Council tax debt - please can someone advise me.

LisaB1970

Yesterday i had a visit from a bailiff from Bristow & Sutor. I wasnt home but i was left a letter stating that i owed £620 in council tax from 2001-2002
I called the council as i was not aware of this debt and they said i do owe it. Around that time i was in the middle of a messy divorce, me ex husband declared himself bankrupt (crafty) and my home was under a repossession order. I did offer to pay back £50 a month back then but they refused so i thought, sod it, you can wait.
I forgot all about this until now. I moved here 5 years ago, and this debt is from my previous address - i am in council rented property so they have known where i was all along yet i have had no correspondence from the council about this whatsoever. When i called the council and asked why it had taken so long i was told "well, we have so much council tax debts we didnt bother sending out notices we just passed it straight to the debt collectors". I am absolutely furious. I have no problem paying this back at all, but i cannot afford the £60 they want in 7 days and anotehr £50 a week for 10 weeks! I am a mature student at university, with 3 dependant children and am a single parent. The only benefits i receive are my child tax credits, child benfit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. I get a student loan of £800 a year and thats it. I offered them £20 a month and they refused. I called the council who said they could call back the debt from these people if i paid them £50 a month. I cannot afford this at all. I am not refusing to pay this debt, i just cant afford what they are asking, and they wont take what i am offering.
B & S said they would send a bailiff round who would take my things out of my house if i dont pay, i kept telling her i wanted to pay but she would not accept my £20 a month offer.
I have written a letter to my local council which goes like this:

Dear Sir/Madam

I have been contacted by Bristow & Sutor with reference to the above account at XX xxxxxxx xxxxx, Xxxxxxx, who have made unreasonable demands for payment of this debt, therefore I am requesting a full breakdown of the debt owed.
Please could you also provide details of when the final demand for the debt was sent and confirm when the liability order was obtained.
I would also like to know why there has been a prolonged and unexplained delay in recovering this amount as this debt is from 2001/2002. I have had no correspondence from you whatsoever regarding this debt since moving to XX Xxxxxx Xxxxx 5 years ago.
With this in mind I shall expect a response from you in 7 days before I escalate this to a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Yours sincerely

Have i done and said the right thing? I mentioned the Ombudsman as i am so annoyed that they can do this and not even try to help me. I took the letter to the offices and obtained a receipt as i wanted it there ASAP, and hopefully get an answer before the bailiff comes back.

I know a debt is statute barred after 6 years, but the bloke on the phone said if they have obtained a liability order within that time then they can pursue it forever if necessary. Bristow & Sutor told me the liability order was obtained on 29th April 2002.


Can anyone advise me what to do if the bailiff comes back? I have tried to sort this out but neither my council not B & S will take my offer and want me to agree to pay them an amount i cannot possibly afford. I have no other debts but i have been worried to death all day about this and dont know what to do apart from send the letter.

Thanks in advance.

saffronflowers

Hi - I need to go and check but I am pretty sure that there is a moriturium between Local Goverment associations that says that they do not persue debts that are more than 6 years old - similar to statute barred. let me go and have a look around to find the relevant info for you.

SFx

LisaB1970

Thanks very much for the swift response.

I just want to get this sorted and not have it hanging over me.

saffronflowers

The council should not go to the magistrates court and ask for a liability order for council tax if the application is made more than six years after the council tax became due. This is under Regulation 34(3) Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.
Council tax appears to be “due” when the council sent a demand notice to you which may not be at the same time the council tax rate was set. It is important that you check when the demand was sent as this affects when the 6 year limitation period begins. You can also complain to the Local Government Ombudsman if the demand was not sent out “as soon as practicable” after the rate was set

If the Council Tax was due more than 6 years ago then the council are unable to ask the Court for a Liability Order (a liability order allows the council to deduct the Council Tax debt from your wages or benefits). However, it is unlikely that the council will have allowed this to happen, and they will usually have obtained a Liability Order before the 6 years are up.

It would appear to me that B&S are trying to pull a fast one - but you really need to check dates etc.

SFx

LisaB1970

The liability order was made on 22nd April 2002

This is what im confused about. If this liability order has been made can they still collect this debt? The bloke i spoke to at the council said thet once they have a liability order within the 6 years they can pursue it for life.

The liability order was made over 6 years ago so where do i stand?

LisaB1970

Thats brilliant Herbie21 thankyou.

What would you suggest i do next? I haven't dealt with bailiffs turning up before and the debt being this old so i dont know what my next step would be? Any advise would be great.
Thanks in advance

CarolynH

Troll reported. Folks - don't respond to him/her please - all his/her post will be removed by a mod shortly.

Aylana

I might well be stating the obvious here, but do not let the bailiff in your house if they come back. Not under any circumstances ever!!! EVER! lol, can you tell I made this mistake!? If you let them in willingly once then they can get in without your permission in the future.

Your letter is really good. I'm sure Herbie and others will be back with more advice later.

LisaB1970

Thanks Aylana. I just want to know what i can do know seeing as neither the bailiffs nor the council will accept my offer of payment, and how i deal with the bailiffs should they come to my house again.

Ames

I don't really know anything about bailiffs, but are you sure you're getting all the benefits you're entitled to? I think given your situation you should be on income support, depending how many contact hours your course is.

LisaB1970

Im not entitled to income support because i am a full time student, so i have to make do with what i already get.