Why have Bristow & Sutor added additional fees to the total of my debt?

Bristow & Sutor charge fees in accordance with the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. The fees are set by legislation and are the same for all civil enforcement agents operating in England and Wales. There are two different fee scales, one for High Court Enforcement, and one for non-High Court Enforcement.

Non- High Court Enforcement Fee Scale

The three fees that you may have to pay are as follows:

• • Compliance Stage: £75 fee added to the case when we are instructed to recover the debt
  • Enforcement Stage: £235 fee added when a visit is made for a case or group of cases with a value of up to £1500. If the case or group of cases are above £1500, a further 7.5% of the value of the debt above £1500 is added. As an example: if you have three cases with a total value of £2000, the enforcement fee would be £235 + 7.5% of £500. This is £272.50 which is then rounded up to £273.
  • Sale or Disposal Stage: £110 fee added when a visit is made for the purpose of removing controlled goods for a case or group of cases with a value of up to £1500. If the case or group of cases are above £1500, a further 7.5% of the value of the debt above £1500 is added.

High Court Enforcement Fee Scale

The four fees that you may have to pay are as follows:-

• £75 Compliance stage fee added to every case as soon as we are asked to collect the debt.
• £190 Enforcement stage 1 fee added as soon as a visit is made for a case or group of cases with a value of up to £1000. If the case or group of cases are above £1000 a further 7.5% of the debt above the £1000 is added.
• £495 Enforcement Stage 2 fee added on default of a controlled goods agreement or if no controlled goods agreement in place follow
• £525 Sale or Disposal stage fee added as soon as a visit is made for the purpose of removing controlled goods for a case or group of cases with a value of up to £1000. If the case or group of cases are above £1000 a further 7.5% of the debt above the £1000 is added.

As an example if you have three cases with a total value of £2000 the enforcement fee would be £190 + 7.5% of £1000. This comes to £265.

You may also have to pay for things like locksmiths charges, storage charges and fees charged or incurred by auctioneers. If these costs apply, they will be outlined on the paperwork that is given to you by the visiting agent.