Another daft council

alex-603

OK so before any were all in it together nazis want to chip in the council was offered payment for legitimate council tax that is due once the correct figure is calculated.

Now the real issue:
I do or may have some outstanding council tax with Perth & Kinross council for the water charge portion while I was on benefits and did not have the means to pay other than by weekly deduction in arrears to my benefits. This happened during the time I was on benefits.

However now I am back in employment P & K council have decided to pursue council tax arrears for:

Years I no longer lived in Perth.
Dual amounts for the same years ie £182.79 which may be a correct water charge and £1269.50 both for the year 06 - 07 when I moved from Perth in June 2006.

This was a social housing swap and all the correct paper work was filed in. And during this time I was in full receipt of both rent and council tax benefits.

To me it looks like they are confusing the fact I was on benefits and have raised both a benefits based claim and a claim as if I was not in receipt of benefits. There is a similar claim for council tax due in 07 - 08.

I have contacted the council to let them know about all the identifiable errors and that for over 10 years they have been taking a deduction direct at the DWP to repay arrears. Once the identifiable errors and any deductions from benefit have been accounted for I am willing to repay any legitimate outstanding balance.

They insist as it is now in the hands of their sherrif officers Stirling Park I must deal with them. So I contacted Stirling Park and sent them evidence to prove the immediatly visible errors ie my signed lease for the property I moved to in 2006. Stirling Park are playing the game of well we haven't heard from our clients so we are going to pursue the case. I have told them I will not make any payment until the dispute is at least acknowledged as I will not imply I am liable for the near £5000 they are claiming by making payment towards that as an outstanding debt.

I have contacted the council with a SAR to get the proof I was in receipt of benefit although a decent lady in their data control team has said I do not need a SAR and she will make sure the information is made available free of charge as it should be ( her daughter is in a similar row with them). I have also contacted the DWP to get proof of all deductions to benefit made on behalf of P & K council.

I expect this will be going to court as the council seems intransigent in its manner to claim debts its is not actually entitled to. I will also be intending to make a counter claim against them for costs & harrasment when they have been shown proof they are making an illegitimate claim for money.

Is there anyway I can notify the Perth courts to inform them that any case taken is to be defended so they can not slide a case in without me being informed in the way they did for the summary warrant for council tax for 2008. As part of the counter case am I entitled to claim Stirling Park should have any licence they hold to act as sherrif officers removed given they know they are proceeding with a case for money including dates of claims not due to P & K council? Is there any way of also using this to further prevent P & K applying for summary warrants where the target is not notified with the right to defend the case given the are making ilegitimate claims for money through the courts?

John_Pierpoint

You might do better with this on the debt free wannabee part of the board and carefully flag it as a legal dispute in SCOTLAND.
You seem to have two courses of action, one being "prove it"; in the hope that you can provide the court with accounts that are accurate brief & clear and the overworked council clerk/lawyer cannot. [I know someone who took that course in London, who is now a minor TV presenter - ie could talk his way our of most situations].
Your other course of action would have been to do absolutely nothing, in the hope you could get the council's case thrown out because it is "out of time". In Scotland I think that is 5 years but I don't know if it applies to arrears of tax. As you have corresponded with the council you have probably restarted the clock anyway. [I wrote twice to my local council, warning them they were heading for an "out of time" defence on a similar matter, and basically got ignored; until the ombudsman awarded me £900 for mal-administration.

I would have preferred it if the council had done their duty and protected the public funds effectively].