Council Tax Problem

PinkChampagne

Hi All,

Not sure if I am in the right board but if I am not sorry in advance.

In 2012 I moved out of the family home and was not aware on the council tax bill as my name never appeared on the the bill.

I moved back in 2013 (long story) and had to have my name on the bill as proof I lived at the address for my car insurance.

When I spoke to the council they informed me I was always on the bill even though my name did not show on the bill they just forgot to tick a box. Beginning of this year a bailiff letter has come with my name on it for council tax owed and I thought it was for 2013 and thought not possible as I paid for it myself. It transpired it was for 2012 when I was not living here.

I informed them of this and sent proof however they said I am still liable for the property even though I was not living there because they were not aware that I had moved. I argued that my name was never on the bill so how would I know if I am liable and never once had they mentioned this when I called them over the years beforehand.

What I want to know is if I am liable for it even though I was not here?

Thank you all

claire21

I'm a bit confused

The bill relates to the family home?
Who lived in the family home along with you? If anyone.
When you moved out who was living there then if anyone?

Edit, by family home do you mean parents home, or do you mean your home along with partner, husband, kids etc?

billywhizz88

I agree it is not clear

For CT purposes you need to be registered somewhere. Unless you can prove otherwise it is likely the family home will be deemed your sole or main residence. The fact you have used it for your car insurance suggests this was considered your main residence

If you are the owner the you will be either solely or jointly liable or joint tenant but if not then you cannot be liable although could be responsible for loss of the possibility of a single person disciunt

The fact that the bailiff is after you as a named individual it suggests you must have been on the bill - not sure about ticking boxes

Even if you were not and are say married or living together with the occupier of the property the bailiff could take your goods in satisfaction of the debt

As previous post has says you are not very clear what your circs are but on balance looks like you will be liable

xxJudexx

When you were not living in the property were you paying council tax somewhere else? Or were you liable to pay somewhere else?

PinkChampagne

claire21 wrote: »

I'm a bit confused

The bill relates to the family home?
It is the family home

Who lived in the family home along with you? If anyone.
My father lived in the property.

When you moved out who was living there then if anyone?
My father lived in the property when I moved out.

Edit, by family home do you mean parents home, or do you mean your home along with partner, husband, kids etc?

Sorry Claire21 I did not make this clear.

PinkChampagne

billywhizz88 wrote: »

I agree it is not clear

For CT purposes you need to be registered somewhere. Unless you can prove otherwise it is likely the family home will be deemed your sole or main residence. The fact you have used it for your car insurance suggests this was considered your main residence
I used it for car insurance when I moved back home in 2013. In 2012 I lived in another property I was registered for council tax where I was.

If you are the owner the you will be either solely or jointly liable or joint tenant but if not then you cannot be liable although could be responsible for loss of the possibility of a single person disciunt

The fact that the bailiff is after you as a named individual it suggests you must have been on the bill - not sure about ticking boxes I thought the ticking box was weird but the person I spoke to (took down all their details) said this to me that I was always liable and always on the system!

Even if you were not and are say married or living together with the occupier of the property the bailiff could take your goods in satisfaction of the debt

As previous post has says you are not very clear what your circs are but on balance looks like you will be liable

Sorry for not making it clear, it made sense in my head!

PinkChampagne

xxJudexx wrote: »

When you were not living in the property were you paying council tax somewhere else? Or were you liable to pay somewhere else?

I was living and paying somewhere else.

claire21

As far as I'm aware it's the electoral roll that has persons names listed on it.
Council tax is based on the house, a discount given if just one person lives there.
When you and your dad lived there the full amount would be due, even if another 5 people lived there the amount would remain the same.

When you moved out I presume your dad applied for the reduction that is allowed when just a single person lives there.

Does the bill relate to a period where your father got the discount and they now think you were living there at the time so the discount should not have been given hence an overpayment ?

There must have been letters from the council asking for payment before the bailiffs letter came?


Ps just looked at my council tax bill, we are a family and it's just addressed to me eg it doesn't have my husbands name on it. So the bill you have is for the house not you. Do you think for some reason your dad didn't pay it and as at one point of time you needed to be the addressee (if that's a word) for your car insurance that's why the bill has come in your name?

Bollotom

I'm with Hackney Council and we have an online account where you can view benefits and how those benefits are calculated. One of the sections says "Based on how many people" and it says "3" as my partner, 19 year old son and I live here. I, and no-one else is the person responsible for the liable amount. Check to see there is only your dad on the tax demand for the period you were away, make sure that the dates you paid tax elsewhere are the same as those demanded by the bailiff. Who owns the family home? The one your father is staying in? I should take all my paperwork and go to your council housing department as there is a lot of confusion arising from your posts. If you pay council tax in one place you can't pay it in another. :cool:

CIS

If you pay council tax in one place you can't pay it in anothe

There are circumstances where a person is responsible for more than one council charge at a time.

pjread

[QUOTE=CIS;[URL="tel:65176313"]65176313[/URL]]There are circumstances where a person is responsible for more than one council charge at a time.[/QUOTE]
But when someone else is resident and paying, and you are not is not generally one of them.

OP - do you own the property? If not, I would call the council and inform them of the dates you were resident, and offer to provide proof you were paying CT elsewhere.

other thing though, are these genuine arrears that need paying (i.e. has your father not been paying?) or is it because the council think/misinterpreted your notification as meaning you'd always been there, and are trying to reclaim any single person discount? The latter could get cleared up by communication. If it's the former though, the best case is they go after your father not you..