Bristow and sutor - OHs old CTAX debt and broken goods agreement

[morgan8080 1]

Hi

my husband has a debt with our council and owes £1500

 

I let the bailiffs in as I didn't know my rights and they did A controlled goods agreement which I signed.

 

I missed a payment and we Spoke to council and they made us pay £700 and then £300 a month after I was pressured into making this and the £709 nearly skinned us and still haven't got back on track.

 

I have missed the £300 a month for 2 months now as we cannot afford it and bailiffs say no to a different arrangement .

 

I called them today and they said no and they will be doing a visit next week to gain entry.

 

Firstly what can I do?

I can't afford to pay the arrears of £600 and also the debt is in my husbands name only and it's me who has arranged it all and signed everything .. he doesn't even know.?

 

Shouldn't they have spoken to him and not me???

 

Also I am classed as a vulnerable person due to medical problems

 

Oh and it's my name on controllled agreement

 

Pleas help?

[Andyorch 10,144]

Hi morgan

 

You will have to exercise a little patience here and wait for further advice..Im sure you will receive a response later.

 

I will keep an eye on your thread.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[ploddertom 2,673]

You say you owe £120 - is this correct or a mistake? Is it for Council Tax?

 

Can you list the goods that have been taken into control exactly as listed on the agreement?

[morgan8080 1]

My husband is listed on the controlled goods agreement I've just found it.

But the payments listed were lower then that I signed to?

 

Also the MacBook was bought by me and the car Is in my name

[morgan8080 1]

Sorry we have £1500 left owing I think may be £1200 I'll check

 

Listed is sofa , tv , foot stool, tv stand, MacBook thenjn conservatory is sofa, tv, printer , drawer units, microwave, lamp , mirror

 

Most of all this is now gone and changed to new due to having a sewerage leak through kitchen and living room and the insurance paying for it all to be replaced.

 

what they have listed is now not there except car, MacBook, tv in bedroom and printer.

I think I can prove all these in my name.

[ploddertom 2,673]

Right let's go back to the beginning when it all started'

 

How many Liability Orders did the Council have and from which years?

When did the Bailiffs first attend when you let them in?

Were these the goods he listed at this time?

You say some goods have been replaced - did you advise the Bailiff they had been damaged?

Do you know what fees the Bailiffs have charged?

Do you know how much you have paid so far and who to?

Do you know how much is still outstanding?

Are you up to date with this years CT?

 

Sorry for all the questions but it is better to have a fuller picture.

[morgan8080 1]

We are not up to date

I think there's another owing under my husbands name..

don't even know if that is this year or not..

there's about 3 different council tax accounts.

 

They had one for me and I paid it off at £50 a week

( well there was two and I paid £25 each )

this continued till I stopped it as didn't even know if I had over paid.

 

Think baliffs attended in October 2016.

All the furniture listed and drawers and microwave are in the skip outside as we have nearly finished building work.

Well the insurance company have

 

. I didn't inform bristow and sutor.. should I do that??

To be honest we've been so upside down I didn't even think to

[renegadeimp 2,287]

Yes. You have to inform them as once the agreement is signed, it becomes their property. If you throw them out without informing them, then it could lead to a bad situation> The kicker is, you were gonna throw them out anyway, so why not have them come and take them off your hands anyway

[morgan8080 1]

So should I call them now? What do I say as am scared as they are very harsh on the phone

 

They are closed

[dx100uk 8,582]

Nothing more you can do till Tuesday then

Enjoy your bank holiday

[morgan8080 1]

Do you think they will accept a lower payment offer or at least not enforce the break of the controlled goods agreement

[renegadeimp 2,287]

Only one way to find out.

[ploddertom 2,673]

You say you had one for yourself?

Is this because you had one from a different address to where you now live & did this occur before you & OH became a couple?

[morgan8080 1]

No they just split the accounts / bills I can't even remember why?

 

Myself and husband had a break about ten years ago where he lived with his mum for 8 months but we have been down as a couple always

[Bailiff Advice 3,265]

 

I let the bailiffs in as I didn't know my rights and they did A controlled goods agreement which I signed.

 

I missed a payment and we spoke to council and they made us pay £700 and then £300 a month after I was pressured into making this and the £709 nearly skinned us and still haven't got back on track.

