Council tax arrears £1800. Bailif called today to sieze goods. Suicidal. Please help

Ames

I think she should also contact her local councillor, especially about the student exemption part.

dancingfairy

She needs to point out to them that she is the only adult in the house and that she has been a student for the past 3 years and get something from the registry/bursar at the university to that effect and get it to the council. I would hand deliver it personally to the senior recovery person. and make sure they are aware she is a single occupant and any benefits she is entitled to - it should be fairly simple to sort out I would think. Then she can establish what is really owed and whether any money is due to the bailiffs - she may have to pay the court fees if the council won't budge which is about 90 pounds but it doesn't sound like she owes anywhere near what the baillifs think.

df

DarkConvict

As above students don't pay council tax, and the university should provide a tax exemption certificate. I have one as I am in my 3rd year now. So a house occupied solely by students or persons that do not pay council tax do not owe any. If however there was one other person in the building they would get 25% sole occupancy discount.

With regards to them stating they will take goods, they need to have a court order to do so i believe, or she needs to let them in and sign paperwork.

If she has never let them in then they cannot force entry and must return to the county council. Only bailiff working for HMRC with an approved court order for force entry (which is rare) can gain access by force.

CIS

She has been a Student for 3 years, and graduated as a midwife in June

Miss this bit when I first posted.

Again you wouldn't believe how many adjustments we do with balances that bailiff have because we have never been appraised of someone's situation regarding discounts and exemptions until the bailiff turns up to remove goods. (even in cases when you know that they are almost certainly disregarded or exempt and you have been chasing people for months to confirm that they are students and your doing them a favour by trying to help )

A student midwife would qualify to be disregarded for council tax purposes without an issue but regardless of whether you are a student who would meet the criteria, you don't qualify for the disregard if you don't provide suitable proof to the council.

If she is the only adult over 18 then if she provides suitable evidence of her students status then a Class N exemption would be applicable for that period of her study. If there are other adults in the property then the situation needs looked at a bit closer due to the various disregards which may be applicable in that situation.