The legality of Council Tax late payment fees

naijapower

I sympathise with the OP. These council people act likes bullies as i have been on the receiving end of their act. Surely out of common sense and to prevent a long dispute and of cos out of sympathy; can they not waive this charge especially as OP has now paid the principal.
What is the point chasing someone who is struggling but has made a firm effort to clear the principal. Taking the matter any further would only add charges causing more hardship

naijapower

In my own case, i am currently in dispute with my council over an arguement relating to sole occupancy discount. They feel i dont deserve and have bullied, imposed it upon me that i am not eligible. Case is going thru complaint process and may even end up in tribunal. They state there is evidence that other adults reside at my home which is correct. I drew their attention to the fact that presence of other adults as seen on the voters roll doesnt confirm they are liable for council tax. The regulation clearly states that my home must be their main residence for it to count; also, these people might be students etc.
My council seem adamant and have refused to listen. I feel their actions are bad as i feel i have been targeted. I do not see any consistency in their actions as i know 2 other people in my area who have multiple names on their voters roll but they were not harassed when they requested for sole person discount.
There are 4 names listed on my voter's roll. The council have decided to pick one of the names cos it sounds foreign just like mine and elected to include this other party's name on my council tax account. I have asked them if this was the rule, how come they didnt merge my account with the other 3 names on the voter's roll. Surely targetting names that appear foreign raises a serious suspicion of race or discrimination.

McKneff

With all due respect, the only people who think that the council act like bullies are the people who being chased for not paying/paying late/ etc their council tax.

I know there are genuine cases of hardship/disputes etc. but if you paid on time like the rest of us there would be no need for court cases, reminders etc and all our council taxes might be a bit cheaper.

Why is it always somebody elses fault.

orangeslimes

McKneff wrote: »

With all due respect, the only people who think that the council act like bullies are the people who being chased for not paying/paying late/ etc their council tax.

I know there are genuine cases of hardship/disputes etc. but if you paid on time like the rest of us there would be no need for court cases, reminders etc and all our council taxes might be a bit cheaper.

Why is it always somebody elses fault.

my local council are completely incompetent - the flat I am living in just now has had council tax passed to debt collectors because of problems claiming single person discount - despite numerous phone calls confirming that people do not live in flat where the council say it has all been sorted - but then a few months later deny all knowledge of anything happening etc etc and so on. They also deny being told by us we were no longer eligible for single person's discount.

naijapower

orangeslimes wrote: »

my local council are completely incompetent - the flat I am living in just now has had council tax passed to debt collectors because of problems claiming single person discount - despite numerous phone calls confirming that people do not live in flat where the council say it has all been sorted - but then a few months later deny all knowledge of anything happening etc etc and so on. They also deny being told by us we were no longer eligible for single person's discount.

That is part of my dilemma. I have no written records of contacting the council. Just phone call which they have now denied. They seem to have a convenient way of denying when dispute arises. The council is not perfect as some people make out. They too are clearly at fault.

McKneff

If you have a dispute with anyone, never use the phone for this reason unless you can record the call.

Do everything by letter and recorded delivery.

naijapower

McKneff wrote: »

If you have a dispute with anyone, never use the phone for this reason unless you can record the call.

Do everything by letter and recorded delivery.

I agree. But we now see that the council is not honest in their own approach. If someone genuinely owes you money, you dont have to lie or deny stuff in order to get your money. This is a major problem with some council. Not good in my opinion.

There is a major case going on now in my area where a customer was told over the phone by council tax staff that her council tax account wont be set up yet cos her property is new build and building was still in progress hence exempt.
This turned out to be wrong info and the council now want their full monies since inception. They deny the call cos customer doesnt remember who she spoke to( natural cos its over a yr now). Customer wishes to use FOI to request for all phone logs on their call logging system.
Now you see where i am coming from with rgds to councils attitude.

jayhow

Bloodrose wrote: »

We received a letter recently stating that our council tax payment was late and they were demanding payment in full plus a charge and they had arranged a court date of late August.

The full outstanding payment was sent to them online minus the court charge well in advance of their suggested court date, however we have received a letter today demanding the court charge (which is £74.00) and a list of what basically could be considered to be threats if they do not receive the outstanding amount for the charge within 2 weeks of their letter date.

Please could anybody advise me of the legality of such charges, as I find it absolutely outrageous that they can just bully people like this. They've had their money and on principal I am completely against council tax anyway particularly as the council services in the city in which I reside do not do a very good job anyway.

With that in mind, I have heard horror stories of how these people can be so any suggestions which anybody can give will be greatly appreciated. I have read about people logging FOI requests to ascertain the actual amount the council has paid for these supposed 'costs' and then re-imbursing them for that actual amount but frankly I wouldn't have the first clue on how to do this. I have also thought about contacting the council by telephone, however it always seems to be almost impossible to get through to anybody there.

Many thanks in advance for any help which anybody may be able to offer.

See my thread posted today... is council tax even legal?

CHW

Hi Folks

I also work in Council Tax recovery and with regards to Councils refusing to acknowledge receipt of documents or phone calls, where I work, every phone call is recorded- and I know on occasion we have gone back several months (5 or 6 at least) to listen to old calls.

To trace back old calls you may need to make a formal complaint and request this. Also whenever you speak to someone, ask that they note up your conversation, and ask what they are putting. Get them to read the notes back to you so that you know what has been put- this may be time consuming, and it should be standard practise to fully note up a call, but whenever I see account notes, the most comprehensive are always from when the customer has asked for the call to be specifically recorded.

I've never seen anyone deliberately lie- remember the people you are dealing with are not picking on you personally. The number of people who falsely claim discounts, beneits and exemptions is so large, that it is inevitable that a few people will get checked up on without true cause.

CIS

I've never seen anyone deliberately lie- remember the people you are dealing with are not picking on you personally. The number of people who falsely claim discounts, beneits and exemptions is so large, that it is inevitable that a few people will get checked up on without true cause.

The job makes you very cynical.