council tax liability order sum different from that quoted on summons

stobsai

last month i got a court summons for 13th nov from the local council, as i'd fallen three months behind on the CT payments - due to having a seasonal job which doesn't pay during the summer, leaving me skint. my CT is £64/month, so the court summons was for £384; the three months arrears plus another three months to take us to the end of the financial year.

when i started work again and got paid at the beginning of november, i paid off the three months arrears [£192] on 4th [ie. 9 days before court summons]. this morning [17th] i have received another letter from the council, saying that the court has granted a liability order against me [on 13th] for the remaining £192. so a couple of Q's for the legal bods:

* given that, by the date of the court hearing i had already paid off my arrears, are the council allowed to still ask for the liability order?

* the court summons specified that the council would be seeking a liability order for £394, however they instead sought one for £192 because i had cleared the arrears before the court date. are they allowed to vary the amount 'on the fly' like this, without writing to me again?

* the pre court summons letter was sent to me on 14th october and gave me til 21st october to pay the full amount of £394. are there any guidelines as to how long councils must give someone to pay amounts of this size? seven days is not much notice - and also are there any guidelines as to the dating of such demands? with most of the population being paid monthly, the cynic in me wonders if it is coincidence that the council sends the letter on the 2nd week of the month with a deadline for payment of the 3rd week of the month - conveniently strategically placed to be as far away as possible from the previous month's and current month's paydays. why! - it's almost as if they're trying to ensure you *can't* pay, even if you want to.

* my liability order was for the entire amount of the council tax for the rest of the year, not just the amount i owed in arrears. my local council withdraws your right to pay by monthly instalments, if you fall into arrears. is this common practice and if so is it legal? i'm sure it's what the regulations state in relation to CT, but in a broader legal sense how can it be legit? in effect it means the council are demanding payment in advance for services i have not yet received - and may not receive [i might move to another city or pop my clogs before the end of the financial year]

lincroft1710

Council's view would be that you are wilfully not paying and will presume you have the money. If you had contacted them when you realised you couldn't pay they might have come to some sort of arrangement for you to pay when you had the money.

Non payment of Council Tax is a serious offence, continual refusal to pay can lead to bailiffs being employed or even imprisonment.

Most if not all councils withdraw the option to pay monthly (it is not a right) when there are arrears and it definitely is legal. In such circumstances councils will demand the whole of the outstanding amount for that financial year. Council Tax is not a payment for services, it is a tax on the occupation of domestic property which goes towards council, local fire and police service expenditure. Any overpayment would be refunded to you or your estate (if you are deceased).

CIS

Once you get to the stage of the summons you then are billed for the entire remaining balance of the council tax due for the year , not just the balance you are in arrears for on your latest payment arrangement.

The Summons is issued for the entire outstanding balance for the year, if this amount reduced after the summons is issued then the liability order is gained for the lower amount , the liability order amount can decrease but it cant increase.

The summons will be issued on a standard day each month as the council will have booked the court ready, they are not issued at random times or aimed at hitting times away from pay days etc. The summons has been issued legally and will stand, council tax recovery works on quite tight deadlines.

RobertoMoir

I'm going to answer this from the point of view of how the council are probably looking at it. It might help you and anyone else finding the thread to understand what they're probably thinking.

stobsai wrote: »

* given that, by the date of the court hearing i had already paid off my arrears, are the council allowed to still ask for the liability order?

What arrears are those? I thought you said you had £192 of the year's tax left to pay. Now I'm all confused.

stobsai wrote: »

* the court summons specified that the council would be seeking a liability order for £394, however they instead sought one for £192 because i had cleared the arrears before the court date. are they allowed to vary the amount 'on the fly' like this, without writing to me again?

Not sure if its legal, I assume it is because I've seen this done when I was a bailiff years ago and I assume some bad tempered barrister would have given every council in the country a right proper kicking, legally speaking, by now if it wasn't legal. (n.b. "legal" in this case might just mean the practice hasn't been properly challenged yet)

stobsai wrote: »

* the pre court summons letter was sent to me on 14th october and gave me til 21st october to pay the full amount of £394. are there any guidelines as to how long councils must give someone to pay amounts of this size? seven days is not much notice - and also are there any guidelines as to the dating of such demands? with most of the population being paid monthly, the cynic in me wonders if it is coincidence that the council sends the letter on the 2nd week of the month with a deadline for payment of the 3rd week of the month - conveniently strategically placed to be as far away as possible from the previous month's and current month's paydays. why! - it's almost as if they're trying to ensure you *can't* pay, even if you want to.

They've already given you several months, from their point of view. As someone else noted in the thread, the ability to pay monthly is a privilege, not a right, and when you stopped paying monthly you forfeited that privilege. You've either not contacted them during the months you were unable to pay, or such contact has been unsatisfactory, which leads them to a conclusion that you are probably a "won't pay" rather than a "can't pay".

stobsai wrote: »

* my liability order was for the entire amount of the council tax for the rest of the year, not just the amount i owed in arrears. my local council withdraws your right to pay by monthly instalments, if you fall into arrears. is this common practice and if so is it legal?

Already explained. You have no 'right' to pay monthly.

stobsai wrote: »

i'm sure it's what the regulations state in relation to CT, but in a broader legal sense how can it be legit? in effect it means the council are demanding payment in advance for services i have not yet received - and may not receive [i might move to another city or pop my clogs before the end of the financial year]

Then you or whoever winds your estate up will be entitled to apply for a refund at that point.