Advice needed to deal with Council

hopeful_here

Hi All,

I owe quite a lot in arrears to the local council. Last year I agreed a figure per month and set up a direct debit.

In january the council started chasing me for an increase in repayment (treble the amount!) and asked me to fill out an income and expenses sheet. I sent it in and heard nothing until I got a letter threatening to take me to court.

It turns somehow they stopped taking the direct debit and blamed me for it - I have no understanding why as my bank said all was ok my side.. I have continued to pay the original amount directly to them but they are still hounding me for more, wanting more and more details including my employer details (why?).

What can I do - can I tell them to leave me alone and continue paying what I am currently paying them? Am I ok as long as I keep making payments less than they want?

besswales

could be wrong but they would need employer details to get their payment directly from them out of your salary if it goes into court. its an attachment of earnings order or something like that.Hope someone else can advise better?

hopeful_here

Yes I don't see why I should volunteer information they can use against me.

maginot

hopeful_here wrote: »

Yes I don't see why I should volunteer information they can use against me.

Why would they use it against you?
You need to pay this debt and keep to the terms of the repayment.

Remember council tax is a priority debt and you could face jail if refusal to pay (although this is unlikely).

If they take you to court for full repayment, this will only increase costs and you will have to show the court how much you can pay.

If I was you, just give them any information they need and keep to the repayment plan. Double check the payment comes out every month and ring if this has not happened.

fatbelly

hopeful_here wrote: »

Yes I don't see why I should volunteer information they can use against me.

Because it may be a better option for you to have an attachment to earnings than for them just to hand the account to bailiffs.

There is a standard percentage deduction depending on your earnings, set out in this table

It sounds like your council are fairly laid back. Mine would have gone straight for a liability order and handed it to bailiffs, only negotiating if the bailiffs send it back to them.

Try talking to them and see if you can come up with a plan that works.

CIS

I have continued to pay the original amount directly to them but they are still hounding me for more, wanting more and more details including my employer details (why?).

The regulations require that the information regarding earnings/employer are given to the council if the request is made in writing under regulation 36 of the Council Tax (administration & enforcement) regulations 1992. If a request is made in this manner it is a legal requirement to comply and you can be called in front of a magistrate and fined for not providing the information. A Liability Order must have been granted before this can happen.

What can I do - can I tell them to leave me alone and continue paying what I am currently paying them? Am I ok as long as I keep making payments less than they want?

There is no legislative requirement for the council to make any re-payment arrangement once a Liability Order has been granted (payment arrangements aren't even mentioned in legislation) so the council can dictate the terms of any arrangement.

Before it gets to the Liability Order stage the statutory payment plan is set in legislation. The council can choose to follow this and you have no appeal against this.

It turns somehow they stopped taking the direct debit and blamed me for it - I have no understanding why as my bank said all was ok my side

Did you not realise the money was not being taken ?. The only reason a DD would not be taken was if the council had changed your payment in which case you'd have been issued with a revised demand notice showing this or it has been cancelled at the banks end. You would have been issued with a reminder once payment had not been made so they would have contacted you.

What documents have you had from the council ?

hopeful_here

CIS,

Thanks for your response. I should note at this point I am up to date with my council tax and the amount talked about here is an overpayment of benefits received when I was previously unemployed.

In terms of documents which I have received:

In November I received a letter asking me to fill out an income and expenses table.

In December a letter was sent ( to an incorrect address so I never received it) asking for more detail on expenses and requesting I pay treble the amount. In addition there were some factual errors.

In January I received a letter entitled important final notice saying I will be taken to court and this was my last chance to respond.( On contacting the council as a result of this I discovered the previous communication was sent to the wrong address due to council error)

Therefore they reissued the December letter requesting information and new amount. i replied highlighting the errors in the letter and confirmed I was paying the original amount directly into the council offices as they seemed to have stopped collecting the direct debit.

CIS

In January I received a letter entitled important final notice saying I will be taken to court and this was my last chance to respond.( On contacting the council as a result of this I discovered the previous communication was sent to the wrong address due to council error)

Why was it sent to another address ?

hopeful_here

The Council made a mistake by somehow sending it to my previous address.

electrobix99

The admin at most Council's seems to be appauling. Mine (Birmingham City) are claiming I owe them money from just under 6 years ago.

This is despite them knowing every address I have lived at the whole time and my mobile and home number staying with me. They only discovered this when they were due to pay me back £50.

I can not offer any advice as to your situation but i wish you the best of luck getting this sorted.

McKneff

So how did you know it went to a previous address, you said you never received it so presumably never read it.