.

[ploddertom]

If it is for Parking and you are not aware of the ticket you should apply for an Out of Time to the Traffic Enforcement Centre on the basis you never received the Notice originally. Have you moved recently, is your vehicle registered at another address?

 

PT

[brassnecked]

Well they can't break in for a council pcn, so are bluffing, I think others will be able to advise further, but if you have no knowledge an Out Of Time application to the Northanpton bulk clearing kangaroo court centre , the TEC may well be in order to put the proceedings on hold, cancel the bailiff and his fees, and put the case back to the pre court stage

[cagjohn]

tom, brassneck and all. thanks for your help.

 

I sent a couple of emails which came back with cleverly worded replys about how I need to pay sooner rather than later and the usual stuff you would expect from a slightly dubious company. I sent a recorded post letter explaning that I have no knowledge of the ticket and requesting details, this was sent on the 10th. I had no reply, but have had another visit with an even bigger bill for £500+ which I have no idea how it could be so much!

 

At this point in time, I have no idea what car or where or anything really and dont even know about the court details.

 

Is it worth speaking to the council as I dont think bristow will go out of their way to help?