Council Tax court order

Luisa1981

Help!

I don't know if this is the right place to put this but I'm hoping this is.

Got home today to find a court order for unpaid council tax. It was for February, and I had forgotten to pay it, and presumed it would be brought forward to this year. I now face an extra £122 charge for it. They have also overcharged me as I am living alone.

It's no excuse really but I have been depressed recently and not dealing with this kind of stuff. I am getting back out of it, but only just.

What do I do? Do I just pay or do I call up and explain my circumstances? I know I've made a mistake but I don't know what to do!

I'm hoping someone has experienced this.

Thanks

x

krustylouise

So had this case already even to court? Did they not write you a letter advising it was going to court?

Luisa1981

They wrote me a letter with a date for a court appearance. I can pay up now, or go to court

I may have missed another letter. Mental state. Ignoring 'white envelopes'.

krustylouise

I received one of these, rang them the same day I received it, offered to pay I think it was £50 and promised to pay the rest ASAP, they cancelled the court date

Luisa1981

I can ring them tomorrow. It's just horrible to receive.

I know it's my fault and everything, but you know, the worst thing was I was getting my head straight and had cleared my utilities arrears. This was next on my list...

CIS

They wrote me a letter with a date for a court appearance. I can pay up now, or go to court

I may have missed another letter. Mental state. Ignoring 'white envelopes'.

There would be no other letters between the summons being issued and the liability order being granted.

Once the order is granted most councils will send a form to you, normally called a 'Request for Information Form' or similar.This form usually also serves as the statutory 14 day notice that a bailiff may be instructed.

Luisa1981

Thanks for replying!

Woke up in a better mental state, chalked it up to experience, paying it all off £65 per month from May until September on top of my council tax. Organised DD so this won't happen again.

May do same for gas/electric...

x

datlex

How much did you owe? Seems harsh to be at court already for 1 month's payment when is only early April. Speak to them explain you are single person- you may need to complete declaration - you may find you are in credit with them!!

prettyplease

Well done Luisa for sorting this out. I have white envelope fear too - its part of the reason I got into serious debt, one missed payment would cause me to bury my head in the sand and let problems escalate around me. Then I'd end up with charges and pay them off on a credit card.

I now have all my bills on direct debit including council tax and for the first time ever I shouldnt get a council tax summons and added charge this year!!!
Do move your bills to dd - im now not afraid of the postman. I believe you can also get council tax over 12 months now but you have to ask. Im not ready for another phone call yet so will deal with that one next year.......doesn't hold breath......

CIS

How much did you owe? Seems harsh to be at court already for 1 month's payment when is only early April.

The summons was for last years council tax - you couldn't legally be taken to court for missing April's payment as there wouldn't have been enough time to issue the statutory documents.

Luisa1981

CIS wrote: »

The summons was for last years council tax - you couldn't legally be taken to court for missing April's payment as there wouldn't have been enough time to issue the statutory documents.

The summons was indeed for my Jan, Feb and March tax (moved into this flat in Jan). They will add that to the DD for my 2013-2014 tax.

I owed all of £250. I'm annoyed as I had an HMRC tax rebate that I was saving to pay off my council tax in one go, but I paniced on the phone and said I'd pay it off by DD.

I'm going to wait until I get the confirmation letter to check if they have calculated it all correctly. If they haven't, I'll let them know.

In all fairness, I couldn't fault the customer services at the council, I wasn't held in a queue, I wasn't patronised, and it was all sorted out in 15 minutes. For once, I'm not complaining about service. I also phoned bang on 9am, just when they opened, and wasn't held in a queue.

Well, I'm going to have a look on here to see how I can make/save more money. Doing some surveys right now. Not really got the brain for Dooyoo this evening unfortunately!

xx