Council Tax Budget Sheet?!

another_username_3

Has anyone ever received one of these with no prior bills being sent out regarding owed council tax and no covering letter? It's a form which asks for my employment details and a breakdown of my incoming and outgoings. At the top it has, hand written, my council tax account number for my last address and £289.24 re debt "my old address".

I had a quick flick through my bank statements and I've not missed any payments for the period I was living there. I was paying off the bills each month with the amount they asked for. I was living with someone who was receiving ESA the whole period, so they were exempt from council tax and the bill was adjusted accordingly (I believe it was 25% discount). I started being eligible for some council tax benefit in the last six months of living at that address (I believe £10 a week), so was paying a reduced amount for that period. Even so, looking at what I've paid so far, plus the £289.24 they're asking for, that's coming to about what the full bill would have been for the year if my housemate wasn't receiving ESA.

Obviously I will phone the council on Monday, but in the meantime am curious and a little worried. I lived at the address in question from Sept 2011-12 and they have my current address, so it seems odd to receive this document now with no prior warning.

pmlindyloo

We will only be speculating as to what has happened so until you telephone on Monday you will not know.

It could be a simple mistake.
It could be that letters have gone to your old property and you haven't received them (did you have a PO redirection set up?)

When you make the phone call on Monday make a note of the date, time and person you speak to. Ask them why you have received this letter and what it relates to. Take notes of what they say. Do not be rushed. Ask them to repeat things and then read back what you have written to them. Ask them to send a written breakdown of why you owe the money and what it relates to.

You may also like to get ready copies of your bank statements showing the CT payments, any paperwork about CT for that year and name and details of the person you were living with ( a non dependent?)just in case you need them.

Don't let it spoil your weekend. You can't do anything until Monday other than get your paperwork together - you may not even need it!

CIS

Has anyone ever received one of these with no prior bills being sent out regarding owed council tax and no covering letter? It's a form which asks for my employment details and a breakdown of my incoming and outgoings. At the top it has, hand written, my council tax account number for my last address and £289.24 re debt "my old address".

Councils often sent out income & expenditure forms for details before agreeing a payment arrangement. You need to contact them to discuss this further.

If the form mentions 'regulation 36' then you are legally required to provide your full employment details and details of any benefits - you are not legally required to provide any more.

CIS

I was living with someone who was receiving ESA the whole period, so they were exempt from council tax and the bill was adjusted accordingly (I believe it was 25% discount).

They weren't exempt from council tax - they however may have been receiving some council tax benefit towards the bill.

If you were living with a joint tenant then you are both jointly liable for the council tax charge - if the flat mates council tax benefit was removed or adjusted then you are jointly responsible for any council tax which becomes due.

another_username_3

CIS wrote: »

They weren't exempt from council tax - they however may have been receiving some council tax benefit towards the bill.

If you were living with a joint tenant then you are both jointly liable for the council tax charge - if the flat mates council tax benefit was removed or adjusted then you are jointly responsible for any council tax which becomes due.

Thanks for this info CIS.

So it is possible the Council could be chasing me for my housemate's debt? The Council only addressed the C. Tax bill to me, but listed her separately and her liability was £0 at first. I'm not aware of a change in her benefit entitlement, but it's possible she could have lied to me about this. Will the Council be able to tell me if she became liable for the C. Tax at any point? I found out once we stopped living together that she hadn't been paying the Water Bill for almost the entire time we lived there and she had been binning reminder letters so I wasn't aware they were in arrears :mad:. I've since paid this off as well as all her share of the outstanding electricity and gas.

If she did become liable for Council Tax, and was still receiving Council Tax benefit, but not using it to pay her Council Tax are there any repercussions for her?

CIS

So it is possible the Council could be chasing me for my housemate's debt?

If it is as I posted then, legally, its both your debts.

If she did become liable for Council Tax, and was still receiving Council Tax benefit, but not using it to pay her Council Tax are there any repercussions for her?

Council Tax Benefit (CTB) is credited automatically to the council tax account (in theory they could pay cash but I don't know any who do). If they pay CTB and then later withdraw it for some reason then all liable parties (eg joint tenants) are responsible for ensuring its paid.

