We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Council Tax backdated payment bills -£1,000
angelnas
Posts: 171 Forumite
I have just received in the post, a number of council tax letters from Dundee city council stating that I owe outstanding payments from various years running from 1994 (6 bills in total so far yet). I kept most of the council tax books which clearly shows I have paid the full amount without any discounts (1994-2000). However I cant seem to find the books from 2001-2007 which 2 bills refer to. I always paid each year fully (by month) in cash and any late payments which were very few. I received no notification in any of the years that payments were outstanding, even though each year was always paid. As you know they chase you straightaway if you miss one month and only give you 2 miss payment reminders before you end up paying the whole yearly amount, so I haven't missed any.
How do I stand on this, can the council backdate or charge for payments this far out of date and which are clearly fictitious? Secondly on payments that I can prove can I argue if I can provide evidence on these then the rest will be inaccurate also as I haven't missed any payments.
From the letters received the account numbers do not match the account number on the council tax book. So far the combined bill totals to just under £1,000. I am now assuming they are going to send bills for the rest of the period from 2001-2007 and I am still trying to locate these books as that is my only evidence to prove they have all been paid. From 2008-2010 I have.
Thirdly, none of the supposedly outstanding payments reflect a monthly missed figure. Its seems to be a random number which doesn't tally if I break it down into monthly instalements, either they are higher or lower than the standard monthly instalement.
Three of the letters have a sequence as follows: Charge for year £1,570.00. Paid £1,570.00. Owe -£231.00. Each letter has a different year charge and owing different amounts even though the charge and payment made are the same, which shows I then owe nothing - I can only assume on these that it is probably an error and the books I do have - prove it.
What can I do, I am planning to call them tomorrow and explain, but my concern is if they are going to look at every year since then, then I am expecting more in the post and like I said, I cant seem to find the books from 2001-2007 which will prove that I dont owe any outstanding payments since 1994 when I moved into the property.
Your thoughts on how I should tackle them would be appreciated
How do I stand on this, can the council backdate or charge for payments this far out of date and which are clearly fictitious? Secondly on payments that I can prove can I argue if I can provide evidence on these then the rest will be inaccurate also as I haven't missed any payments.
From the letters received the account numbers do not match the account number on the council tax book. So far the combined bill totals to just under £1,000. I am now assuming they are going to send bills for the rest of the period from 2001-2007 and I am still trying to locate these books as that is my only evidence to prove they have all been paid. From 2008-2010 I have.
Thirdly, none of the supposedly outstanding payments reflect a monthly missed figure. Its seems to be a random number which doesn't tally if I break it down into monthly instalements, either they are higher or lower than the standard monthly instalement.
Three of the letters have a sequence as follows: Charge for year £1,570.00. Paid £1,570.00. Owe -£231.00. Each letter has a different year charge and owing different amounts even though the charge and payment made are the same, which shows I then owe nothing - I can only assume on these that it is probably an error and the books I do have - prove it.
What can I do, I am planning to call them tomorrow and explain, but my concern is if they are going to look at every year since then, then I am expecting more in the post and like I said, I cant seem to find the books from 2001-2007 which will prove that I dont owe any outstanding payments since 1994 when I moved into the property.
Your thoughts on how I should tackle them would be appreciated
0
Comments
-
You need to question why the notices have been issued at this point - which have you received a demand notice, remidner, final notice etc ?.
If a charge has just been generated due to an adjustment of liability then the can bill you for it, even after this length of time.
Where you in receipt of any discounts or any council tax benefit ?
Can you give a full breakdown of the amounts ,dates and wording shown on each bill ?.Three of the letters have a sequence as follows: Charge for year £1,570.00. Paid £1,570.00. Owe -£231.00.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
You need to question why the notices have been issued at this point - which have you received a demand notice, remidner, final notice etc ?.
If a charge has just been generated due to an adjustment of liability then the can bill you for it, even after this length of time.
Where you in receipt of any discounts or any council tax benefit ?
Can you give a full breakdown of the amounts ,dates and wording shown on each bill ?.
Reason for Bill
'Award or Amendment of Discount' is what is listed on all the bills. No other wording given other than a table with the figures given below.
I checked each book and not one has a discount I paid full amount as I worked full-time and always have done irrespective of who resided with me. i received no discount and did not receive council tax benefit either so I am really surprised as to why I have received them.
An example one bill dated 1998 - Yearly charge is £1148.52
Liabilty 1APR98-31Mar99 - CT-£990 - Water Charge £98 Sewerage Charge 80.00 Less Sew TR -19.48 TOTAL: 1148.52
Total charges 1,148.52
Amount Due: 1,148.52
Less amount paid: 1,148.52
Adjustments: -287.13
Amount payable: 287.13
3 bills are like the above but different amounts (books to prove full payment made), the other bills claim I still owe instalements even though I dont.0 -
The adjustment is something to do with a 25% discount ( the adj is 25% of the charge and the statement at the top of the bill confirms this) but the wording of the bill is odd.
Are you certain the bill isn't a credit notice ? . The bills we issue in my authority often cause confusion as it appears at first glance that a credit is actually an outstanding liability and not a credit.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
In the Top left hand corner of the letter it has the words Demand Notice for payment of council Tax for for the Dundee City Council and where applicable Water and/Sewerage charges for Scottish water. Notice hereby given that you are liable to pay the following Council Tax and Water and Sewerage charges.
The right top corner has the address details of the council and my account no and property reference number plus date. I still don't understand why I am liable for 25% if there is no mention of it in the council tax book under the heading Discount in the table where it is blank.
What does the 25% discount represent0 -
The adjustment is something to do with a 25% discount ( the adj is 25% of the charge and the statement at the top of the bill confirms this) but the wording of the bill is odd.
Are you certain the bill isn't a credit notice ? . The bills we issue in my authority often cause confusion as it appears at first glance that a credit is actually an outstanding liability and not a credit.
I think it could be this too. A couple of years ago I received what looked like a demand for a bill I'd already paid but when I queried it they actually owed me the money as they had not given me the single person's discount for that year.0 -
However I dont live alone the council tax has always been addressed in both myself and my sisters name (we are both sisters) Its definitely a bill cause its asking me to pay all these bills by 26 October.
And they have attached a Council Tax payment voucher with details of account0 -
Ill see if I can scan it0
-
-
0
-
That bill doesn't show any discount - the codes at the top (the reason for adjustment) often don't reflect the real reason for the bill (Ive worked with council tax systems long enough to realise that) so it may be a red herring. The bills they issue are one of the worst Ive seen though.
The bill you've posted just appaers to show a straight forward account where the amount paid does not reflect the amount due.
Its also possible the the property has been re-banded and you are now being billed at the new banding (this is the correct way to do it).I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.3K Spending & Discounts
- 247.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards