missed 2 months council tax, £35 court charge

John_Pierpoint

I think the issue is that a 35 quid "fine" seems excessive, when compared with the reasons for the late payment and when compared with the government agreed maximum that a bank can charge in similar circumstances.

Very large numbers of people, are not really capable to achieving an accurate monthly reconciliation of a bank account - unfortunately laws and procedures are created by people with an "A Level" standard of intelligence and education. They have no other task at the time than the one they are employed to do.

What next a 35 quid fine for being a month late returning your library book?

I am not saying that the original poster is blameless, but it is in nobody's interests for tax gatherers to get reputations as fiscal thugs.

CIS

I think the issue is that a 35 quid "fine" seems excessive, when compared with the reasons for the late payment and when compared with the government agreed maximum that a bank can charge in similar circumstances.

The banks are not using the money collected to pay for public services and thus don't have the same recovery methods available.

The costs aren't just a 'late payment' fee, they are administration fees for the costs of taking legal action.

busterkeye

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busterkeye

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jonnyd281

busterkeye wrote: »

that is the point because £35 is 41% of my monthly bill

Why should all the council tax payers who have managed to pay on time have to pay the costs of chasing people who don't.

What services would you like to cut to pay for chasing defaulters since the money would have to come from somewhere. At the moment it comes from people who don't pay thier tax paying when it goes to court. You could have avoided the £35 charge by simply checking your bank account and making sure all the DDs that should have been paid had.

John_Pierpoint

You need to find a friend, whose mother works for the council?

[This discussion rather reminds me of a local council officer, some where in Norfolk if I remember correctly, who won the "Plain English" gobbledygook award for trying to explain why a tax payer was being terrorised by their computer system.

Has they written

"Dear Mr Smith,
I am so sorry that, when we wrote our new computer debt collection system, we failed to realise that someone like you might pay their council tax in advance.

As we now realise the computer system assumed that your 500 pounds was what you owed us; not what you had paid before even being sent your tax bill.

Just to confuse matters further, the computer system then divided your "outstanding" bill by two, to get your half year liability and sent you the chasing letter and collection charge........................."

then the letter's author would not have qualified for the award.

[In reality I would have made quick 'phone call.]

Unfortunately what they actually wrote was the usual, self justifying drivel, based on maintaining the unfortunate "we have the power, you do as you are told" attitude; we seem to be getting from people, who have been given the legal right to tax and spend half the nation's money.

In private enterprise an organisation bullying its customers and over charging them for collection, would soon go bust.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/44644830#Comment_44644830

John_Pierpoint

....................and it is still happening, can you believe it?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3312720

busterkeye

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jonnyd281

busterkeye wrote: »

id like them to cut all the things they do for you!!!!!!!

they didnt set up my DD I didnt get my 'late' reminder but yet I'm charged £35 and you think thats right?

Go pay your fine, if you managed your bank account properly you would have seen the DD had not been set up, you could have contacted the council to find out why, instead you leave it two months, nearly three, and until they send you court papers.

busterkeye

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