Help! big council tax demand!!

charleypink

hi there, i will try to keep this short:)

back in September 2007 I started my nurse training and a couple of week before i started my husband was made redundant, so we decided that he will be stay at home dad.
I was entitled to a student disregard, so filled in a form at my council office stating my circumstances explaining that hubby was out of work.
I shortly received a bill stating that no council tax was due to be paid, and received the same bills for the 3 years of my course.
My husband also became a full time student in the year 2009-2010, but we didn't fill in a disregard form as we didn't pay council tax anyway.
I informed the council in September that I had finished my course and that hubby and I are now working, and I received a bill detailing a 25% discount, so telephoned them questioning what it was for. I was asked if my husband was living with me for the last three years to which I said yes, and explained he had been unemployed and also a student, and I was told I would receive an updated bill.
so today my husband has received a bill for over £2000! for amounts due over the last three years!! due by Dec 7th 2010.
I just don't understand how they have made such a huge mistake, and am so worried as we just can't pay such a huge amount.
any advice would be greatly received.
tia

p00hsticks

As far as I'm aware , the fact that your husband was a stay at home dad doesn't make him exempt from paying council tax, so I don't understand why you were told that none was due. If you were a student he would have been entitled to a 25% single person discount though, and possibly could have claimed council Tax Benefit.

It sounds like they didn't realise that you had a husband living with you in the property - can you produce any evidence that the council should have been aware of that (for example, were you both on the electoral role at the property, or was the bill addressed to both of you) ?

dmg24

Have you not received any correspondence in the past three years that would hint that he was not registered there?

dmg24

p00hsticks wrote: »

As far as I'm aware , the fact that your husband was a stay at home dad doesn't make him exempt from paying council tax, so I don't understand why you were told that none was due. If you were a student he would have been entitled to a 25% single person discount though, and possibly could have claimed council Tax Benefit.

It sounds like they didn't realise that you had a husband living with you in the property - can you produce any evidence that the council should have been aware of that (for example, were you both on the electoral role at the property, or was the bill addressed to both of you) ?

The Revenues Team are under no obligation to cross match CT accounts the the Electoral Roll.

charleypink

p00hsticks wrote: »

As far as I'm aware , the fact that your husband was a stay at home dad doesn't make him exempt from paying council tax, so I don't understand why you were told that none was due. If you were a student he would have been entitled to a 25% single person discount though, and possibly could have claimed council Tax Benefit.

It sounds like they didn't realise that you had a husband living with you in the property - can you produce any evidence that the council should have been aware of that (for example, were you both on the electoral role at the property, or was the bill addressed to both of you) ?

hi, we had been paying full council tax before i became a student and my husband was made redundant. when we first bought our property we informed the council that we both lived there and paid council tax accordingly. We have never told them that I lived alone.
my husband and i are also on the electoral roll and have been since living in our property.

dmg24

What was the reason given on your bill each year for the 100% exemption?

Oldernotwiser

Did your husband apply for Council Tax Benefit, if not, why did you think that no council tax was due?

cooper555

hi, i graduated rom university in June, during my 3 years at university i didnt have to pay council tax, i did get a letter from the student records office on-campus and gained an exemption form.i am single with no dependents, however other students who were married/living with partners recieved different levels of exemption depending on personnel circumstances, it may be worthwhile contacting student records to see if they can issue a backdated letter stating that your a student, send it to the council tax office/citizens advice bureau and see if any discount should of been awarded.

ive just jopined, got a letter from equita demanding payment of £602 for backdated council tax for this year, sent an email to them offering to pay it back in instalments of £100, with extra paymets if and when more finaces become available to me.

dmg24

cooper555 wrote: »

hi, i graduated rom university in June, during my 3 years at university i didnt have to pay council tax, i did get a letter from the student records office on-campus and gained an exemption form.i am single with no dependents, however other students who were married/living with partners recieved different levels of exemption depending on personnel circumstances, it may be worthwhile contacting student records to see if they can issue a backdated letter stating that your a student, send it to the council tax office/citizens advice bureau and see if any discount should of been awarded.

ive just jopined, got a letter from equita demanding payment of £602 for backdated council tax for this year, sent an email to them offering to pay it back in instalments of £100, with extra paymets if and when more finaces become available to me.

The OP completed a disregard form for herself, but her husband does not appear to have applied for CTB.

Kimitatsu

You can appeal the decision though!

If you have not had a bill for him for the last three years then there is fault on both sides, you need to appeal the bill and put it in writing so that if they insist on you paying it you have a record of what has been said and take the appeal further.

CIS

If you have not had a bill for him for the last three years then there is fault on both sides, you need to appeal the bill and put it in writing so that if they insist on you paying it you have a record of what has been said and take the appeal further.

There's no real appeal that can be made other than to the council and asking them to re-consider.

The husband didn't receive a bill as it sounds like the council were not made aware of the full situation in order to be able to bill him.


TBH I can pretty much say that they would not have the balance written off - Ive seen many similar cases - as the OP should have been aware from the annual bills they received that her husband should not be disregarded. The booklets and information supplied with the bills are quite clear on the sitiuation regarding discounts and exemptions.

I was entitled to a student disregard, so filled in a form at my council office stating my circumstances explaining that hubby was out of work.

It seems the OP was quite aware she was disregarded but what made her believe her husband would not be liable for the council tax ?

My husband also became a full time student in the year 2009-2010, but we didn't fill in a disregard form as we didn't pay council tax anyway.

It sounds like this information was not passed on to the council.