Council tax bill for old address.

Musicpirate

I've recently been sent a council tax bill for my old address dated 01-april 2012 - 31-march 2013, but i moved out the 1st of Feb and have been paying my council tax at the new place ever since.

Among the charges there is an "Authority summons cost" of £90, so i guess they've been sending bills to my old address and final reminders etc, even though they have my current address, and only now have they decided to forward them.

I'm quite annoyed that this can even happen, and now i'm worried they will refuse to refund the charges. Can i go to the council office and demand that any charges to this address be removed? Or is it likely they wont want to?

Help!

mynameistallulah

Making "demands" will get you nowhere, call or visit the council office and ask them to explain why you have received this bill.

CIS

Among the charges there is an "Authority summons cost" of £90, so i guess they've been sending bills to my old address and final reminders etc, even though they have my current address, and only now have they decided to forward them.

When you moved to the new address sis you actually tell the council where you had lived before ?

Among the charges there is an "Authority summons cost" of £90, so i guess they've been sending bills to my old address and final reminders etc, even though they have my current address, and only now have they decided to forward them.

Have you checked with the council as to when they started sending documents from the old address to your new address ?, just because you haven't received them doesn't mean they weren't sent.

Musicpirate

Thanks for the replies, yes i did inform them of a change of address, and the council tax at the new place was paid from 01-Feb until now.

This is the first letter i have received regarding the old address, it seems like they have probably been sending letters to the old address with my name on, instead of sending them to "the occupier" with the current tennant ignoring them, and only after 5 months, someone at the council miraculously finds my correct address.

I was told on the phone to put in writing (letter or email) the day i moved and send it to them, but i am going to head to the council office today and speak with someone.

CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative

Hi musicpirate, thank you for your query regarding Council Tax Bill for old address
You don't state in your post whether you did in fact send the council a letter stating you had moved address and giving the move dates but if you did I would suggest you take a copy to council, with your new bill for new address dated from 1/2/2012 and state you want to dispute the summons charge and the amount of council tax owing as they did not act on your letter in a resonable amount of time and issue you with a final bill. If you did not send a letter then your argument is weaker but it is still worth writing to tell them you dispute the bill and that you have been paying council tax at your new address since 1/2/2012 and they should at least finalise the bill and not charge you for the period after you moved. If you need help writing this letter or are not happy with their response I would suggest you contact your local citizens advice bureau which you can find details of at www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
Hope this is of assistance

CIS

I was told on the phone to put in writing (letter or email) the day i moved and send it to them, but i am going to head to the council office today and speak with someone.

Did you speak with them ?

and they should at least finalise the bill and not charge you for the period after you moved.

Depending on the exact situation there may well be a charge after they had vacated the property, it depends on the original posters circumstances.