Council Tax Arrears Scotland

Michelle32

Hi everyone I am looking for some help I am having some financially problems just now and I am behind in my council tax payments I have now received a letter saying they want the full years council tax I cannot afford to pay this and dont know what to do any advice ?

crazychick17

hi along with the letter it should say that if you are having difficulty in paying you may apply for housing council tax benifit. phone them straight away explain and they can send you the forms.

do not ignore the letters that wont help the situation , if you are having difficulty explain this when you phone and arrange to pay an extra fiver or what you can afford to pay the arrears. they realistically shouldnt expect you to pay the full sum but if you dont try to pay something towards it they can take you to court to get the full amount.

my mother is mentally ill and i had to deal with the housing as she was hiding the letters and/or not opening i got all the letters put in my name and anything housing came to me.

while we were waiting for a descion which took 12 weeks due to the backlog i had a stay on the account for 6 weeks where we wernt asked for demand letters or phone calls or letters everytime the rent ct was due. we got our money backdated which helped emensley.

just phone them as soon as and explain the situation or see your local CAB office they provide impartial advice and can help with any form filling.

i hope i havnt ranted to long lol . i know what it is like when your income falls but the bills still have to be paid. I live in aberdeenshire in scotland gud luck to u

UnionGirl

If you phone the Council they will usually accommodate a repayment plan.

About 7 years ago I had Council Tax arrears and came to an arrangement with the Council to repay this at £50 per month.

They will usually accept what you can afford as long as you inform them of what's happening. But make sure that you can keep up with the debt arrangement plan with them or they can then demand full payment of the debt.

Hope this helps.