Council Tax Arrears

TugaGirl

Hi all, I ran a quick search but couldn’t find a different forum relating to the same subject.
So, a friend of mine is having some money problems. He’s working through them and seems to be on the right track. The only issue remaining are the council tax. They sent him a bill for the total amount for the year back in March. He ignored that letter and any other letters regarding the situation thereafter. Now the bailifs are at the door. They want a total of over £1500 by the 8th of October. He has rang them and asked to make an agreement and that’s when the bailiff said he had until the 8th. He rang the council directly, who told him that there is nothing they can do he has to pay it to the bailiff by the date stated and the total amount.

Now.. I know this is his fault and that he’s in this situation because of his own actions. But he is really trying to get better and deal with his problems. He physically does not have that kind of money and would need to pay it on a monthly basis. Is there any way to do that at this point?

Barricade

First off dont panic.
A saying I've seen on here I like to repeat often. "These Bailiffs have as much power as a milkman." - If i could remember who said it, I'd credit them!

How much does he actually owe to the council. And have the bailiffs given a break down in their charges?
Tell your friend to NEVER let the bailiff in. If they have a vehicle, park it away from the property. Keep all windows and doors locked! If they are unlocked, a bailiff can enter.

Bailiffs can charge £24.50 for the first visit and £18.00 for a second. If no levy is made (on a vehicle or belongings in the house) then the bailiff can do no more.
He cannot break in, he cannot have a locksmith come round.

If he has access to Online Banking, then get the Council's bank details for paying council tax (will be on an arrears letter) - and begin paying as much as he can.
Write to the bailiff company disputing ALL their charges, and ask for a complete breakdown. They cannot charge for bizarre items like "van fee" where no levy is made.

Tixy

Hi

Did he let the baliffs into his house? Does he own a vehicle? Do you know if they levied anything inside his house or a car or anything outside the property?

If the council will not agree to take back the debt then he will have to negoatiate with the baliffs. He needs to contact them and set out how much he can afford to pay. Obviously council tax is a priority debt so he must pay what he can to this (it should take priorty over any payments for debts such as credit cards, loans etc).

How much would he be able to pay on the 8th? The baliffs may agree to a repayment plan over a few months although they may try to suggest that they need a levy in place so that if he fails to pay they can collect the goods. They may say they want to come into the house to discuss setting up a repayment plan. He needs to avoid this if at all possible, perhaps go to their offices to pay an intital amount and to arrange a monthly repayment. He should not give them his bank details or allow a DD to be set up. Best to either pay by standing order or in cash each month (always get a receipt from them).

With regard to baliffs fees on top of the council debt - for a first visit where no levy is made the baliff is allowed to charge £24.50, and for a second visit £18.
The baliffs can only charge more if they levy goods and issue a walking possession order. The fees can then start to rack up.

Take a look on national debtline here - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php select the help sheet 'dealing with priority debts' from the drop down menu, page 4 & 5 deal with council tax & baliffs.

TugaGirl

Thank you for your quick replies.

No, the bailiff was never inside the house and my friend doesn’t have a car. He has only ever been given one letter (posted through when the bailiff was there last week, my friend wasn’t in). the letter only states that he needs to pay £15034. It doesn’t have a break down or anything. He rang the bailiff and asked for an agreement and he was told he has until the 8th to come up with the full amount.

My friend assures me that he only ever got one letter from the Council back in March and now this is happening. I don’t know whether I believe that.

He will only be able to afford to pay £110 per month. He is in arrears with every other utility bill too. On the 8th he will be able to pay £110. I read in the National Debt Advice website that a suggestion is to write to the bailiff company and tell them that you want to pay the council directly to them, then write to the council and propose a plan with a cheque for the first payment. Keep sending payments as per your proposal. It says they will probably decline your request for a few months, but that they MAY accept it? Is it worth a shot?

Barricade

Everything is worth a shot.

If they have only delivered one letter, then all their costs can be is Council Tax Bill + £24.50. - Get your friend to double check with the council the true outstanding amount.

The council will send 2 or 3 letters, and before it gets sent to a bailiff, he will recieve a court summons - if he doesnt attend, then the council by default gets a magistrates order for him to pay it. It then gets passed to bailiffs.

Is the £110 ontop of his current council tax bill? The last thing he wants really is to be paying off the old bill, whilst the new bill gets behind. Council Tax doesnt work as one debt (i've learned).
They will chase for the old amount.. and if the current bill gets behind.. then they'll chase for that aswell!

As Tixy stated, Council Tax is a priority bill and must come before payments to other debts like loans/credit cards.

sofababe

TugaGirl wrote: »

Thank you for your quick replies.

No, the bailiff was never inside the house and my friend doesn’t have a car. He has only ever been given one letter (posted through when the bailiff was there last week, my friend wasn’t in). the letter only states that he needs to pay £15034. It doesn’t have a break down or anything. He rang the bailiff and asked for an agreement and he was told he has until the 8th to come up with the full amount.

Is this correct?:eek:

The council will have sent him reminder letters throughout the year, then a summons, then a copy of the liability order with an option for monthly repayments before the bailiffs arrived. It sounds like your friend has been doing ostrich impressions for quite some time.

Never let the bailiff in. Pay what he can to the council. Don't deal with the bailiff, they will pass the debt back to the council eventually and then your friend can deal with them but he MUST keep to any repayment plan agreed.

Tixy

I think its unlikey that they haven't written to him more than just in March. But I think the council must write to him 2weeks before the baliffs are instructed, if this definitely didn't happen then I would think he has more chance of getting the debt pushed back to the council. Whilst on the phone they may well just say that he had to deal with the baliffs he could try writing to them or even calling into the council to ask them to take it back internally.

Some people have had success in getting their local councillor involved, although I suspect this works best if the person would be classed as vulnerable or has had specific circumstances that have caused them not to pay (illness, bereavement etc).

Worth a shot - yes.
Is this last years bill I assume? is he paying anything towards this years?

TugaGirl

Thank you again for your help. This amount is for the year of March10 to March 11.

He was late paying last year (March 09 to March 10) but borrowed money from a friend (de ja vu) to pay it off. So this debt of for the current year. He is currently not paying any council tax at all.

I think i'm going to suggest he does that and write to the bailiff and the council and start making monthly payments.

dancingfairy

If I am reading right and he has not made any payments this year :eek::eek: he really does need to start making payments as he could be taken to court for non-payment of council tax and get sent to prison - so he needs to pay whatever he can afford (I think I would pay it to the council - otherwise you have to wait for the bailiffs to then pay it to the council so there could be extra delays/mistakes incurred). Also as you probably know the longer it goes on the worse it's going to get with fees added on etc and it'll only put him behind going into next years bill.
He will have problems if all he can pay is 110 a month as that is not going to clear the debt by the end of the council tax year though - is he claiming any exemptions/discounts/benefits he is entitled to - especially any to do with council tax?
I would also advise him to get in touch with one of the debt charities as well.
df