UK Council tax debt - seeking advice

Lolas

Dear All,

I would appreaciate any help on this.

I have moved out of a rented property in April 2008 and have also moved back to my home country within the same month, living here since. I have had a £550 debt with my local council at the time, and have received a Summons for non payment on the 4 March 2008. I have not attended the court hearing as I was not well and have not heard from them since, although obviously I have not lived in the UK since, and I have not given the council my new address nor have I've made any enquiries with them since.

I am now looking to move back to the UK and would like to know where I stand with the council.

I have started reading up on these things and have come to the understanding that there have a couple of options, including filing for bankcupcy on my behalf, sending me to prison or getting a CCJ filed agains me.

I also understand they may have written the debt off? if they think I have absconded and are not traceable.

Either way I would like to know where I stand with this and one of the problems I am facing is that I am not in the UK and do not have a UK address at the moment so can not seem to ask Citizens Advice for advice.

I have also tried to get a credit report from Experian but the form to be filled in have also asked me for a UK address which I don't have, as I am still in my home country.

The other problem I am facing is that even if I was back in the UK I would have to find a job before being able to pay an agreed sum to whoever. (I have other debts as well, which amounted to about £2500 at the time, which is not that much as I was on £35K/annum but I will need a job to be able to pay back).

Any advice on how councils deal with these things and more importantly, how I could find out where I stand without getting myself into more trouble, would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks again,

Lolas

CIS

I have started reading up on these things and have come to the understanding that there have a couple of options, including filing for bankcupcy on my behalf, sending me to prison or getting a CCJ filed agains me.

If they have used the standard council tax recovery route which is via the magistrates court then a CCJ is not an option - they could have summonsed you via the county court but this is a very uncommon option (Ive not come across an authority who uses this route).

I also understand they may have written the debt off? if they think I have absconded and are not traceable

They may have done so as an administrative measure but they can still pursue the debt if they wish.

Lolas

Many thanks for your post. Yes I have just had a look and it was a Magistrates Court. Would you be able to explain how that differs from a CCJ? Can I be send to prison for this debt?

Also is it a good idea to phone the Council and ask them to clarify? I am only earning about £400/month now so will not be able to pay from here but would be able to once I am back in the UK and have a job. Do you think I could come to an agreement with them? As I don't particularly want to run off with the debt I just want to come to a workable solution.

Many thanks again

Lolas

CIS

Yes I have just had a look and it was a Magistrates Court. Would you be able to explain how that differs from a CCJ?

CCJ's are issued via the county court and are basically a court order that a debt is outstanding - for further enforcement of the debt you have to apply back to the court.

For council tax purposes the court grants a liability order stating that the debt is owed - this gives the council the powers to choose their own recovery options from a list of available ones and enforce it themselves , they don't need to apply back to the court for permission. Once the order is granted the only way they need to apply back to the courts is for bankruptcy or committal to prison.

Lolas

Thanks for your response I appreciate it. So what the council use is a stronger option wich gives them more power. What I would like to know is, how can I find out where I stand with this, is there a register for this or can I call up the council and ask them to clarify it? Also does this show up on Experian for example?

Many thanks again.

Lolas