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Council tax took 3 times what they usually do !!
ds751
Posts: 9 Forumite
hi,
not sure this belongs in this forum. I pay my council tax by direct debit of £140 per month. I owed from previous years but don't see why they have decided to take almost £500 this month without notice or a letter - nothing.
Obviously this has left me over drawn, with no money left for rent this month - I have 2 kids and I am devastated. Can they do this? I don't know why they have. I am going to call them tomorrow but I can't see it being a mistake. I am so annoyed and just wanted to know if this is legal - they sent me a monthly payment agreement laying out the monthly amount of £140 and then take this !
Grrrr
Thanks
not sure this belongs in this forum. I pay my council tax by direct debit of £140 per month. I owed from previous years but don't see why they have decided to take almost £500 this month without notice or a letter - nothing.
Obviously this has left me over drawn, with no money left for rent this month - I have 2 kids and I am devastated. Can they do this? I don't know why they have. I am going to call them tomorrow but I can't see it being a mistake. I am so annoyed and just wanted to know if this is legal - they sent me a monthly payment agreement laying out the monthly amount of £140 and then take this !
Grrrr
Thanks
0
Comments
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No they can't do that. Ring your bank and claim the money back using the Direct Debit Guarantee.:footie:
Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. 0 -
I've just checked my bank statement online and it is a 'variable' direct debit - does this make any difference to whether they have to give me notice of a change in their actual payment arrangement of 140 ? I have been paying £140 for a few months now. Thanks0
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All direct debit's are variable. It makes no difference. They must notify you what they are doing and you haven't received that notification so you can claim the money back.I've just checked my bank statement online and it is a 'variable' direct debit - does this make any difference to whether they have to give me notice of a change in their actual payment arrangement of 140 ? I have been paying £140 for a few months now. Thanks:footie: Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. 0 -
You can re-claim the DD from your bank but has it been taken as 3 separate payments or as 1 payment. If its gone as 3 payments then there's been a problem with the payment request (last time this happened in my authority the bank had been given the correct details but for some reason had run the files twice...), if its gone as 1 payment then they will have amended your instalments for some reason and you should have received a new demand notice or a letter outlining the arrangement (the DD guarantee requires that notification be given).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
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Seconded. The notice period is 14 days prior to the payment coming out. It doesn't matter if it has gone as one payment or several. If it was incorrectly taken then you claim under the direct debit guarantee.0
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hi
Its been taken as one payment of 473.96 rather than 141.00 as was agreed. No notification, letter or notices of change of monthly amount. I am going to telephone them first thing tomorrow but wanted to make sure I was in the right ! Thanks0 -
No, first thing tomorrow get on to the bank and get the payment back. THEN talk to the council.0
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A letter would almost certainly have been sent - whether it was received or not is a separate matter. The DD scheme is heavily audited and part of the process it to ensure that DD letters are sent on every case, the vast majority are sent automatically.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
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are you sure it was actually paid the previous couple of months? do you check your statements? I don't mean to patronise but worth a check - it may be that for some reason they didn't take payments at some point and are now just making up the difference? Not good, I know, but might explain it?0
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Don't forget to claim any charges back as well if you were sent overdrawn0
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