Council Tax advice needed

Bigfish_4

I need some guidance on what to do with my council tax bill

last August i moved into my current rented flat with my (now ex) girlfriend, however our property agents did not (as promised and has previously had done) inform the council of the change in address and subsquently we recieved a reminder and then a summons for no payment of the council tax for our previous property, this was quickly noted and the council was informed inthe change of address and no further action was taken,

In Novemeber of last year we recieved through the council tax bill owed for last years period of august throu to 31-mar this year totalling £643 to be spread over three months to get us up to date. As I was already paying almost all of the household and grocery bills aswell as a larger proportion of rent my girlfriend agreed to take care of the Council tax.

My girlfriend and myself split up in january and in february she moved out, after this thou I recieved the bill from the council for this year (05-06) and found that none of last years had been paid.

I went into the local council office, to claim single person staus and explained my situation that the bill was unpaid due to lack of knowledge on my part and the lady was very kind and understanding, on checking my records she informed me that a first reminder had been sent out for the sum of the first two installments of the amount oweing (£428). I explained to her that I didn't have £643 pounds lying about and she said that the most important thing I could do was to pay the amount on the reminder, and not to worry as this was a first reminder. I arranged that I can pay the £428 on this friday (8th) and she siad she would note it in my file.

However today I recieved a summons for the full amount on the 22nd of this month. There is no way I can stretch to this amount once my other outgoings have been taken into account and am a bit unsure of where to go from this point as I am absolutely terrified of going to court on this or any other matter

Thank you for your time

Downsizing__for_sanity

Do you have the number of the lady you spoke to previously? If I were you, I would ring her or go in, in person, and explain about the arrangement you made. You'll probably find that the summons has gone out automatically and could be cancelled or dismissed (I don't know the terminology) once you've made the first payment on Fri.

HTH

WiseSteward_2

Hi Bigfish

The court document you referred to is probably a 'Liability Order' issued by the local Magistrates Court, at the request of the Local Authority (LA), and is a legal confirmation that you are believed to be liable for an amount of Council Tax in respect of a particular property for a particular Financial Year. It is not necessary to attend a court hearing unless you are not the legally liable adult for the property, period and amount in question or you are claiming exemption or certain reductions in connection with physical and/or mental disability.

Click here to read about Liability Orders from the National Debtline web site. See the 4th & 5th pages (actually numbered 16 & 17).

It will still be necessary to make a revised arrangement with the LA Council Tax Dept. for repayment of the outstanding arrears. Failure to do this, or failure to make the agreed payments without prior arrangement, may lead to the CT arrears being passed to private bailiffs for collection, which incurs high additional costs. Click here for full details. (These links refer to the situation in England & Wales).

Hope this is helpful.

Regards, Graham B

Eager_Elephant

Hi Bigfish,

Could you have received the summons as the system was already in the process of sending one?

I currently work for a council and most reminders run on a 4 week pattern, so the initial bill will be sent, then 4 weeks later a reminder, then 4 weeks later another and so it goes on.

Maybe there was something on the system that she did not tell to stop the letters.

I would give the council a ring and explain again, I think this is just human error and these sort of things happen all the time.

Don't stress about it, most council staff are friendly and will have heard about your problem many times over. They are not there to punish you but to collect the revenue on behalf of the government and as long as payments are being received there should be no problem.

HTH