Please help, massive council tax arrears! SCOTLAND

pinklipy

The letter I received has a direct number for the man at the council who is dealing with it so not sure if going to council offices would help? I am going to call CAB on Monday and hopefully get an appointment with them asap. I will also put a letter in to the council with what the debt advice lady told me to write.
I do have 2 credit cards but they are totally up to date as are all my other bills, I am not in debt anywhere else. It's hard for me to get my head around as honestly in Scotland council tax is not seen as that big a deal As it seems to be in England? I never once realised it was a priority debt at all And the fact that's this has went on for 10 years and is now at £13000 shows that iykwim.
Not to sound silly but I take it I won't be able to "live" untill it is paid off, what will I do for ££ at xmas's and birthday etc? Is it more likely they will want to accept my payment plan rather than go through courts?
Thanks xxxx

HappyMJ

pinklipy wrote: »

The letter I received has a direct number for the man at the council who is dealing with it so not sure if going to council offices would help? I am going to call CAB on Monday and hopefully get an appointment with them asap. I will also put a letter in to the council with what the debt advice lady told me to write.
I do have 2 credit cards but they are totally up to date as are all my other bills, I am not in debt anywhere else. It's hard for me to get my head around as honestly in Scotland council tax is not seen as that big a deal As it seems to be in England? I never once realised it was a priority debt at all And the fact that's this has went on for 10 years and is now at £13000 shows that iykwim.
Not to sound silly but I take it I won't be able to "live" untill it is paid off, what will I do for ££ at xmas's and birthday etc? Is it more likely they will want to accept my payment plan rather than go through courts?
Thanks xxxx

I don't see why they would make you BR. I think it's just a scare tactic to make you pay. They are getting £111 per month. If they make you BR they get nothing and you have no further liability to pay anything until next April.

RAS

Please will you answer questions?

The reason being that if you lived in the house with another person, they are jointly responsible for the debt.

Have to go but will check back on Monday.

pinklipy

Yes RAS our council tax includes water rates also must be why it seems higher.
You are correct with what you've stated about the 2 property's, their is some equity in the inherited property many around £40,000 but my sister does own half and I think the law in Scotland is different with jointly owned properties. The bills for counil tax arrears go as far back as 2002 up to now, so 02-06 is for inherited property where I lived myself then 06-12 is for my jointly owned property. From 06- present the inherited property has been rented out so the tenant has been responsible for their council tax.
Sorry I hope all that makes some sense!
I absolutley 100% do not want to be made bankrupt especially as I am going to offer a payment plan so I will do anything to avoid it. I cannot remortgage inherited property as credit is poor.
Thanks

Cherryjack

really would be better if you could list your money, bills and outstanding debts (you will need to do this for them) x

freebyfifty

pinklipy wrote: »

It's hard for me to get my head around as honestly in Scotland council tax is not seen as that big a deal As it seems to be in England? I never once realised it was a priority debt at all Thanks xxxx

Pardon?????? I think you'll find the Council Tax is a big deal in Scotland and it definitely is a priority debt.
Long time ago, I thought the same as you and didn't pay or keep up with payments for about 6 months. The Sheriff's Officers came to my house to collect the money. I then put EVERYTHING else on hold until it was paid and have never ever defaulted on the CT again.

HappyMJ

pinklipy wrote: »

Yes RAS our council tax includes water rates also must be why it seems higher.
You are correct with what you've stated about the 2 property's, their is some equity in the inherited property many around £40,000 but my sister does own half and I think the law in Scotland is different with jointly owned properties. The bills for counil tax arrears go as far back as 2002 up to now, so 02-06 is for inherited property where I lived myself then 06-12 is for my jointly owned property. From 06- present the inherited property has been rented out so the tenant has been responsible for their council tax.
Sorry I hope all that makes some sense!
I absolutley 100% do not want to be made bankrupt especially as I am going to offer a payment plan so I will do anything to avoid it. I cannot remortgage inherited property as credit is poor.
Thanks

Who calculated the £40,000 of equity? Equity is calculated as the value of the house sold immediately...i.e at auction not what you think you would like for it. Then 10% is deducted from that figure for fees and expenses in selling the property then the mortgage is repaid and then the final figure is divided by 2 for you and your sister. So £40,000 is very high and would indicate a very expensive property or a property that has a small mortgage.

For example a house is worth £135,000 but would achieve £125,000 if sold tomorrow then £12,500 is deducted from that to make £112,500. Then the mortgage is repaid of let's say £100,000 (75% LVR) which makes the equity £12,500 divided by 2 people makes £6,250 of equity each.

k66yla

Why is all the council tax debt down to you and not your sister & your ex? Also if you are living by yourself you should be getting a 25% single occupant discount, unless that does'nt apply in Scotland.

sleepless_saver

pinklipy wrote: »

Just had a look at the debt Arrangement scheme and it might be an option for me, will the CAB be able to assist me further with that? Does anyone know anymore details about these or used one before? Can I use it only for my council tax arrears or would all my debt have to be included in it? As I have elec debt but manage that fine and a car on hire purchase which I also can manage myself.

Thanks

If you go to CAB, they will help prepare a financial statement (based on your income and expenditure). They will discuss with you what your options are based on your income and expenditure, and on your circumstances. DAS might be a good option, but there are others - depends on your circumstances.

They can also negotiate with creditors on your behalf, which is a lot easier with a verified financial statement.

Whatever you do, don't go to a debt management company which charges you.

pinklipy

Sorry freebi50, didn't mean to be passive about CT, all I meant was nobody I know pays council tax through council, everyone is through sherrif officers and they have never came to my house, also since the age of 16 I have never had any guidance on these things, so being left a home owner at that age meant I just foun my own way so for them to keep adding on thousands year after year only increasing my payments by pounds Never made me realise it was a big deal, until now. I am not trying to make excuses and all my other finance are in order.

Happy mj, I calculated the £40000 equity lol, the mortgage on the property is around £100000 (just over) and the property is worth around £130,000-£140,000 but I didnt realise how it worked in regards to them selling it. Does it still have enough equity in it for them to make me bankrupt?
Would they rather make me bankrupt or let me pay monthly?
Thanks