council tax unreasonable court charges?

vulture

Hi I like many people spin plates each week paying off the most urgent bills I always pay of my rent then some of whichever bill is most outstanding or threatening.

I recieved one letter from the council telling me I had missed my payment plan and the right to use it had been withdrawn, yesterday I recieved a court summons which has incurred costs of £68 extra, i had thought I would get another reminder before they took this step and it seems unreasonable to me that they do this to someone who is obviously struggling to pay the bill by increasing it further, after one overdue letter. I have made 3 payments to them (though the last one was friday before the saturday summons) so have shown a willingness to pay.

I guess this is just a rant as I know they will not remove the charges and I will have to ring them tomorrow to agree something.

just interested I guess if this is standard across the country one overdue letter then court summons with costs?

Now to clear up the smashed plate from the floor!

jobdone1

Hi reading your post sounds to me like you need additional help with the main living costs as you have a very low income. If this is not the case because you are paying off debt then you must prioritize your bills. Council tax is just that a tax and not a bill they give very little or no room for negotiation sounds tough i know, But you must seek help as it does appear that you are starting to spiral down a difficult path if you don't do this then you will find yourself taken to court that's the hard line with council tax that's the way i see council tax hope this helps others will come along to advise soon

vulture

Thanks I do not have other debts just bills, I lost my job last year and we rely on my partneres money for everything, I did get contribution based benefit for a while but that stopped at Christmas and I was told I was intitled to nothing .Bad timing this year meant the water, electric, gas and phone bill all landed on my doorstep within a week of each other. I am disappointed because I dropped a plate but I think the council knocked it off.

CIS

The council have followed the statutory path for collection of the council tax - a demand notice is issued followed by a reminder for a missed payment. If the payment is not made within 7 days then you lose the right to pay by instalments and the council will then follow this with the issuing of a court summons.

jobdone1

Are you claiming all benefits ??? are you sure you are not entitled to any help ???? their is a link on money saving expert that will do a quick benefit check up to give you an idea if you are claiming all the benefits that you are entitled to its worth a look and if like many of us you find it a mind field then have a chat with citizens advice never feel ashamed to ask and remember benefits are always changing so if you was not entitled a while back you may be now.