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Bad council tax situation
The_messenger
Posts: 5 Forumite
in Cutting tax
Hi there.
A very good friend of mine has just informed me that he has received today 5 years worth of council tax bills going back to 2007 and including this year. I said surely to god there must be a mistake, how can they do that ? He says no it's correct !!!! He says he hasn't received a bill in all that time but has lived at the same address for 11 years.
Yes I know it's his own fault and that he should have contacted them to say he's not received a bill. I am just trying to get him some advice.
They want payment for the previous 4 years by next Monday and this years to be paid monthly.
He is going to phone them tomorrow, he hasn't got the arrears in one go. Any advice ??? ( please remember not to shoot the messenger:) )
Many thanks in advance.
A very good friend of mine has just informed me that he has received today 5 years worth of council tax bills going back to 2007 and including this year. I said surely to god there must be a mistake, how can they do that ? He says no it's correct !!!! He says he hasn't received a bill in all that time but has lived at the same address for 11 years.
Yes I know it's his own fault and that he should have contacted them to say he's not received a bill. I am just trying to get him some advice.
They want payment for the previous 4 years by next Monday and this years to be paid monthly.
He is going to phone them tomorrow, he hasn't got the arrears in one go. Any advice ??? ( please remember not to shoot the messenger:) )
Many thanks in advance.
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Comments
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He needs to find the reason why a bill has not been issued (did he not reasonably wonder why he didn't receive a bill for 5 years). I can think of a multitude of reasons why the bill may not have been issued and the action taken would depend on the reason.
As far as the current billing has been done , its correct that the previous years will be due in 1 lump sum and the statutory instalments will be applied to the current year.
It may be better posting again once the reason is known.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
Thanks CIS,
I think yes he must have wondered why the bills hadn't been issued, I know I would have. This is almost unheard of surely for the council not to issue a bill for 5 years. The only thing I can think of is he was once exempt because he was a student and maybe it's just carried on from there, however I don't know. Is it a good idea for him to be asking the question as to why the bills were never issued ? And would they accept the arrears In instalments ?
I'm really annoyed with him, the idiot !
Many thanks0 -
This is almost unheard of surely for the council not to issue a bill for 5 years. The only thing I can think of is he was once exempt because he was a student and maybe it's just carried on from there, however I don't know. Is it a good idea for him to be asking the question as to why the bills were never issued ? And would they accept the arrears In instalments ?
I have seen cases where bills have been issued wrongly for long periods of times or to wrong addresses. I've also seen accounts were there have been accidental stops put on bills or even exemptions that have gone on without an end date.
The Class N exemption for a student appears to be the most likely case from what you have said but he would still have received a start of year bill to show this.
Until he asks he cant be sure. Whether he will be given instalments on a discretionary basis depends on the reason why and whether the council are willing.I'm really annoyed with him, the idiot !
You'd be surprised how often I see similar cases.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
no sympathy for your friend. Perhaps he'll have to sell up to pay the debt. Why should we all pay for our services and others don't? When the country is on its knees and needs every penny, we have those who hope no one will notice they aren't paying their share. Makes me sick!!0
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no sympathy for your friend. Perhaps he'll have to sell up to pay the debt. Why should we all pay for our services and others don't? When the country is on its knees and needs every penny, we have those who hope no one will notice they aren't paying their share. Makes me sick!!
he asked for advice not your disgust.
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The_messenger wrote: »Hi there.
A very good friend of mine has just informed me that he has received today 5 years worth of council tax bills going back to 2007 and including this year. I said surely to god there must be a mistake, how can they do that ? He says no it's correct !!!! He says he hasn't received a bill in all that time but has lived at the same address for 11 years.
Yes I know it's his own fault and that he should have contacted them to say he's not received a bill. I am just trying to get him some advice.
They want payment for the previous 4 years by next Monday and this years to be paid monthly.
He is going to phone them tomorrow, he hasn't got the arrears in one go. Any advice ??? ( please remember not to shoot the messenger:) )
Many thanks in advance.
They will no doubt ask for income and expenditure form and just take what he can afford - cannot force him to cough up what he doesn't have.0 -
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They will no doubt ask for income and expenditure form and just take what he can afford - cannot force him to cough up what he doesn't have.
They can't but for £5k or so the council will probably not hang around when it comes to using a bailiff and potentially bankruptcy or committal. Personally if I came across a case like this and it was tenants fault I'd be looking large monthly payments - your looking at £150-200 to clear in a reasonable length of time.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
They can't but for £5k or so the council will probably not hang around when it comes to using a bailiff and potentially bankruptcy or committal. Personally if I came across a case like this and it was tenants fault I'd be looking large monthly payments - your looking at £150-200 to clear in a reasonable length of time.
they didn't have it for five years so whats the 'urgency'.
I will be honest in my younger foolish days I didn't pay council tax for a while and they didn't pursue it til recently with the debt being at least seven years old....so i wasn't exactly bricking it when the letter demanded full payment. It isn't alot of money compared to what the OPs friend must owe but at the end of the day surely you can't cause bankrupty to someone if they are willing to pay even if it is over an extended period of time as that is just unreasonable, wouldn't that be laughed at in court?0 -
Hi, just to let you know he has rang the council. They wanted it clearing before the end of the financial year. His arrears was approx 3 and half k I think. He said they were very good with him and accepted £200 per month on top of this years. I think they have been more than reasonable about this and think he's got away lightly considering. However he now has to make sure these payments are paid. He also set up a direct debit with them.
I asked him would you have just kept leaving it if they hadn't of sent the bills. He said although they didn't send the bills he knew it was his responsibility ultimately and the longer it went on the more worried he was about contacting them and it just escalated, but is now relieved it's out in the open and can pay what is owed.
Lesson learnt I think !!!!!0
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