Late Council Tax & Moving House. Please help?

millyaulait

I've been busy moving house for the past while, I didn't receive ANY letters from the council saying I had missed payment from my 'old' house.

I do it online but not via DD, so I have to manually do it via the council website, but I don't see why they wouldn't send me a notification letter.

Anyway, now they are saying I have 14 days to pay £180.

GREAT. I know it's my fault for forgetting about it but I'm moving house & I've stressed out my face as it is.

I have NO money now thanks to the move, I did not budget in a £180 spend.

What the heck can I do? I have so many bills from both houses now (excess gas/elec, etc) that I already want to throw up.

Also, can I move my Council Tax to my 'new' house, or am I essentially paying £180 quid for a house I don't even live in anymore & I'm going to have to pay new Council Tax for my new one aswell?

Sorry if I sound like a total idiot but I am so stressed from moving. So stressed I just want to curl up and sleep forever.

bexiboo92

millyaulait wrote: »

I've been busy moving house for the past while, I didn't receive ANY letters from the council saying I had missed payment from my 'old' house.

I do it online but not via DD, so I have to manually do it via the council website, but I don't see why they wouldn't send me a notification letter.

Anyway, now they are saying I have 14 days to pay £180.

GREAT. I know it's my fault for forgetting about it but I'm moving house & I've stressed out my face as it is.

I have NO money now thanks to the move, I did not budget in a £180 spend.

What the heck can I do? I have so many bills from both houses now (excess gas/elec, etc) that I already want to throw up.

Also, can I move my Council Tax to my 'new' house, or am I essentially paying £180 quid for a house I don't even live in anymore & I'm going to have to pay new Council Tax for my new one aswell?

Sorry if I sound like a total idiot but I am so stressed from moving. So stressed I just want to curl up and sleep forever.

This is only from personal experience.... but it sounds like you'll be paying £180 for your old house then be paying for your new place too. I'd give the council a ring and explain the situation; they'll either offer a repayment plan or attachment of earnings (where it comes straight out of your earnings).

Unfortunately they don't bother sending reminders when you haven't paid it, but are quick enough to slap the threats and demands on.

joren81

Check when the £180 refers to so that you are not paying for time when you are not in the house. If you phone the council tax office to say that you are unable to pay it all at once they should be able to set up an arrangment for you to pay it up. I wouldnt stress too much about this - they are usually happy to just make sure they are getting the money back even if its by small installements over a matter of months. Good luck!

Tixy

What year does this relate to? 2011-12 or 2012-13? Find that out first.

Are you still living within the same council area?

You will only need to pay council tax for your old house up to the date you move out, have you informed them of the date you left the property?
You only pay council tax for the new house from the date you move in. But if you have arrears you could need to pay for both at the same time.

If its for this year (from April 2012) and you contact them then they will probably accept payment in installments over a few months - providing its fully paid by the end of the year.
If its for last year then might go for a court liability order for the debt.

millyaulait

Tixy wrote: »

What year does this relate to? 2011-12 or 2012-13? Find that out first.

Are you still living within the same council area?

You will only need to pay council tax for your old house up to the date you move out, have you informed them of the date you left the property?
You only pay council tax for the new house from the date you move in. But if you have arrears you could need to pay for both at the same time.

If its for this year (from April 2012) and you contact them then they will probably accept payment in installments over a few months - providing its fully paid by the end of the year.
If its for last year then might go for a court liability order for the debt.

The letter says it's for 2012-2013, I'm not sure how much difference that makes in my case. I'm pretty clueless about how all this works to be honest.

Do you think I could tell them I've moved and that I will pay the months that I've lived there that I missed? I'm not sure if that would be enough to make them happy.

I am really bad on the phone so I'm just trying to get as much info as I possibly can online first before I have to pick up the phone.

Tixy

If its for 2012-13 thats good.

For the old property you definitely only need to pay the amount owed from April 2012 to the date you moved out (less any payments already made).

Which is why its important that they know your correct moving date.

Given its this year's bill I'd expect them to be fairly helpful on the phone (hopefully) and allow you to set up to pay in installments. If you feel they are trying to get you to pay more than you can afford or are struggling with the call tell them you'll call them back later. It is a priority bill though so obviously does need sorting.

millyaulait

Thank you!

millyaulait

Thanks everyone.

I called my local council & they moved my address over.

They will send me a bill for the months that I missed.

I'm so glad I tackled this rather than just hiding away and making it worse by being too scared to do anything like I usually do.