Terrible Council Tax debt

anniestar

A few things spring to mind.Firstly how have you managed to avoid paying for EIGHT years? As I said in an eariler post, we didn't pay in April and by Aug it had been passed to bailiffs.Always had paid on time before was freaked by DH's health problems and didn't set up the direct debit i'd decided to do. It depends on individual councils but EIGHT years. Also with regard to posting personal information on here, well firstly, its all anonymous and secondly the ammount of DEEPLY personal info on here is astounding. This is not because people want to pry but because they truly want to HELP. Peopl discuss how & why they got into debt;various additions;health issues;feeling sucidial and so on and so on.People wont think "any less" of you for posting. Obviously its totally your choice but often it's a lifeline.Regarding going bankrupt FOR £2000??????? PLASE PLEASE read the various threads before you do something SO drastic. Whilst it can be a godsend and take extreme pressure off people it is also a HUGE step and in itself can be very stressful. Read the threads by Mike st Helens;rog2; amd Sandralovescats and then think very carefuly. This is not meant to be unkind but you DO have a choice in this matter. We will help all we can but you do have to take action yourself.Doing nothing is NOT an option.The only other thing that I can think of is that are you so opposed to paying council tax that you would rather go bamkrupt? That seems rather drastic and remember, you will still HAVE to pay in years to come.PLEASE htink things over very carefuly, we REALLY do want to help you. Also, £2000 is VERY low for eight years what time period does the letter say EXACTLY please? Anyway, please try not to worry but also please DONT pretend that it will go away.It wont. Good luck.

Heckles

anniestar wrote:

A few things spring to mind.Firstly how have you managed to avoid paying for EIGHT years? As I said in an eariler post, we didn't pay in April and by Aug it had been passed to bailiffs.Always had paid on time before was freaked by DH's health problems and didn't set up the direct debit i'd decided to do. It depends on individual councils but EIGHT years. Also with regard to posting personal information on here, well firstly, its all anonymous and secondly the ammount of DEEPLY personal info on here is astounding. This is not because people want to pry but because they truly want to HELP. Peopl discuss how & why they got into debt;various additions;health issues;feeling sucidial and so on and so on.People wont think "any less" of you for posting. Obviously its totally your choice but often it's a lifeline.Regarding going bankrupt FOR £2000??????? PLASE PLEASE read the various threads before you do something SO drastic. Whilst it can be a godsend and take extreme pressure off people it is also a HUGE step and in itself can be very stressful. Read the threads by Mike st Helens;rog2; amd Sandralovescats and then think very carefuly. This is not meant to be unkind but you DO have a choice in this matter. We will help all we can but you do have to take action yourself.Doing nothing is NOT an option.The only other thing that I can think of is that are you so opposed to paying council tax that you would rather go bamkrupt? That seems rather drastic and remember, you will still HAVE to pay in years to come.PLEASE htink things over very carefuly, we REALLY do want to help you. Also, £2000 is VERY low for eight years what time period does the letter say EXACTLY please? Anyway, please try not to worry but also please DONT pretend that it will go away.It wont. Good luck.

My method was simple - in the last 8 years, when the bailiffs were due to come calling, I'd simple move to another flat.

I spoke to a solicitor last night, and he reccommended going br if they're talking about prison. This time I AM doing something about it - the bailiffs will accept £100 per month for 3 months as a temporary measure and will look to increas it to £300 afterwards which I know I cannot afford. As the amount I can afford is less than what they'll accept, it'll be passed back to the council who will decide what to do next - and prison is an option. £2000 certainly is a small amount to be br over but if it keeps me out of prison then I'll seriously consider it.

So as reccommended by Mike, I'll go down and see them and ask them to accept £100 per month permanently. If they don't accept that I'll just pay it for the 3 months to keep the bailiffs happy, then when they refuse to accept anything lower than £300, go br.

anniestar

Good luck. Truly I wish you well.

Fait_accompli

Heckles wrote:

£2000 is the full amount - and no I've not paid anything. Like I said, I dodged it wherever possible.

Only £2,000 over eight years? Surely it'd be more than that no matter where you live?

barnaby-bear

jacquij123 wrote:

Just curious, £2000 over 8 years works out at £250 a year? Never mind all the extras that Bailiffs add on just for looking at the paperwork!

I thought that - it sounds more like that could be the arrears regarding a single year or maybe 2 - our council tax on band B flat was £120 p.c.m last year so I guess with single person £800 debt from a year could with charges be £2k -

Mizz_Pink

Hubby had bailiffs round about a council debt a few years ago. He had set up a standing order with the council to pay the arrears but this hadnt materialised, and him being the twit he was never chased it up, hence the bailiffs.

It was only when I phoned the council about me moving in and saying "hubby has moaned because he will lose his single persons discount", did they say, "he hasnt recieved single person discount" :eek:

So after filling out his forms he recieved 7 years worth of discount and therefore wiped his arrears.

Let us know how you get on when you go to the council.

little_pencil

I'm in a similar boat with my partner. Although we didn't intentionally dodge paying it, we've just found it hard to pay due to paying off our existing debt with CCCS, other bills/food etc. We've set up DDs to pay it in the past, and missed them as we just couldn't make ends meet. I think it was almost £2000 we owed. They wouldn't except our offer of £100 or something simliar, saying they wanted more, we even sent in our SOA which showed we were living on almost nothing. In the end they did a attachment of earnings on my partners pay cheque. They took two off the first two months, which around £400! We've contacted them and they've now reduced it to one, although we have yet to see how much they take. I'm sick of living on on such a tight bugdet!

Sorry for the ramble.

The_Pink_Wafer

Ouch, what a nasty situation you've got into, but at least you've admitted it and are sorting it out

Council Tax people aren't that scary once you bite the bullet and go. I lived in London for a while and my flat mate was going to pay the CT and then I was going to pay my share. They were meant to come back to us with a discount as I was 17 at the time and he was a student and they never did. We got threatning phone calls and letters and it was all very scary. We turned up at the offices unannounced and they were very polite and fair and listened to us. Then they worked it out for us (turned out we were exempt for 4 months) and then we arranged a payment plan with the first payment being made there and then. It all worked out very well.

Put on a smartish outfit, take proof of ID, a SOA and go down and see them. Be honest and tell them that you were stupid, but now you want to sort it out. Offer them £100 a month. If they say the same thing as the baillifs, pay them the £100 for three months, then when they review the situation, explain it to them again. Things might change.

Secondly, can you not get a second job, try ebay or even get a better paid job?

Lara44

Hi Heckles

A few questions:

1. If you have moved lots of times over the past 8 years, is this bill just for the address you're living in now? Are you sure you have other arrears that have been overlooked?

2. Are you seriouly going to go bankrupt over £2000? Do you know the full implications of this?

3. You seem to be avoiding the options of making extra money to meet the payments - second job, the usual ebaying, quidcoing etc that lots of us do don here. I know £200 is a lot per month, but you could potentially earn that by working some Saturdays and evening work.

4. Your soa - what about posting a soa without the amount of money coming in? A lot of people make saving by cutting back on food or entertainment. Could you write down any of what you are paying, i.e your total for food etc?

richardvc

hi Heckles - with the greatest respect, have you been down to the council today ? It's good that you spoke to a solicitor but you really should go and see the council.

I must say that the solicitor's advice of going br for £2000 sounds outrageous as the consequences are very severe.