Mum's council tax demand

Barebear

Hi

My mum called me over the weekend in a panic due to the council tax department's statement that she owes around £1500 from the old house seven years ago before my parents split up. After the slpit, my dad was ill and couldn't pay anything so my mum paid all the debt (one of the reasons for the split) off. She has just cleared the last of it and was arranging her up to date Council tax account when the guy discovered this apparently unpaid amount. I am sure she would have cleared it if they told her at the time, so she denied all knowledge of it and gave me a call.

How do we go about this? As the 'debt' is over six years, does she still have to pay it?

CIS

The 'statue of limitations' does not apply to council tax debt - there is a 6 year rule with regards to council tax where any Liability Order's (court order ) must be granted within 6 years of the issuing of the bill and then it can remain in force as long as there is any balance outstanding. Even if the time limit for taking legal action expires the council can still try to pursue the debt by other means.

This is a common enough query for a local authority to deal with. If she thinks it was paid then she needs to speak to the council to see why the balance occurred and whether any payments have gone astray.

Barebear

So this would be a good plan of action then?

1. Contact the local authority, and ask for date of bill and ask why they think it's still unpaid.
2. Find out if there is any Liability Order granted relating to these arrears.
3. Assuming the bill is older than 6 years:
i. if there is a liability order, arrange a payment plan.
ii. if there is no liability order, tell them that this should be written off and close the case.

CIS

Pretty much that's the way to go except on 3ii). Its unlikely that the Liability Order hasn't been obtained (unless the charge has been created recently due to an adjustment)and in any case if the money's owed it should be paid.

Barebear

So let me get this straight.
My mum has just cleared council tax arrears from that address according to their records, but somebody has found a glitch in their system and says she owes more money from seven years ago. If they prove that she did not pay this amount, she will have to pay it even if they did not get a liability order, and despite the passing of at least six years?

CIS

My mum has just cleared council tax arrears from that address according to their records, but somebody has found a glitch in their system and says she owes more money from seven years ago. If they prove that she did not pay this amount, she will have to pay it even if they did not get a liability order, and despite the passing of at least six years?

Its not a glitch if she owes the money (it sounds like the balance has been cleared on some years but not all) - regardless of any legal powers to force recovery if its owed it should be paid. The IT system wont have created the debt via a glitch there'll be an explainable reason behind it - whether it be an issue that can be rectified in her favour or not.

Barebear

OK, let's not beat about the bush. Council Tax is a rip off!
My mum, after getting into serious financial difficulties during her split with my dad, paid what they asked for, in good faith (granted it was so far down the road from the original invoice that she lost track). She lost track and it seems they lost track too.

More than six years has elapsed. How does she go about using the law or other rules to avoid paying this?

I really believe this could be the difference between her sanity and depression.

Your help is much appreciated.