scottish council tax query

rajoo

Hi there,

some friends of mine are living in a flat in Glasgow. It used to be 3 students living there including the landlord so all exempt but for the past year it's been 3 working people, still including the landlord. However, the council, disorganised as they are, seem to have forgotten that two of the students were ever living there and haven't sent out any letters apart from a council tax notice for one of the guys who left after he was a student (I think they maybe lost his exemption forms).

No-one's on the electoral register so I'm not sure if the records of the other two people (including the landlord) have been lost or if it's just assumed they're still students (in the past I've been hassled every year for a new exemption certificate though). I'm just wondering if it seems likely that the last year could be forgotten about and they could start paying council tax from now on a clean slate and what would be the best way to go about it?

Thanks

Lucifa73

rajoo wrote: »

Hi there,

some friends of mine are living in a flat in Glasgow. It used to be 3 students living there including the landlord so all exempt but for the past year it's been 3 working people, still including the landlord. However, the council, disorganised as they are, seem to have forgotten that two of the students were ever living there and haven't sent out any letters apart from a council tax notice for one of the guys who left after he was a student (I think they maybe lost his exemption forms).

No-one's on the electoral register so I'm not sure if the records of the other two people (including the landlord) have been lost or if it's just assumed they're still students (in the past I've been hassled every year for a new exemption certificate though). I'm just wondering if it seems likely that the last year could be forgotten about and they could start paying council tax from now on a clean slate and what would be the best way to go about it?

Thanks

The best way forward is to make a clean breast of it, write to the council and give them details of who lives there and when they started working. Keep copies of correspondence and let the council take it from there.

rajoo

so you don't think it's likely the previous unpaid year can go ignored?

podperson

I'm assuming this is the same 3 people they have just finished at college/university now? If it's different people then they can just write and say they have moved in and can a new bill be sent out, for the same people they would need to advise of change of circumstances and it would depend on the council I guess if they asked for proof of when they started working or not.

scottishblondie

rajoo wrote: »

so you don't think it's likely the previous unpaid year can go ignored?

Seems unlikely to me, they always catch up eventually, it just takes them forever. 2 friends of mine (also in Glasgow) are being chased for 1 month of unpaid council tax from 3 years ago, even though they were students at the time. The dates on their exemption forms don't match up perfectly, so the council wants the money.

Best to come clean and pay up before the council catches up with them.

rajoo

so if the names are all different to the student names that were exempt before, you reckon there's a chance the council would just accept they wanted to start paying and not pry with credit checks etc.?

someone i know had stopped being a student for a couple of months then just said he wanted to start paying and he effectively got away with those months...