Will the Council be able to tell me if she became liable for the C. Tax at any point?

They'll not be able to discuss her CTB claim in depth but they should be able to advise if withdrawl of CTB caused an outstanding balance to become due.

another_username_3

If she was still receiving some Council Tax benefit but spending it on other things and not contributing towards the Council Tax would the Council take any action against her? I understand about joint liability and that with utility companies/landlords they don't care who pays the bills as long as they get paid. But if the Council is giving her money for a specific purpose and she's not using it to pay the bills it's intended for, can they not reclaim it from her?

CIS

If she was still receiving some Council Tax benefit but spending it on other things and not contributing towards the Council Tax would the Council take any action against her

Its very very unlikely they were paying cash - they almost certainly would have been making an electronic credit to the council tax account so no monies were changing hands so she'd have no direct access to it.

The most common cause of problem like this is that they pay the CTB and then a persons circumstances alter so they withdraw the CTB and the resultant council tax becomes due.

another_username_3

Just got off the phone with the Council Tax Department. From what I can gather, my ex housemate did become liable to pay some Council Tax in April 2012, hadn't been paying and kept quiet about it. The advisor also stated we'd been billed up until December 2012 (3 months after we moved out). I did notify council of my change of address at the time and they said a copy of my old tenancy agreement will allow them to adjust my bill accordingly. I think my housemate was possibly still claiming Council Tax benefit and Housing Benefit on our old address after we moved out. Is this something I should tell the Council about?

I have 7 days to pay, otherwise it will go to the bailiffs. I've requested a copy of the outstanding bill, but obviously I'd prefer to pay something sooner rather than later to avoid further action. I was thinking of offering them £100, then making up the balance when I get the bill. Also, is it worth trying to negotiate any fees they've added through taking the matter to court? I understand I'm liable for my housemate's c tax debt, but the Council had been writing to me at my old address even though they had my new one within a week of me moving in.

pmlindyloo

At the moment you appear to have two issues:

1. You did not receive any paperwork as regards the CT arrears, the liability order and therefore, you did not have a chance to go to court. Have you any proof that the council had your new address? Did you write to them or notify them by phone? Did you receive any letters for the council during this time to your new address (indicating that the council did have your new address?)
I believe that if you could prove that the council had made a mistake and did not send the papers to the correct address then you might have a case for the court fees to be waived.

2. There are still outstanding arrears. However, the final bill is going to be corrected when you provide proof of your last tenancy.

(At this moment your house mate's part in all this can be dealt with later as you now know that you are liable)

Personally I would physically go to the council offices and take the old tenancy agreement and ask to see an advisor to sort this out face to face.

I would also offer to pay some money towards the bill as a gesture of good will (if you can afford this). Otherwise you will need to agree a payment plan.

If this cannot be sorted out with the advisor then I suggest you contact CAB for an appointment and ask them to speak to the recovery team. If it comes to this then ask the advisor to put a note on your file that you are seeking advice from CAB and ask them to hold off all action until you have sought advice.

another_username_3

There was an issue with my address getting changed over. I completed the online change of address form on the council website. I still have an email receipt for this, which says not to contact them further, as it may delay my request being actioned. I also filled in a form for the Electoral Roll when I moved into my new address, but again it seems this wasn't actioned by the Council, or possibly lost in the post. We finally managed to get this sorted in February this year. I'm all up to date with my Council Tax at my new address (they checked this for me earlier).

I'm planning on going down to the Council in a little while. I'm trying to hunt down some old Council Tax bills as the only ones I received were all in my name and I would have thought if my housemate's circumstances had changed at any stage, they would have added her name to the bill and advised of the arrears. If the bill went into arrears in April 2012, I'm unsure why they couldn't have notified me sometime between April and September (before I moved out). I would have begrudeling paid and played hell with ex housemate.

The bottom line is, I'll have to pay and don't expect my ex housemate to contribute as she's already proved herself to be a massive flake. I'm just confused as to why I wasn't notified of the arrears up until now, but I guess that's a question for the Council. I live frugally so am in a position where I have savings to clear the debt, I'm just waiting on a breakdown of the bill, so I know I'm not paying for the period after I moved out.