Council Tax - Court Summons

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  • krustychops
    krustychops Posts: 21 Forumite
    Hi Guys
    Please forgive me as i am new to this site and probably posted incorrectly.
    Can anyone help please
    In December 2009 i moved into our new home. We recieved a council tax bill in February from the period 1st Dec 2009 to March 2010 for a sum of £620. I called up in Feb and payed off £100 (as i am quite strapped at the moment) i was then told that i would be issued a new bill. On Friday i recieved the new bill minus the £100 and told that i must pay the £520 within 7 days. Also i have recieved my 2010 bill from April through to Jan and they want my first payment of £189 paid by the 1st of April.
    I thought that you didnt pay council Tax between Jan to Mar is this correct????
    Also will i be able to pay my Dec to March bill in installments monthly preferably????
    Thanks in advance for your replies
    K
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
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    When a Demand Notice is issued at the start of the year you get 10 statutory instalments however this still covers the whole year (effectively 12 months charge is paid in 10 instalments). If the bill is issued later in the year than April the number of instalments reduces to a minimum of 1 for bills issued in January , February or March.

    In your case it looks like you have received a reminder as you have not paid as requested, The only way around this is to either ask if they'll run it alongside the current years or pay before the summons date. If its not cleared by the court date then a Liability Order will be issued and then its up to the council whether to accept a payment arranagment or not . Once the order is granted then they can issue an Attachment of Earnings/Benefit or instruct a bailiff in the first isntance.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • RenegadeI_2
    RenegadeI_2 Posts: 1 Newbie
    Hi all, I have been sent a Court Summons to pay for OVERDUE Council Tax. I was staying at my parents because COUNCIL was INTENTIONALLY DELAYING adapting my bathroom for WHEELCHAIR use. I have proof of this.....what can I do about this..????

    THANKS
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,640 Forumite
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    edited 3 April 2010 at 4:09PM
    Renegade - some more info re period of CT owing and why this adaptation was intentionally delayed would be helpful. HoweverI would suggest that you pay the amount requested asap as a summons means the council will be able to legally enforce the debt usually by bailiff action.

    If you haven't contacted council before now then contact them on Tuesday. Unless your home has been unfurnished and occupied for less than 6 months you don't appear to be entitled to any period of exemption.

    Final point. There is little point you attending the court as you will not be allowed to speak.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Hi all, I have been sent a Court Summons to pay for OVERDUE Council Tax. I was staying at my parents because COUNCIL was INTENTIONALLY DELAYING adapting my bathroom for WHEELCHAIR use. I have proof of this.....what can I do about this..????

    THANKS
    Unfortunately this does not negate the fact that council tax payable - there are no grounds for witholding council tax on the basis that a service is not being provided . It has already been found in a liability order appeal that a case in which the council tax payer witheld money as the council owed them money from another dept that this was not legal grounds to withold payment of council tax, delay in providing a service would be looked at the same way.
    Unless your home has been unfurnished and occupied for less than 6 months you don't appear to be entitled to any period of exemption.
    I think I would disagree (first time I think we ever have), I would consider the sole or main residence not to have changed and there was intention to return so that it would remain their 'sole or main residence' regardless and therefore could not be exempt.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,640 Forumite
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    CIS - in this case I was presuming OP had never actually occupied due to bathroom problem
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    CIS - in this case I was presuming OP had never actually occupied due to bathroom problem

    In which case you would be correct. I think the OP needs to clarify.
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • katieb1615
    katieb1615 Posts: 1 Newbie
    Hi There,

    I moved into my new house in June 2008, In January of this year i received a council tax bill from my previous address from 2008 - 2010. I contacted the council, who resolved this and sent me an amended bill for £75.00, this was promptly paid in February!

    2 weeks later i receievd a final demand from the council for £500.00, i wrote to the council to explain all if the above and asked if i could pay in installments, as i cant afford to pay a lump sum. Furthermore i pointed out that this was their error as i had paid teh FINAL BILL of £75.00 previously.
    That was in March.

    I receieved no reply to my email above and last week receieved a summons to court. I have again written to them advising that they had failed to reply to my email of March. I am not contesting this debt, I simply wish to pay in installments over 5 months. Surely it is unreasonable that they have ignored my communications and failed to acknowledge that this was an error on their part. Had i received the correct bill back in February, i would have set up a direct debit to pay this off.

    I cannot attend the court hearing (07/05/10) due to work commitments and there was nothing for me to send back to the courts. To be honest the claim form looked a bit suspect (IE: the council have produced this using HMCS headed paper), i think this as i deal with HMCS on a daily basis as i am a credit controller!

    I am so stressed about this to the point where i cant even eat i feel so sick! I have been emailing the council on a daily basis (as i feel i have no proof of contact over the phone), still without a reply. I have also made a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.

    Is there anything further i can do?

    KATIE
  • CIS
    CIS Posts: 12,260 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    I cannot attend the court hearing (07/05/10) due to work commitments and there was nothing for me to send back to the courts. To be honest the claim form looked a bit suspect (IE: the council have produced this using HMCS headed paper), i think this as i deal with HMCS on a daily basis as i am a credit controller!

    If your talking about the summons then it is legally issued by the Court however in most areas the council will issue them on behalf of the court due for administration reasons. Either method is quite legal with the agrrement of the court.

    At this stage theres nothing to dispute with the court, you need to deal with the local authority. The only time at which you are able to dispute it with the court is at the Liability Order hearing and even then there are very few valid defences (if the amount is owed and you have been billed correctly then dont have a valid defence).
    2 weeks later i receievd a final demand from the council for £500.00, i wrote to the council to explain all if the above and asked if i could pay in installments, as i cant afford to pay a lump sum. Furthermore i pointed out that this was their error as i had paid teh FINAL BILL of £75.00 previously.
    That was in March.

    Provising that the amended bill is correct then the fact they issued a final bil previously does not remove the liability - the council are under an obligation to ensure that they bill people for their correct period of liability. If new inforamtion comes to light then they can issue an amended bill.
    2 weeks later i receievd a final demand from the council for £500.00, i wrote to the council to explain all if the above and asked if i could pay in installments, as i cant afford to pay a lump sum. Furthermore i pointed out that this was their error as i had paid teh FINAL BILL of £75.00 previously.

    Have you checked the dates shown on the bill to check the period they cover and the date they were produced ?. Is it possible the the £500 demand was issued before the amended bill and only arrived later due to delays ?
    I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.
  • joanne0620
    joanne0620 Posts: 435 Forumite
    Hello, just looking for some advice.

    We received a Summons for 1 months council tax this morning, when OH phoned to pay last time we asked the lady to set up a DD for the rest of the year.

    We thought this had been done and have come back off holiday to a summons, council tax should have been paid while we were away.

    OH has rung and paid over the phone so do we still have to attend court? We can't anyway as I am in hospital having major surgery on the court date!

    Any advice on what to do next? OH was told to put a complaint in writing about the DD not being set up which he has done via email.

    Thanks :)
    **Trying my best to be the best that I can**

    Cheese and Shoe Addict!
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