Bristow & Sutor Arvostelua 

If Only I could give 0.... Have a missed called from a number I do not recognise, then bam a very threatening text, about me unwilling to cooperative, uhm, I have never had any contact or dealings so that's a lie first off...

I decide to ring back and met with with cold hostility, I am annoyed as the person would give me zero information that would help me understand other than there is another person on the liability order and its from years ago..... well one I don't live in the Salford area, and two I have never been in arrears with my council tax.... They then had the audacity to ask if I would share where I am and long I have been at my home...errrr nah you give me nothing and expect me to share details when I have no idea that this is actually anything to do with me.

I never get shocked by the lack of customer service professionalism with this company.
Before I use to when I first started dealing with them. But after a while you literally realise that everyone that picks up the phone is miserable, dismissive, cold and never talks lie they actually want to be there at work picking up the phone. Granted it must be a tough role to answer calls all day from people that truly dont want anything to do with you. But you can at least have a sense of warmth about you, a sense of care in your voice. Talk with enthusiasm for the role. This is the only company that every single call I make to thrn gives me anxiety. Every interaction leaves me severely depressed and dreading the next interaction. The dismissive tone they take even when they first answer before getting past security makes you wanna hang up before you've even asked your question. I’ve been in debt over 10 years now and I can honestly say Lowell, Link financial, Lantern, just to name but a few debt collectors; could ALL teach these awful Bristow & Sutor how to pick up the phone & how to have a civilised conversation. Considering their all debt collectors in one form or the other Bristow & sutor are the only ones your guaranteed to get off the phone feeling a million times worse about your life;then when you started & totally pushed over the edge of your mental health.

On 28th May I received a reply on Trustpilot from those cretins. I answered them. Nobody contacted me for a further assistance like they said in that reply. Can be checked onTrustpilot.

Contacted customer service department for the client got a response regarding my son's medical conditions uploaded the evidence again to them ***kept proof of this ** so when enforcement officer turns up he / she should be aware this vulnerable household 2 adults with metal heath conditions and a child under 16 ***leaving this here has proof of this ** as u never responded to me here due previous experiences regarding delay in paypoint bar code Slip ** which the client was fully aware of. ...( By Me ) ....and u blaming the postal service * when u had broken the arranged payment agreement made me wait 9 weeks : also had to wait 14 weeks for the client to reduce the amount paid ** This isn't my problem stated this to the client ** we managed to pay £520.11 of the debt ** which I can provide *** has kept all reciepts *** when contacted you last week I had no income ** couldn't pay £300 u demanding ** explained couldn't pay untill middle of July *** my son is now suspended from work untill further notice is waiting on medical advice and assistance / medication hopefully client will contact you to inform you * as I am not dealing with Bot ***And cannot ring by telephone has cannot fund this **regards Miss Carmel forsythe

A hideous bunch of cretins. Despite setting up a payment plan I’m getting almost daily threats to take my belongings. Amazing how they pursue you for a couple of hundred quid. Vile.

Very bad experience with Bristow & Sutor. few facts, how they take you for granted.
1. No email address publishes on their site.They want you to send them letter by post ( who does in today’s time)
2. No web chat available.
3. WhatsApp message is run on AI, you will not be able to contact an agent. Even if you try to call that number, you cannot get through.
4. Staff not courteous / helpful.
5. My case is in court and they have still clamped my vehicle, no way to contact them, except their agent who is not ready to listen.
I will not even give the 1 star ( but there was no option).

Disgusting bullying behaviour from their agent for £600 for congestion charge that was on autopay and the fine should never have been issued nothing was ever sent to us the 1st we heard was from mr bully boy demanding we pay immediatly or it will go up

Absolutely awful company. Disgusting. Over a Dartfood charge. They had been sending the penalty charge notices to the wrong address (haven’t lived there for 4 years.) Tried to appeal but needed the penalty charge notice from the letters, they refused to give it to me. I’m a young female by myself, was intimated and made to feel frightened. Police wouldn’t help. Pushed his way into my house. Wouldn’t do a payment plan. Was made to pay the full amount or he would not leave (or take stuff) even thought I have appealed he wouldn’t wait for the outcome. Nasty nasty unhelpful company. Over £600 lost over a £3.50 dart charge.
I had spoken with citizen advice/ free debt collectors and there’s so much misinformation. Disgusting company