 

I have missed the £300 a month for 2 months now as we cannot afford it and bailiffs say no to a different arrangement. I called them today and they said no and they will be doing a visit next week to gain entry.

 

Firstly what can I do? I can't afford to pay the arrears of £600 and also the debt is in my husbands name only and it's me who has arranged it all and signed everything .. he doesn't even know.?

 

Shouldn't they have spoken to him and not me??? Also I am classed as a vulnerable person due to medical problems. Oh and it's my name on controllled agreement

 

The problem with council tax debts, is that unlike court fines and parking debts, a Liability Order only needs to name one member of the household even though the council tax debt itself is considered is joint debt.

 

On the matter of your vulnerability, you need to read item 2 of the regulations below:

 

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1894/regulation/14/made?view=plain

 

Who may enter into a controlled goods agreement

 

14.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a controlled goods agreement, as defined by paragraph 13(4) of Schedule 12, may only be entered into by an enforcement agent and—

 

(a)a debtor who is not a child;

 

(b)a person, aged 18 or over, authorised by the debtor to enter into a controlled goods agreement on the debtor’s behalf; or

 

©a person in apparent authority who is on the premises, where those premises are used (whether wholly or partly) to carry on a trade or business.

 

(2) The enforcement agent may not enter into a controlled goods agreement with the debtor or another person who it appears (or ought to appear) to the enforcement agent does not understand the effect of, and would therefore not be capable of entering into, such an agreement.

 

It may well be a good idea to speak with Bristow & Sutor on Tuesday and explain that the items listed on the Controlled Goods Agreement were destroyed a short while ago and if evidence if required, the agent can view the items in a skip on the driveway.

[morgan8080 1]

I've done this .. woman on phone just said tell enforcement agent once they come and it's out to go to them tomorrow

[brassnecked 1,574]

Just so morgan8080 is fully prepared, what is the likelihood of B & S trying to gain entry to seize list and remove the replacements for sale. and how many of them would be exempt anyway?

[renegadeimp 2,287]

Cant remove the replacements unless theyre listed can they? The OP still has the items, albeit it in a skip. Surely if they renot actually broken, but still in working orde,r the bailiff should take them as thats what they deemed worthy of sale. Otherwise it would be like a vendetta against the OP.

[brassnecked 1,574]

In that case whether working or not, those are the items hopefully fully listed with serial numbers and accurate descriptions, and not chair 4 X dining, DVD Player Sony Black.............

[renegadeimp 2,287]

I thought if they arent specifically listed they arent allowed to take them

[brassnecked 1,574]

That's what I thought, so morgan8080 shows Busted & Stupor their items in the skip, and says no can come in no listed items inside, but offers them a payment plan that is affordable. Might work.

[renegadeimp 2,287]

unfortunately if the items are listed, they're allowed to come in.

Otherwise everyone would just have junk items inside, and then tell a bailiff a few days later they're in the skip, while there are expensive new stuff inside.

[morgan8080 1]

Bristow and sutor

We broke the agreement after they set the payment too high

we skinted ourselves to pay £700 in one go.

 

They agreed to look at a different payment plan as the car is in my name and that was their leverage before

 

After some arguing and me proving car was in my name they agreed to Remove it from controlled goods agreement,

 

I sent message to them 20th July asking what my payments would be ,

they tried calling

I was on holiday

 

I got back to a letter last night saying he wanted goods or money in full.

I said there is nothing on the controlled goods agreement other than tv and bedside drawers and he hung up on me.

 

I called office and they won't discuss it

they said it's the enforcement agent who has to deal with it and I wasn't allowed to talk to a manager as they were fully trained to deal with it.

 

I proposed £80 a month payment which is more than they'd make removing some drawers and a lamp

 

no one will discuss it and the enforcement agent is very uncooperative and rude!!!

What on earth do I do

[Bailiff Advice 3,265]

To save me having to read back on the previous posts, how much is still outstanding?

[morgan8080 1]

It is £1500 the £120 was a typing mistake

 

Please help?

 

Spoke to enforcement agent he doesn't believe that the sofas etc were ruined in flood and I have to provide proof

 

Spoke to council they say they can't say enforcement agent is doing anything wrong at present and can't intervene