Council tax

jetr77

Hi

We are struggling to pay our council tax, we have arrears of £649 from 09/10 and are a few months behind with this current tax year, our direct debit has now reached £353 per month. Should I inform the council that we are going down the bankruptcy route now or wait until after the hearing? Also the same with Eon for gas and electric arrears?

Thanks for any advice

miss_spooky

Hi Jetr77,

How long until you got BR? It's probably best to wait until after the br hearing as all these companies will increase the pressure to get more money out of you.

The Council Tax is a bit of a grey area, but we'll talk you through that after you've gone BR.

HTH

jetr77

We are waiting for our IVA supervisor to have creditors meeting, this has been scheduled for 16 Nov to see if the creditors want to fail the IVA and the dividend be paid out or if they want to bankrupt us. We were originally told that we could petition our own bankruptcy, We have completed all the forms and sorted the fees however the supervisor has only just advised us that no we cant, have to wait for the meeting. So stressed with the whole thing. Thank you for your reply

CIS

TBH there's no harm in telling the council. In the authority I work in , and most are the same, the action taken won't change because your going bankrupt - there's not much point in incurring extra costs trying to push any action if its all going to be written off anyway.

If the amount has become due in full by the date of bankruptcy then it is inclued as a debt in the bankruptcy and you can then claim the remainder of the entitre years balance as a debt under the bankruptcy.

If you are behind with the payment but you have not lost the right to instalments then the Council Tax will be apportioned to the date of bankruptcy and you will receive an amended bill for the remainder of the year.

jetr77

Thanks for that CIS. We havent lost the right to instalments which is why are direct debit is now so high, it includes the £649 owed from previous year and the few months weve missed divided over the remaining 5months. If I contact them now they probably wont alter anything until I have a bankruptcy number or ref.

CIS

Has a Court Summons/Liability Order been issued for this year ?

If I contact them now they probably wont alter anything until I have a bankruptcy number or ref.

Theres nothing that can be done until you are actually bankrupt with regards to the council tax in that respect.

jetr77

No court summons/liability order has been issued

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi jetr77

I'm sorry you're going through such a difficult time at the moment.

Thought it might help if I gave you a brief outline of what generally happens with energy accounts when a customer advises they have been declared bankrupt.

Firstly, the existing account is closed to the date of the bankruptcy order and a final bill issued.

A new account is then opened to cover ongoing usage.

I'm sure you will have much more on your mind at the time than the energy supply, but I would recommend taking meter readings on the day of the bankruptcy. This will increase the accuracy of the billing.

Don't worry if this isn't possible. If we don't have an actual reading, we will estimate based on past usage at the property.

All outstanding energy costs incurred up to and including the date of the bankruptcy order become part of the bankruptcy debt.

However, customers remain liable for all energy used after the date of the bankruptcy.

Going forward, in most cases we would look to install a Prepayment meter to cover the ongoing usage.

Each case is looked at individually, though. For instance, if there are special circumstances, like vulnerability at the property, we would consider a Direct Debit arrangement.

It's entirely up to you when you tell us about your circumstances.

Probably best to wait until the order is issued as we will only move to a bankruptcy situation when we have details of the actual order. Prior to this, your account will continue to be treated as in the past.

I hope this gives a little insight into what you can expect from E.ON if a bankruptcy order is issued. Give me a shout if you need any more details as will be happy to help. Good luck.

Malc

jetr77

Morning

Thank you for your replies I have found to be very helpfull. We will contact the council and Eon once we are bankrupt, I think the pre payment metres would be a good idea for us then we wont be faced with any bills in the future.

Once again thanks for your help

jetr77

Hi everyone

We have finally received our IVA failure cert and are going to court on Mon to petition our bankruptcy. I have received a council tax reminder today as we couldnt pay £353 for Novs payment. Will all the arrears upto Monday be included in our bankruptcy and then we pay the remainder of the year Dec-March installments? Any advice would be appreciated, very stressed about it. The reminder states the £353 should be paid within 7 days or the whole amount outstanding will be due.

CIS

If the reminder has only just been issued then the order will be granted before the council tax has become due in full so they will need to apportion the council tax liability up to the date of bankruptcy and bill you for the remainder of the year.

Unless the council agree to spread the remaining charge then you will be only due 1 instalment under the statutory billing - that would be 1 January 2010.