Here we are again. Still the same horrible nasty bullying people. I have lost count of the amount t of times I have said to them I am a vulnerable person on my own in the property , have severe mental health issues and I don’t have to answer the door.
If you are vulnerable and alone they can’t come in.
They are rude and have zero respect for anyone. I have tried and tried to explain my situation. They don’t want to know. All I get is are you going to pay in full. When I say no they either put the phone down or say we can’t help you then.
Just horrible vile disgusting company. Dont contact me again.

Utterly disgusting bullying company who send you incorrect details of other people . They escalate not deescalate completely incompetent and unproffesional. Constant breach of data if other peoples.cases and just keep adding random money onto an account already paid . Your staff are untrained unhelpfull and completely incompetent . Definetely the worst most greedy bullying company i habe ever had to deal with zero stars

UPDATE – June 2026

This matter has now moved far beyond the original complaint.

Following the evidence submitted, Derby City Council removed the case from its normal operational handling and appointed a senior manager to conduct an independent review. The Council has now requested further evidence, confirmed that a vulnerability assessment was allegedly carried out, and is continuing its investigation rather than closing the file.

Of particular significance, correspondence from the National Audit Office confirmed that the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) is not a statutory regulator and is not accountable to Parliament or audited by the NAO. The NAO also confirmed that the Government has already consulted on potential reforms to strengthen regulation of the enforcement sector.

The issues raised in this case now extend beyond a single enforcement visit and include:

• Vulnerability safeguards and creditor responsibilities.
• Misleading references to County Court Judgments (CCJs) later acknowledged by the enforcement firm.
• Missing body-worn camera evidence referenced during court proceedings.
• Questions regarding enforcement oversight and accountability.
• Procedural concerns surrounding correspondence and enforcement activity.

The Council has been asked to disclose the vulnerability assessment it says was conducted before enforcement proceeded against a resident undergoing treatment for cancer.

A separate submission concerning wider public-interest issues involving both Bristow & Sutor and the current regulatory framework will be provided to the Ministry of Justice.

The documentary record now speaks for itself. I will provide a further update once Derby City Council completes its review.

Horrible company. They sent me a letter about council tax it came almost 4 weeks after the date they issued it. I rang to set up a payment plan, Thought id sorted it. Two days later I get a visit from the enforcement officer. When I ring the office back they said they rejected the plan, not what they said when I set it up with them, ring back and pay your first installment on the 6th is what they said. I live in supported housing. I've been homeless. All I have is some clothes. Tried to sort the payment plan, been on the phone everyday for 3 days. They don't want to know just want to inforce in 14 days to drive up the cost of money I don't have. Wasting both my time and there's. I've offered attachment to earnings of my benefits and they still don't care. Staff are unhelpfull and rude.

Had loads of issues with this company, only person that was able to sort me out was a lovely lady named Kaurvinder, very professional and got things done. The others couldn't be bothered to help and were just obsessed with taking payment.

An agent from this company named Joe was seen, shouting at a lady shouting her business on the doorstep, and previous addresses, and the reason of debt. This was in public while people were in their gardens and walking to the park. He asked her personals questions regarding finances on the doorstep. When she pointed out about confidentiality he felt it didn't apply to him. Why do employees of thus company think the law does not apply to them. What are policies and procedures the company holds in regards to this. This is a privacy violation and data protection breach the law applies to everyone. The agent displayed inappropriate behavior which is not in line of how to deal with the public. He was intimidating and has total disregard of how to deal with the situation in a sensitive manner.

Rottweiler of a company , with only sharks as employees . Intimidating and bullying staff . It’s disgusting , disgraceful Dart charge use them for debt collection. Don’t be bullied by them! Stand up for your rights! Stand up for yourself!

