Bristow & Sutor: what a letter means and what to do

If the letter is a notice of enforcement, the clock is already running: bailiffs can visit once the notice period ends, and a visit adds £247 to what you owe. That still leaves you time to check the debt, contact the council, offer a payment you can afford and get free advice. This guide covers England and Wales, where Bristow & Sutor works.

Who are Bristow & Sutor?

Bristow & Sutor is registered at Companies House as BRISTOW & SUTOR, company number 01431688. It is an active private unlimited company, incorporated on 20 June 1979, with its registered office in Redditch, Worcestershire. Since 14 June 2017 it has been controlled by BB Shelf 4 LLP, which holds 75% or more, with the private equity firm Sovereign Capital Partners LLP also listed as having significant control.

It is an enforcement agency, not a debt collection agency. Its website lists council tax, non-domestic (business) rates, penalty charge notices (including parking, moving traffic, tolls and clean air zones) and High Court enforcement, which it says it handles with a sister company, Credit Style. It describes its clients as local authorities and central government.

Bristow & Sutor is a member of CIVEA, the Civil Enforcement Association, which is a trade association. It has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023. The ECB is independent but voluntary and industry-funded; there is no statutory regulator for bailiffs yet. You may read online that Bristow & Sutor is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is not on the FCA register, and bailiff work is not FCA regulated.

Why have Bristow & Sutor contacted you?

A council, or another public body, has passed an unpaid debt to them for enforcement. It can only do this once it has legal authority:

• Council tax and business rates: the council must first get a liability order from the magistrates’ court. Once it has one, it can instruct enforcement agents.
• Parking and traffic penalties: after an order for recovery, you have 21 days to pay or challenge. If you do neither, bailiffs will be told to visit, under a warrant of control.
• High Court enforcement: a creditor with a High Court writ of control can instruct High Court enforcement officers.

The first letter you get is usually a notice of enforcement. As soon as the firm is instructed, a compliance fee of £79 is added to the debt.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the name, address, creditor, reference number and amount. If anything is wrong, contact the council using the details on its official website, and tell Bristow & Sutor in writing that you dispute the debt. For council tax, the council can explain what the liability order covers. For a parking penalty, you can only challenge the order for recovery on limited grounds, such as never receiving the penalty notice, and usually within 21 days.

CIVEA says only the creditor, such as the council, can cancel a warrant or court order. That is why it pays to talk to the council directly, not just the firm.

What can Bristow & Sutor do, and what can they not do?

Bristow & Sutor’s agents follow the same law as every other bailiff in England and Wales. The key rules are set out below; our guide to bailiffs and what they can and cannot do has more detail.

Notice

You must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days before an agent can take control of your goods. If a debt adviser asks on your behalf before those days run out, this extends to at least 28 clear days.

Fees

For example, on council tax arrears of £1,200, the compliance fee would take the total to £1,279, and a visit would add £247, making £1,526. There is no percentage fee because the debt is under £1,900. High Court enforcement has a separate, higher fee scale.

Entry

You usually do not have to open the door or let a bailiff in. They cannot come in by pushing past you, when only children under 16 or vulnerable people are present, between 9pm and 6am, or through anything except a door. They can only force entry to a home to collect criminal fines, Income Tax or Stamp Duty, as a last resort. Council tax, business rates and parking penalties are not on that list.

What they can take

If you let them in, they can take control of goods that are not protected. They cannot take clothes, beds and bedding, a cooker or fridge, a washing machine, basic heating and lighting, items needed to care for children, disabled or older people, pets, work tools and equipment together worth less than £1,350, or anything belonging to someone else. They can take a car you own from outside, unless it is exempt.

Vulnerable people

GOV.UK says you may be able to get extra time to pay, or to get debt advice, if you are vulnerable. Bristow & Sutor’s website says it has welfare and safeguarding teams and trains staff to spot vulnerability. Tell the firm and the council about illness, disability, mental health problems or anything else that makes things harder for you, with evidence if you have it.

What should you do at each stage?

When the notice of enforcement arrives

Note the date and work out when the 14 clear days end (Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count). Contact the firm or the council before then. If you can pay in full, doing so before a visit avoids the £247 enforcement fee. If you cannot, offer an amount you can realistically keep up. A debt adviser can ask for the longer 28-day notice period while you sort out a plan.

If an agent visits

Ask for proof of identity, such as a badge, ID card or enforcement agent certificate. You can check whether someone is a certificated enforcement agent on the official register. You do not have to let them in, but if you do not, they could take a car you own from outside. Keep doors locked if you do not want them to come in.

If you sign a controlled goods agreement

A controlled goods agreement lets you keep your goods while you pay, but you agree not to sell or get rid of them. Only sign up to payments you can keep up. If you break it, the agent must give you at least 2 clear days of written notice before coming back to inspect or remove the goods, and the notice must say if reasonable force may be used. If you cannot make a payment, contact the firm before you miss it.

If goods are about to be removed

Contact the council and the firm straight away, and get debt advice the same day if you can. The sale stage adds another £116, plus a percentage on larger debts. Always get a receipt for any payment you make.

Is this letter or visit really from Bristow & Sutor?

• Use the contact details on your own paperwork or on your council’s official website. The council can tell you whether it has passed your account to Bristow & Sutor.
• Do not rely on a phone number found through a search engine or given in an unexpected text, email or call. This page deliberately does not list the firm’s contact details for that reason.
• Ask for identification at the door and check the certificated enforcement agent register.
• Be wary of anyone who pushes you to pay immediately into an account you do not recognise. If in doubt, ring the council on a number you trust before you pay.

How do debt solutions affect Bristow & Sutor?

Council tax arrears are a priority debt, because the consequences of not paying are serious, so they usually need dealing with before non-priority debts such as credit cards.

• Breathing Space pauses enforcement action on included debts for up to 60 days. Council tax is only covered once arrears have built up, and court fines are not covered at all.
• A debt management plan is informal and does not stop enforcement. Creditors can still take action even if you keep up the payments.
• An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it. Secured debts, and debts that cannot be included, are outside it. The insolvency practitioner will check which debts can be included, so tell them about any enforcement.
• During a debt relief order, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for it without the court’s permission. DROs are free, for people with debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000.
• After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts. Bankruptcy costs £680 to apply for.

Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects on your credit file. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

How do you complain about Bristow & Sutor?

1. Use Bristow & Sutor’s own complaints procedure first, in writing. CIVEA says you must do this before going elsewhere.
2. Complain to the council that instructed the firm. If you are unhappy with the council’s response, you can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
3. Because Bristow & Sutor is accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board, the ECB can investigate complaints about it and its agents. Complain within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response. CIVEA itself does not investigate complaints.
4. For serious misconduct by a certificated enforcement agent, you can complain to the court on form EAC2. It is free, but you may have to pay costs if the court decides there were no reasonable grounds.

GOV.UK explains how to complain about a bailiff, including the EAC2 form. Our guide to dealing with debt collectors covers complaints about collection agencies, which follow a different route.

What to do next

1. Do not ignore the letter. Work out when the notice period ends and act before then.
2. Contact the council and Bristow & Sutor, using official contact details, with an offer you can afford. Keep a note of every call and a copy of every letter.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. An adviser can ask for more time and look at all your debts together. See where to get free debt advice.