Help PLEASE re Council Tax

gilly41

Hi
I had my lightbulb moment when I joined this site in December - I realised that I needed to get sorted out for good and get everything up to date - and my Credit card paid off.
I had an agreement to pay my council Tax at £100 per month- I made this agreement in October. I had missed one of the payments(this agreement was made as I had FOOLISHLY not kept up to date with the payments). I paid a £100 in December and emailed them today and said I realise there is still £400 outstanding for this year so can I pay it in 3 instalements- one tomorrow of £135 and 2 @ £133 in Feb and £132 in March.
When i got in this evening they have replied and said NO- I MUST PAY IN FULL AS I HAVE BROKEN THE AGREEMENT. There is no way I can find £400 tomorrow- or til the end of Feb. I can find £200 if I cut down on petrol and food this month(I have the £135 put aside that I was hoping to pay) but there is no way I can find another £200.
They said that if I dont pay they will start legal proceedings.
PLEASE CAN ANYONE ADVISE?
I know I have been foolish but I am trying to sort myself out.
Thanks
xx

keith_lard

You aint the only one, happened to me last year!
Yes you have broken the agreement, but so have many others!

was told they dont take money of people in Feb and March because of soooo many of us not paying in full by Jan!

think its best telling them you made a mistake and offered too much BEFORE doing a incominging and outgoings!

Give them a repayment plan that will end your Council Tax year payments in March.
But you will have to keep to it.
When it happened to me the Council Tax was the First Payment out of my wage not the usual last.

Set your self a buget and see what you can cut back on.
If you can tell them you have had a full review of your outgoings and are willing to set up a direct debit for council tax they will (fingers crossed) take you up on your offer of clearing the tax by March.

Show them a way out they 99% of the time accept!

good luck!

K.

us,thecat&thedebt

hi hopefully they will allow you to make a repayment plan but just to let you know me and my oh got taken to court over 130 of arrears they put 20 court charges and sent me a letter i said i could pay 30 per month and they accepted

comping_cat

I would pay the amount you can afford tomorrow, and put in writting what you have done, and when the other payments will be made (and keep to them), if they do try to take you to court, the court will see that you tried to make arrangements to pay it all by the end of their year, and are doing it, and i would think by the time it got to court, you wouldve paid it off anyway!!!! Im sure they would rather get their money than carry on being awkward.
Catherine x

Little_Miss_Winner

Sorry to sound so negative but I and many others counts Conucil Tax as a priority bill, being that if you don't pay it, there will be consequences.

They set up an agreement with you to pay.
Thats was oCtober, you paid in December, what happened to November?

To be honest I am not surprised that they have said no to your offers.

The only thing I can think of now, is how much have you paid off your credit card? Can you not pay council tax with your card, and pay the £400 off that b4 March as you were going to do anyway?

I think this is the only way out for you, other than that if you already have £200, do you not have any mates/friends that would loan you for a month?

Good Luck!
love
pot

gilly41

Hi
Thanks for the help. I know I have been FOOLISH- and that I should have paid it in November. I really had let things slide last year and I knew I had to get sorted- I had three deaths in my family in the year( I know it is no excuse but money problems just got neglected).
I know that it is a priority debt and that i have made a mistake!!
I cant use my credit card as that it up to its limit(and cut up!).
Thanks again everyone- I will make the £200 tomorrow and write them a letter.

fatbelly

Hi Gilly - I've been helping someone in almost the same position today. They owed £240 and have broken a previous agreement. District Council being very aggressive and threatened Magistrates Court if not paid in full immediately. She made a payment of £80 and they extended the deadline to mid-Feb. I explained that she could afford, and intended to pay, further sums of £80 in Feb and March. Nice chap at the council then agreed that this was reasonable and they would not take action provided she was all square at the end of March. I work for the CAB and often find that we get a better attitude from our Council than the clients do. We're not doing anything particularly special - I haven't even had time to do a Financial Statement yet but in any case this is her only priority debt so we sort this one out first. So I guess I'm saying if you're not making progress, try involving a third party, and the CAB is probably a good one to try.

Angel_Advisor

Hi, first time of posting but hope this helps, I work within a c/tax dept & speak to people like yourself, setting arrangements etc. To clarify payment periods, Councils like all C/tax to be paid by January to enable them to budget for the following year. As you are probably aware this is the only bill that has to be paid over a 10 month period but if you speak to them & tell them your position/circumstances etc they should/are able to set an arrangement until March. This is normally only done as a last resort or in extreme circs. If you have had several arrangements or have ignored letters from them they are usually not as lenient. It is usually taken into a/c how you have handled your a/c with them prev. If the advisor will not allow you to spread the p'ments ask to speak to someone higher or go thro a CAB or a local Advice Centre. :A

gilly41

Hi
Thanks again everyone! I have emailed them this morning saying that I am in a position to pay £200 today and the remaining £200 over Feb and March. I am awaiting a reply.
If I have to pay in full I will call down in person tomorrow. I know i have made a mistake and realise that it is a priority debt. I am hoping that they will agree and then this year i will get it set up on a DD each month
Thanks again
xx

jen_jen_2

all local councils are different about accepting arrangements, if the council dont accept the arrangement pay it anyway, it may be because they have a policy not to accept arrangements that go past Feb. as another poster said (sorry forgot name) you will have paid it by the time it gets to court so dont worry, the other thing is the court thing is a liability order and some councils (liverpool for example) wont accept an arrangement unless they get the liability order.

my other tip is how much are you paying off your credit card, could you stop paying this and pay more to the council tax.