Unfair Council Tax

taraog

I am so angry,

I came home from work to a summons letter from Enfield Council to appear in court for an unpaid council tax bill which IS PAID and I have proof of that. I thought it was a bit strange that my name was the sole name on the bill when my flatmate told me he got the same.

Our council tax bill always came with both names on it and now they have split them up and charged us a whopping £70 each for a summons each Yikees!

I wouldnt mind but we have proof of payment

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What the hell is Enfield Councils problem. The only other letter we got from enfeild council is a £10 late payment letter a few weeks back which we resolved asap

I am going to ring the council in the morning but can imagine going by what ive read on line re similar issues that they will say they sent out letters in the post which of course we only recieved one.

Should I go to court and fight this? I am so so so sick and tired of getting shafted by these types of redtape crap issues I just want to go and live in a field someplace..... Oh wait we cant do that either can we or we will be fined or moved off at a cost of 18 million:mad:

adi_clarke85

Relax. As the bill is in joint names each person will get a summons (they have to legally), and there will only be one set of costs. Sounds like there has been a problem with payments hitting your account I.e. exact amounts by correct dates. Ring the council tomorrow and I'm sure you'll sort it no problem.

Red_dog_Sam

I'd agree with Adi's response. If you have proof of payment there's a chance that the payment didn't hit your account - a mistyped reference number is all it takes. If you'e paid in full and have your receipt then the case will be withdrawn as soon as the error as highlighted. Dig out your recipt and make sure it has come off your bill.
You can though, get a summons after just one reminder letter if you paid the amount after the 7 day limit they gave you. So you could be up to date with instalments as far as you are concerned but have alrdeay lost the right to instalments and get a summons for the balance of the year. That could've happened too. You should still be able to sort that out with the council though. If they have made an error they will withdraw the case and the costs. if they are "technically" right in what they have done, the will have some discretion over it. If you've just been a few days late argue your case for instalments to be reinstated. Some council's will agree to cancel proceedings if you switch to Direct Debit so you can consider offering that. If you can pay the balance less the costs that will clear it anyway.
Fighting the red tape at this stage should be helped by a calm and reasoned approach - you don't need the first person you speak to to get the hump. Use the normal channels if they are difficult and obstructive - try the supervisor / manager and then get your councillor to investigate as they get council officers hopping. You can go to court and demonstrate you've paid of course, but best to sort it out before and avoid that experience altogether.