Urgent, help need please (council tax)

mandy130

Hi,

I just had a bailiff come to my home to seize goods for non payment of council tax. I told him that I dont owe anything and he was very rude and said the council said I did.

The situation:

From Sept 2008 till Oct 2009 I was a full time student, in sept 2009 I made a claim for income support because I had to leave university due to financial difficulties and my housing/council tax benefit was awarded from september 2009 till present day. I have already provided proof that I was a student for the dates yet they still insist I owe them 300 odd pounds?

Any advice would be great, the man on the phone wanted to talk to the bailiff who then asked him to give him 5 mins while he looks into it, while the bailiff waited he started looking around and writing down what I had in my home. I asked him to leave and he did, still writing things down as he walked out.

Im so sick with worry, I thought I was exempt from CT while being a student and then my benefit kicked in 3 weeks before I stopped being one, so i dont see where I owe money.

I did work for 8 weeks part time, while I was a student, but i thought that this didn;t matter as students are apparently exempt???

Any help would be appreciated

Mandy

UnderPressure

Hello sorry to hear about your trauma, it is a nightmare when you get a visit from a baliif I know, did you sign anything? You really should have not let him in his right increase if you allow him peaceful entry to your home and then sign a walking posession agreement. Not sure where you woul stand if you did not sign anything either way he has gained peaceful access.

Dont ignore this, I would advise speaking to the council and trying to come to some sort of arrangement with them, be realistic in what you can afford and tell them you genuinely had no idea why have they not made contact with you about this before?? It must have gone to court at some stage for a baliif to be able to act have you not had any paperwork?

Also if you get nowhere with the council ring the CAB and see if they can help you, you could really do with starting to pay something off the debt as well the council cannot refuse any kind of payment from council tax debt.

Maybe speak to the council tax benefit dept as well to clarify the situation so far as your student status at this time when the debt occurred.

There are many knowledgable members on here hopefully someone who knows your rights will be along soon with some concrete advice.

I hope you manage to get this sorted quickly chin up

AnxiousMum

I'm sure that before they send a bailiff there would've had to have been a liability order put in place, and to get that, a court hearing? Did you not receive any notification of any of these proceedings?

When you were a student - did you actually provide the council with a copy of your student card and student number so that they could verify you were a student, or did you just not pay it thinking you didn't have to? Did you have anybody else living with you at the time? As if the council tax is in your name, even though you were exempt, the other person would not have been, and that is where the debt might come from?

Best bet is for you to call the council and ask for a total breakdown of your account since you moved in there and take it from there.

mandy130

Hello,

The bailiff told me that it went to court in feb, I knew nothing of this?
The university sent the benefit team an email showing evidence that I was a student 2 months ago.
I didn't sign anything when the bailiff was here.
My partner lived with me at the time, but he was/still is a student and they were given proof of this also last year when he moved in.

They called me back yesterday afternoon, telling me they would not be able to deal with it now till next Monday and that I should just wait to hear from them, he said there are discrepancies as I was working and receiving working tax credits, but I was only working 16 hours a week as I was a full time student and this should still have no interference as I was STILL a student?

Am at a loss on this, worrying like crazy, but will wait to hear from them next week and if they say I still owe them, despite the government saying if the household consists of students only they are exempt then i will go to the CAB

If anyone has any further in-site into these matters, it would be greatly appreciated.

Mandy

fluffymovie

I didn't know that full time students were eligible for Working Tax Credit?

Could I ask, how old you are? Just asking as if you are a mature student, that might make a difference but from my knowledge of TC, those under 25 aren't entitled to WTC unless they have children? I work in HB and not for TC but this might be an issue?