Council Tax Help

behindthelines

Hi, apologies if this is in the wrong forum but I don't seem to be able to find a council tax specific forum/thread

basically i have a "special arrangement" as they call it for my council tax after missing one payment.. basically they recalculated what I owe after it went to court and i pay a certain amount each month...

due to some unexpected car bills (including car tax) i've only been able to pay 50% of what I usually do... I've called the council to say i can make up the arrears at the end of february and they've effectively said it's tough.

I've been told it's essentially pot luck if it'll get passed for an attachment of earnings between now and the end of february when i can make up the payment.

i'm just asking on here if there's anything i can do and if not what exactly will happen next as my council weren't exactly helpful about that?

thanks

behindthelines

few views on this but no replies...anyone any ideas?

MrsManda

Surely car tax cannot be said to be an 'unexpected bill' and you should've planned it into your budget.

They don't have to give you leeway and could put a default on your account.
I think your best option is to actually go into the council office and ask to speak to someone in person. Hopefully you'll be able to come to some agreement. Is there really no way you can meet the payment on time? Anyone you could borrow from?

behindthelines

MrsManda wrote: »

Surely car tax cannot be said to be an 'unexpected bill' and you should've planned it into your budget.

They don't have to give you leeway and could put a default on your account.
I think your best option is to actually go into the council office and ask to speak to someone in person. Hopefully you'll be able to come to some agreement. Is there really no way you can meet the payment on time? Anyone you could borrow from?

my financial situation is very precarious due to a number of personal reasons ... and the car tax was simply forgotten about..it's the first car i've had in a while and i thought the dealer had put 12 months tax on.

and trust me.... no one will be able to help me if i go in... they basically said as much on the phone... i have been up to date with my payments for almost a year but because i have one problem they're not willing to help out etc. ... i was told it was "tough luck" and i've had to pay or else

seven-day-weekend

I'm afraid Council Tax is a priority bill and as such should have been given priority over the car tax, so no there almost certainly no leeway here.

All I can think of is that you go in and ask them for time to pay, but they do not have to allow this under the circumstances.

SHIPSHAPE

It really depends upon how sympathetic your local authority are, however, legislation for this Stalinist tax is stacked against the individual and in favour of the council, so they generally do what they like without listening.

I can probably see what situation you have been in, you needed to tax your car, which in turn enables you to work, which then enables you to get paid to pay all your bills...only money is tight (as for millions of others) and Peter had to be robbed to pay Paul...

Yet councils ignore this because council tax legislation also ignores this.

As an aside, it always amazes me when people moan about the cost of fuel rising yet year on year Council Tax rises barely get a whimper around this time of year when the new bills are decided upon.

Fuel has risen some 80% in the last ten years yet typical Council Tax bills have risen about 300% in the same period (at least here in Wales where we have had rebanding plus above inflation rises every single year).

It's an absolute outrage.

Good luck.

seven-day-weekend

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

..........Stalinist tax .........

.

Oh well, it makes a change from calling the DWP Nazis I suppose.

SHIPSHAPE

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Oh well, it makes a change from calling the DWP Nazis I suppose.

Yes, it is a tax old Josef would have been proud of, completely ignores ones ability to pay.

I had a very bad set of circumstances with no money whatsoever, not even dole for a period of two months.

Despite this, I was summoned to court where I explained my situation yet discovered having no money cuts no ice with this tax.

Scandlous.

Jowo_2

As indicated previously, Council Tax is considered a priority debt

"The most important debts are known as ‘priority debts’ and they aren't always the biggest ones. Priority debts are ones where serious action can be taken against you if you don't pay what you owe. For example, you could lose your home, be disconnected from a service or even go to prison.
Prioity debts usually include things like:

• ..Council Tax

You need to sort out payments on your priority debts first"


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/PlanYourWayOutOfDebt/DG_10013291

Here is the process for how council tax arrears are dealt with.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/DebtsAndArrears/DG_10013198

Oldernotwiser

Your best bet would be to see if there's something you could sell on Ebay to enable you to pay the council tax and get straight.

seven-day-weekend

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

Yes, it is a tax old Josef would have been proud of, completely ignores ones ability to pay.

I had a very bad set of circumstances with no money whatsoever, not even dole for a period of two months.

Despite this, I was summoned to court where I explained my situation yet discovered having no money cuts no ice with this tax.

Scandlous.

But you should pay your Council Tax before anything else, other than your rent/mortgage. The OP chose to pay his/her car tax and other debts first.