Bristow & Sutor Final Warning Letter

[PDTS]

Can anyone help with a letter template please?

 

My daughter and her hustband have received a final warning letter regarding outstanding council tax from their previous address.

 

They do not dispute they owe the money but do not want to ring the telephone number on the document.

 

They would like to offer to pay a minimum amount towards the £1150 bill.

 

My son in law is on a very low wage - I think he brings home less than £900 per month.

 

They have a one year old baby and claim Working Families Tax Credit.

 

My daughter says that she responded to the Council by completing attachement of earnings documents a while ago,

but these were ignored and Bristow and Suter got involved.

 

Advice please, the Final Warning says goods may be seized and sold at auction.

 

V worried.

Thanks

[ploddertom]

For them to be able to seize goods and sell them they have to first find the said goods.

 

A Bailiff has no automatic right of entry and they would be well advised NOT to allow him entry to their home.

 

If they have any goods outside - most notably a car - then these should be put under lock & key.

 

A car should be removed a good 10 minute walk away and parked in 2 or 3 different places.

 

There is no law that says they have to deal with or speak to a Bailiff.

 

In my view payment should be made direct to the Council using online banking, Council website or automated phone line, they may even pay in cash at the Council office

- if for any reason this method is refused they need to ask the name & position of the person refusing as this will then form the basis of a complaint against the Council.

[PDTS]

Thanks for the information. Today Bristow and Suter returned, bailiff put his foot in my daughter's door and handed her husband paperwork charging them £24 for the visit! :-xSad to say that my son in law has been foolish and naive and confirmed his name. My daughter has contacted the council offering to pay in installments making it clear she doesn't want to deal with bailiffs only the council. Any more advice please?

[ploddertom]

The Council will say they can do nothing and they must deal with the Bailiff. In actuality the Council are 100% liable for the actions of their contractors and can pull this back at any time. Regardless of what the Council say follow payment solutions as said earlier. However there will be lawful Bailiff fees to allow for and providing they deny entry to their home or prevent them levying on goods outside this will total £42-50. They must also pay a regular amount at set intervals - £10 every Thursday for example.

 

PT

[tomtubby]

Below, I have copied an answer that I made in response to another query this morning.

 

It is very important to be aware that the statutory fee scale as provided by Parliament provides that a bailiff can only charge a fee of £24.50 "for attending to levy" (where no levy was made. A further such visit may be made where a fee of £18.00 can be applied. UNLESS a levy is made upon goods, there are NO FURTHER fees that can be added.

 

The bailiff and his company will not be able to survive financially on a maximum charge of £42.50 for each account. His financial "reward" will be if he is able to charge a "van attendance". He can ensure that a "van charge" will be added to the account by a number of various ways:

 

Firstly, the bailiff will try to get you to allow him to come into the property. Given the serious financial implications, this should be avoided. Many bailiffs will say that UNLESS they can be allowed into the house they cannot agree a payment plan. The simple answer to this statement is to say.....FINE...thank you....goodbye. Then you can simply pay the council direct !!

 

Instead, so many people make the big mistake of letting the bailiff into the home and this is where additional costs will then be charged.

 

A levy fee will be added together with a £12 fee for a Walking Possession. The bailiff will then TELL YOU what date payments are to be made and WHAT AMOUNTS he will agree to. If the bailiff makes sure that the amount that he agrees to is TOO HIGH, this will then mean that the 1st payment is made on time, the 2nd payment is made late and the 3rd payment is missing. It happens ALL OF THE TIME!!!

 

If the payment arrangement defaults, the bailiff is then legally entitled to come back to the property and charge an "attending to remove" fee on the basis that he has attended with " a view" to removing the goods that he had previously levied upon.

[PDTS]

Thanks for the advice folks, all noted for future reference.

 

The situation so far is the council have refused daughter's offer of payment by installments. She tried to hand over a letter making an offer of payment but was told she couldn't see anyone in person. She was able to speak to a Council Tax Recovery/Court officer on the reception 'hotline' who told her that the council can no longer deal with this so she has no choice but to contact bailiffs. This was also confirmed later via email.

 

Advice again please. Is there any legislation that they can quote to make council think again? If the council won't take the debt back, would it be better to make an offer in writing to Bristow & Sutor? BTW daughter is pretty cool about this all, but I am still worried. They can only afford around £10 per month and I don't think that will be enough.

[ploddertom]

Not wishing to pry but is there a reason why they cannot afford to pay more? If it is because their income is low have they tried to claim Council Tax benefit?

 

The reception she has had from the Council is no surprise. Those at the bottom have a script to read from and they cannot deviate from this. Find out who runs the Revenues dept and get onto them. They should also contact their local Councillor(s) who can act for them.

 

Remember there is no law that states they have to deal with or speak to a Bailiff. Payments as suggested earlier have to be accepted by the Council, they may also pay in cash - if this is refused they politely ask for the name & position of the person refusing as this will form the basis of a complaint against both the employee & the Council. You should also read many of the other threads on here as most follow a similar theme.

 

PT

[PDTS]

Hi again. They already claim benefit but this is an old bill. Good news is that the council have now softened and have said that they may be able to take the debt back and accept payment by installments. They are sending income & expenditure forms so fingers crossed and thanks for the advice.

[ploddertom]

They may go for an Attachment of Earnings or Benefits.

[PDTS]

Thanks, I know but its better than dealing with bailiffs