Bristow and Sutor and Bristol Council Tax

[codders78]

I missed a council tax payment in December

 

Bristol City Council handed my account over to a Baliff,

this amount incorporated the December amount and Feb and March.

 

The baliff arrived at my house 1 day after Bristol City Council had taken a payment from me.

 

The Baliff states I need to pursue the Council for this money as the order has been made for the amount outstanding

- I am in discussions with the council regarding this.

 

However I contacted the offices of Bristow and Sutor and

told them I had some short term finance issues but would have the whole amount to them by April 15th,

they told me this was fine.

 

As it happened I had the money by the 8th of April and contacted their offices to pay the amount

- circa £350.00,

 

they informed me that the paperwork was with the baliff and he would be visiting me today,

they gave me his mobile number and i duly contacted him to pay the amount outstanding.

 

He told me he had already visited the property and I now owed a further £235.00, money I simply don't have.

 

He said if I paid the amount outstanding it would look good it had been cleared

and there would be an exellent chance of the additional fees being written off given I had the cleared the arrears.

 

Clearly I was very naive as todays conversation with Bristow and Sutor did not go well,

I remained calm and didnt get irate when they told me the charges stood and how would I like to pay them.......

 

Do I have any recourse to go back to the council and talk to them about this?

 

I dont dispute what I paid last week as it was due but £235.00 is a lot of money for a man currently struggling

and just to cover the seemingly excessive fees of Bristow and Sutor

[ploddertom]

If he is claiming to have visited did he leave any paperwork to say so?

[renegadeimp]

Sounds like the bailiff could be up to their old tricks to get more money out of you. Why the hell the government thought these changes were a good idea is mind boggling.

[codders78]

Yes he did leave paperwork but I have no idea if this was before or after my call to him

[dx100uk]

pay the council directly

[ploddertom]

Yes he did leave paperwork but I have no idea if this was before or after my call to him

 

So what does it say?

[tomtubby]

Codders. In order to provide an adequate reply it will be necessary to ask quite a few question.

 

When was the Liability Order issued and the PRECISE amount (according to the the council).

 

What date was the Liability Order passed to the bailiff company by Bristol?

 

Did you receive a letter from Bristol to advise you that a Liability Order had been issued and when was this?

 

How much have you paid the council and when.

 

How much have you paid the bailiff company and the precise date?

 

Finally, it is important to find out EXACTLY what fees have already been added to the account (excluding the £235)