Council Tax Arrears and Court

rainproof

Sorry this is very short notice but hopefully someone can help.

I have to attend court this morning for failing to keep up to my payments of Council Tax arrears.
I have two accounts of which the total owed is £1001
The council tax have wrote to me stating if i pay the £260 by todays date i do not have to attend court and can continue the repayments of £5 per week
I know many of the debt companies give discounts if you offer to pay a substantial amount off the debt......is this the case with council tax too or does the full amount have to be payed to settle the account. im in a position today to be able to offer a larger amount but i was hoping to be able to pay some others off too but i wont be able to if i have to pay the full £1001...
i hope that made sense and someone can help answer this for me

thank you

Leixlip1

I don't know where you live but the local authority I work for will expect you to pay the full £260 and then keep to your arrangement. I suspect most councils will have the same attitude.
Sorry I cannot be more positive. Talk to them, you never know.

rainproof

I can pay the £260 I was hoping to clear the debt all together tho as my parents have kindly offered to help me with the cash and I do not have the means to pay the weekly £5 meaning I would just end up back in arrears.
I have other debts that need clearing also which I will still have if I have to pay the £1001.
At the end of the day I owe the money, if they want it all who am I to argue :embarasse

kimdegsidash

Hi rainproof
Pay the £260 immediately to bring the account up to date and once the dust has settled on the court stuff make an amended offer on the balance. Unlikely council will accept F&F settlement of anything less than the full amount owing (public purse and all that) so you will have to draw up a budget to see how much you think you could offer them as a lump sum and then go for a revised weekly payment for the rest. Council tax however is a priority debt so if you were thinking of using the money to pay other non-priority debts I would advise against it.

barrys-lass

Hi Rainproof
I was in the same situation and instead of me making them an offer they told me i had to pay the full amount in this financial year. I took in copies of my bank statements along with all of my outgoings and they agreed that i could not pay the the amount required and lowered it to £100 per month until cleared. They told me that if i didnt keep up with the repayments they would take it straight from my wages. If i was you i would pay the amount they want in full and then come to an arrangement for the balance. Its good that your parents can help you out. Take all the help you need to get back on your feet. Good luck