Council Tax Confusion

sara86pink

I'm in a bit of a pickle if anyone can help me.

Background

Whilst living in the house share, we had a 6 month period where we had no council tax bill. One then came through and we arranged to pay by installments on top of our monthly direct debit for current bill. This was a total of £329 (£212 for outstanding, £117 for current bill)

Current Situation

Called today to make last outstanding payment as I moved out over the weekend so wanted everything to be updated. They said we still owed over £400 and that the installment option was taken away because payments were late. I know payments were late because their automated system kept playing up and I called them every month complaining about this. I have also never heard of any communication regarding the installment option being revoked, this is the first I've heard about it.

He was quite rude about it all and I ended up getting quite worked up and I had to end the call as had to get back to my desk for work.

Can anyone please give me any advice as to where I stand?

Obviously my ex-housemates have already given me their share so I cant imagine them agreeing to give me more money (we currently arent on best terms because they are being immature because I moved out!)

Really would appreciate some response because I'm taking it all very personally and getting myself worked up which isnt going to help matters but I cant help it, I'm just so fed up of things going wrong and I'm not even aware of it otherwise I would have prevented it!!!

podperson

Hi Sara,

So what have the direct debits been coming out at? Have you been paying the higher amount for the arrears or just the basic amount? If you have been paying the higher amount then ask them for a breakdown of what you have paid and where it has gone if they are saying you still owe the arrears. Would also ask them to list exactly what you owe and from what because unless I'm reading wrong what you currently owe is more then the original arrears? Have they been putting charges on top of this? Also is this bill just in your name if there were a few of you sharing the house?

sara86pink

No direct debits were set up as no-one in the house wanted responsibility so it was paid manually (hence the automated service screw up) and it was always me ending up paying so I should of just set up a DD in hindsight!

Technically I was making 2 payments, one for arrears (£212 over 4 months) and one for our current bill (approx £117) but paid in one hit using the system (that is how they recommended doing it)

The £212 a month for 4 months did equal the amount that was owed. If they are saying we still owe a further £100, this could be from the arrears and they have put charges on because of late payments or it could be from our current bill for some reason, he wasnt really that clear or helpful when I phoned.

As for the names on the bill, it had all of our names on their, but it was always my account the money it was coming from.

Would it be wise to call and try to get more information while I am a bit more calmer and then follow it up with an email (just so there is record of my communication)

I'm really worried because I'm trying so hard to keep on top of things and i've just moved in with my OH and I just want a fresh start where everything is more organised!!

DarkConvict

All tenants are liable for council tax, so you should be able to pay what you owe and they will request the council tax to be paid by the others.

Im curious to why they state money is still owed. Did they give you the wrong amoutn to pay back.

Look at it like this, 6 months of no council tax, where the bill is £117 a month.

So " (£212 for outstanding, £117 for current bill)" that bill is only going to be, the current month and 2 previous months of council tax. 2x~£100 = ~£200. They have probably not billed you for the remaining 4 months that got missed, so 4x~100 = ~£400. So i can only guess that is where the figure came from.


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Edit, going on what you just posted above makes my post redundant :P

£117 a month council tax.
6 months missing council tax = £117 * 6 = £702.

Ignoring the continual payments for CT then you paid £212 over 4 months. £212 * 4 = £848. This is more than 6 months of council tax. I assume there is a reason for this.

Anyway. If that really did cover the arrears then what has likely happened is the council has removed paying by installments. This means that the remainder of the year is now owed in one lump payment.
If you are no longer living there, then tell them. You won't be liable for future CT payments if the arrears for previous months are now cleared.

MrsTinks

You need a breakdown of the exact charges etc that they claim you owe before you do anything else...

sara86pink

They know I am no longer living there as when I called up they would only discuss that account with me as the new account doesnt have my name on it.

I will probably have to give them another call tomorrow lunchtime and try to get some more information about this.

I do have the money to pay the £329 so should I pay this first to get it out of the way and then concentrate on working out what is leftover and why?

DarkConvict

I would just state that you are confused why there is an outstanding amount.

Go through what happened. Get them to explain the amount owed.
State you received a bill for unpaid council tax due to not receiving a bill.
This totalled £xxx.
So in agreement with the council you paid £xxx over 4 months to cover the arrears, in addition you paid the normal monthly amount that was due of £xxx.
Ask them to explain why if the arrears were stated as £xx, and you can show payments via your bank statements of £xx were made to cover it in full, why is there still a balance outstanding.

I.e.
Month 0
Arrears £800
Arrears payment £0
Monthy CT £0
Balence Owed £800

Month 1
Arrears £800
Arrears payment £200
Monthy CT £100
Balence Owed £600

Month 2
Arrears £600
Arrears payment £200
Monthy CT £100
Balence Owed £400

Month 3
Arrears £400
Arrears payment £200
Monthy CT £100
Balence Owed £200

Month 4
Arrears £200
Arrears payment £200
Monthy CT £100
Balence Owed £0

CIS

If the money was not recieved on the due date and this has happened several times then you do lose the right to pay be instalments and the full balance becomes due within 7 days or you run the risk of a court summons and Liability Prder (with costs).

Which local authority was it under ?

Technically I was making 2 payments, one for arrears (£212 over 4 months) and one for our current bill (approx £117) but paid in one hit using the system (that is how they recommended doing it)

Did the earlier arrears ever reach the stage of a Court Summons ?.

From experience of using the most common council tax system, if the payments were all for the same reference number and none of the council tax was subject to a liability order then it would allocate the payment towards the debt correctly - the system wouldn't allow two seperate arrangements.

If part of the balance was subject to a Liability Order then there would be two seperate arrangements that have to be setup - one for the balance subject to a Liability Order and one for the balance that isn't. In these cases if the payment is made as one lump sum then the system cannot always recognise the split and will tend to throw it all against the oldest arrears and the rest shows as not being paid.

sara86pink

It was Bournemouth Borough Council .

I have spoken to them before as I was worried if I paid one sum it would only go towards the debt but they said it would be seperated and when I called to complain about the automated system I always checked the account and they always said it was fine and the arrears were being cleared and no mention of any problems.

As for court summons, there have never been any letters stating this or anything similar...

Would they be able to give me this information over the phone or will it be posted? If so, will they send it to my new address (I'm in the same area just find it difficult to get into the old house)

Also, should I make the payment for the last 'installment' or wait until I know exactly what is going on?

This is so confusing for me and I'm really worried as I dont want to be summoned for court but I really cant afford to pay this and my old housemates will probably kick up a fuss and refuse to pay and blame it all on me bad times indeed!!

CIS

Would they be able to give me this information over the phone or will it be posted? If so, will they send it to my new address (I'm in the same area just find it difficult to get into the old house)

Probably best to ask for a written statement as its easier to digest and the figures cannot always be easily collated during a phone call.

sara86pink

Thank you, I will give them a call tomorrow on my lunch break and try to figure it all out. They are usually quite understanding so I hope they will be able to help!