I started receiving SMS, emails and calls to a landline that is only for Internet, addressed to a male person unknown to me with similar last name and first initial. I called and was advised AI computer error they would remove my details !!ok great. A day later ... more emails and calls came through, I then spent all day being given the runaround... we can't help.... different team.... wait for a call back...the person who emailed you is the only person who can sort.....I was not having that at all - correct your information .. unpaid car toll charges ..One extremely call handler ( cant be customer service advisor !!) overly pompous rude and arrogant bully of a male, wanted me to clear security and provide my full name and address before he'd even assist... !! crazy especially as I know you can see the details on the screen, I gave my details reluctantly just to get this sorted ... HE then accused me of lying and that I had given false information and that I needed to clear GDPR OTHERWISE HE would not help me .. and I could look up thier policies and what GDPR means online...he then talked over me shouted barked and accused me of being the person a male !!!! who owed the debt !!! shouting at me ...he ended the call ... I breathed and tried another call and after being transferred for the 3rd time today ( having left multi messages, patiently waited 4 hours for "Wendy" to call me back ) I was finally advised HOORAH my details ( again AI error given for mistake at tracing someone with same initials and or surname and one digit the same in a phone number !! how bizarre) was informed my contact details had already been removed from the debtors details .. probably from the previous unhelpful obnoxious scoundrel who shouted and barked his was through the other call (he was so rude ) having realised the truth and his error !! I am not even in the same county ever lived at the address or have the same vehicle nor am I male. And GDPR I was given by SMS the person name and was given the first line of their address to validate I am and never have lived at that address ... crazy yet this excuse was given as not enough to clear my name by the call handler before ..
Please do your due diligence before stressing and threatening random people which makes no sense unless this company's ethos is scare and bully anyone who answers the threatening scare harassing emails,calls, or SMS into paying another's debts. DIABOLICAL NASTY and DISGUSTING treatment of an innocent individual.

So I talked to them in the morning and told them I would not be able to pay in 3 instalments but they told me that’s not something I can choose. What kind of arrangement is this then ? Tried to contact them many times. Their website is not working their WhatsApp is not working how can council work with them? Such an unprofessional company. I want you to contact me and offer me a payment plan that is suitable for me please

Once i had been served with my debt (council tax). I rang to get a dd in place. The lady i spoke to was lovely, non judgemnetal and patient with me. I couldnt set up a DD at the time. I think they couldnt adjust the date they wanted to take the DD or something like that. I cant remember exactly now, as it was over 1 year ago. I would pay each month on my pay day as a bank transfer, as agreed with the lady on the phone. The only annoying thing was the website doesnt work well on computer, only phone. Well, im always working, so the computer works best but never mind. It was easy enough with your ID number they give you. Sometimes really slow like the website on the phone browser was outdated? Didnt fit the screen properly? idk! I didnt get any reminders, which i peronally prefer. I know in the past, i have paid a day late or a bank holiday has got in the way of the exact date but i have not heard from one member of staff with pressure or rudness on the phone with a day late payment moan etc. I honour this with a company, I truely do. I am the kind of person that if you put stress on, then it isnt happening. I am debt free now, as of last month and i wouldnt be mad if i have to deal with Bristow and Sutor again. Saying that... I would have liked an email saying, congratulations, thank you, well done or you do not owe anything, when paying my last payment on my debt last month. No acknowledgment at all. The small things matter when your dealing with people trying their hardest to make it all work. 'Previous payments, up coming payments, balance owed ?' All very vague for such a big debt collection company. Maybe a little refresh on the website?

Rang today to pay a balance stated on the letter received. I received the letter 2 weeks after it was dated. The call handler told me I owe over double what the original letter claimed as I hadn’t paid on time, but in the same sentence she also admitted they’d been having issues with the postal service. I said I was happy to pay the original amount stated on the letter, as the late post was neither mine or the fault of this company. This is where she started to become argumentative and aggressive, talking over me, not letting me finish what I was saying, she was tripping over her own lies in the end. Rude and unprofessional. Money grabbing individuals, out to take advantage of people. I’m officially raising this as complaint and wish for this to be investigated further!

if i could give 0 stars i would. horrible company, horrible staff. they don’t care what situation you are in financially or mentally, they will continue the send threats. should be shut down.