We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Court summons for council tax - But fulltime student @ 18hours per week of modules!!!
Comments
-
-
But so if i then just am an unemployed person with no income (as im not a fulltime student),
is there any way they can refuse to award me council tax benefit??
Students are not eligible to claim benefits. If (as it seems from your posts) you are just a single person then you would not be able to claim any Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support etc. income or not, you couldn't claim.Well if i have £0 income then im sure i will automatically be entitled.
No, as per above. Additionally, the recent changes to CT Benefit mean that even those with no income have some CT still to pay.... defence for not paying as being that i dont class myself as being liable to pay council tax,
It's not about what you class yourself as - as someone else already pointed out, you are liable for the full amount of the CT bill until your student exemption is agreed and processed.nhave you been dealing directly with the CT department, not with the benefits section? Because your student exemption is not a benefit, so the benefits section will not be able to process it (although they should tell you this).
You need too get the correct form from your Uni which simply confirms you are on a FT course (my uni provides these directly to my council electronically, I just had to tell the council to look for it). Take that form to the council and they will stop the summons, or take it to the court - ideally the former, the latter may still cause problems.Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.- Mark TwainArguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter how good you are at chess, its just going to knock over the pieces and strut around like its victorious.0 -
(I dont meany my credit file as that doesn't matter, but for the career im going into the vetting process takes many months and they bar you have any kind of bankruptcy, ccj, criminal record, or anything at all negative by your name...
The things that can be checked for such an employment check are your credit file, fraud databases and your criminal record (CRB check). CT liability won't show up on any of these - although you can go to prison for non payment in extreme cases and I presume that would show.Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.- Mark TwainArguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter how good you are at chess, its just going to knock over the pieces and strut around like its victorious.0 -
shaniannie wrote: »Erm? Since when? Students don't have any more rights than any other worker, the earnings need to be declared whether you're a student or not.
This is correct - even if you earn less than your personal allowance you should still be registered as self employed and complete a tax return each year.0 -
Now i just need to decide whether i should attend court on wednesday and dispute my liability there,
You can't dispute it with the court as they can't rule on it although you may be able to speak with the council tax staff who are present and see what they can do for you (although it will generally be limited without access to their systems).I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
Worth mentioning that for housing and council tax benefit, a full time student is someone in guided learning for 16hrs or more. Reading and self study time doesn't count towards this.
I have seen a handful of cases where benefits say you are a full time student but ctax can't say the same 16/21 hours!
And on a personal level OP, you do seem to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder so perhaps if you gave less attitude to the council, they'd be able to suggest options? Just a view of course as your way seems to be working really well!!!!I currently manage a Housing Benefit service and have been working in Housing / council tax benefit (as was) since 2001.
All views expressed in my posts are my own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.0 -
I was thinking about that but it has been so long since I did any benefit legislation that I couldn't remember the exact details.Worth mentioning that for housing and council tax benefit, a full time student is someone in guided learning for 16hrs or more. Reading and self study time doesn't count towards this.
I think I've probably only seen a couple of cases in the last 7 years of working in council tax.I have seen a handful of cases where benefits say you are a full time student but ctax can't say the same 16/21 hours!I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
The reason why im frustrated and fedup with the council is because ive dealt with their laziness, unhelpfulness, uncoperativeness, arrogance, and incompetence for many many years now when claiming benefits.
They are not vunerable financially, and are harden over the years of doing the job.
And therefore have no urgency, concern or care about helping people who are.
I have decided i will just go to the court to dispute my liability for having to pay council tax,
and provide my evidence documents directly to the magistrate.
I don't know why you are saying that 'the judge cannot rule on my liability',
as that is the entire purpose of the case going to court,
its even written on the summons that im requested there to discuss or dispute my liability for the council tax.
The legislation for fulltime student clearly states ''a combination of 21hours of tuition AND study'',
my course is 18hours of lectures but is 100% coursework based and therefore is obvious to anyone with a brain that you will need to spend more than 3hours per week doing study for the coursework assignments,
and so its just some clueless fool at the council whos not taking into account the ''study time element'' in addition to the timetabled tuition time.
And since millions of other students who also have below 21hours of timetabled lectures per week are still not made to pay council tax the council cannot discriminate against me by trying to get me to!0 -
OP, have you got an exemption letter off your uni?Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.0
-
I don't know why you are saying that 'the judge cannot rule on my liability',
as that is the entire purpose of the case going to court,
its even written on the summons that im requested there to discuss or dispute my liability for the council tax.
The reason is that until your discount is applied, you ARE liable. The magistrate cannot rule on your discount, and will simply look at when you moved in. The council will point out that you have not provided information that satisfies them of your eligibility; and if you do not have what multiple people have pointed out you need (the exemption letter from your uni that states you are full time) then the magistrate is very likely going to side with the council again.Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.- Mark TwainArguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter how good you are at chess, its just going to knock over the pieces and strut around like its victorious.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.6K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.5K Spending & Discounts
- 247.5K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.6K Life & Family
- 262K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards