Daughter Summoned

mazinmouse

Edited as your last post went on the board while I was typing mine.

What may have happened is that the council has a different date for the end of the tenancy on their records than the actual date they left. And the key thing is to establish for which period they are liable, and to look at the paperwork from the council and see what dates the council has them liable for.

If they signed a tenancy agreement and the end date of that tenancy agreement was later than the date they moved out, and if they did not negotiate a new tenancy end date before they moved out, then they are likely to be liable for the council tax up until the end of the original agreed tenancy period.

I would get your daughter to phone the council and ask which billing period the summons relate to, and to double check all the dates on their record. It may be also be a case, for example, of a letting agency or landlord giving an incorrect date for them vacating or tenancy end, or an incorrect date keyed in.

tesuhoha

Unfortunately, I don't think she has any records of the phone call. She never had her name added to the electoral register there; it has always been at this house. She realy doesnt want to attend the court as she does not get paid if she misses work. Also it would be an inconvenient journey for her. I am waiting to see what they say tomorrow. I just can't see how they owe that money.

mazinmouse

No there is no need for her to attend court, just sometimes telling the council you intend attending gets their attention focused on the matter! I think it is probably a problem with dates, as per my edited post above.

If you find it is the case that they are actually liable for the amounts they have been summonsed for, then your daughter / ex will either have to pay it in full, as summonsed including the costs, or see if they can make an arrangement which might entail a further charge as the paperwork will still go before the magistrates court.

tesuhoha

They actually waited until the end of the tenancy to move out properly and 21st May was the last day. If they do owe it then they will pay it but all I can say is that if that is the case then the council tax is excessive, considering the amount they have already paid and the fact they lived there only six months. She is going to ask them what time period the £761 represents. The problem is they have no bill for this amount - maybe it got sent to the flat after they moved out. No post has been sent on by the agency. She contacted the letting agency because she left her driving licence in the flat when she moved out but they had nothing for her and she had to apply for a new licence,so post may have gone astray. I am finding this very difficult as I run a very tight ship and like to have everything organised. However, I cant sort it out for her other than to offer advice. I have to bite my lip.

mazinmouse

They may not have a bill for this specific amount because this amount might be part of, say, the annual bill issued in March. Or perhaps it relates to an adjustment notice that has been sent out but not received. Hopefully all will become clear once your daughter has spoken to the council.

zebulon

tesuhoha wrote: »

There is one outstanding bill of £13.08 up to 21st May when they moved out of the flat. This she agrees is payable by them. Apart from that there are two court summons one in his name and one in hers both for the sum of £761. There is no bill for this amount so I dont know what it represents.

i wonder if the 2nd amount has actually nothing to do with council tax, i think it might be some sort of fee from the council for going to court... just a thought

Fire_Fox

tesuhoha wrote: »

Unfortunately, I don't think she has any records of the phone call. She never had her name added to the electoral register there; it has always been at this house. She realy doesnt want to attend the court as she does not get paid if she misses work. Also it would be an inconvenient journey for her. I am waiting to see what they say tomorrow. I just can't see how they owe that money.

Your daughter needs to deal with this in writing; has she learned nothing from not forming a paper trail in the past? Why was your daughter not added to the council tax bill, is there any chance they were fraudulently claiming 25% single occupancy discount?

jamesd

Your daughter needs to inform the court of the facts, including the lack of English skills of the person the bills were being sent to. She should phone the court and ask a clerk for advice on how to proceed, which I presume will be to ask for rescheduling to give her and the council time to sort out what is happening. It's vital that the court knows the matter is being resolved and that a default judgment should not be issued against her. That is what will happen if she doesn't communicate with the court and it is not safe to simply trust that the council will withdraw her name from the list of cases.

Remember that this is a crime, not a civil disagreement. She can do without say an arrest warrant being issued for her. It's not going to happen if she discusses the situation with the court and writes as advised by the clerk but she has to do that.

CIS

Remember that this is a crime, not a civil disagreement. She can do without say an arrest warrant being issued for her

Its well before the stage that an arrest warrant would be issued - that would only happen if it wne back in front of a magistrate for committal to prison which is the final power the council have after exhausting the other routes available.

LittleMissAspie

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Your daughter needs to deal with this in writing; has she learned nothing from not forming a paper trail in the past? Why was your daughter not added to the council tax bill, is there any chance they were fraudulently claiming 25% single occupancy discount?

Council tax bill and electoral register are totally independent Firefox. I'm still on the electoral register at the flat I moved out of several years ago because the current occupants haven't bothered taking us off. There's no such thing as being "added to the council tax bill", it doesn't contain names.