council tax debt

michael2007

hello

im looking for some advice

my girlf and i are in debt now to council tax, its been passed to council bailffs, we are worried that theyre going 2 knock the door down can they enter the house?

it all started with us being told the wrong info, we were told we didnt have to pay council tax til end of the year by our estate agent who hav now done a runner and closed down.

so when we saw the statements coming in we thought it was a bit confusing with all the figures and thought it was just a summary. then in july we received a court summons, this shocked us, it said that we had to contact them before the court summons date.

we did this, we emailed them numerously, tried to call them, explaing the situation, trying to find out how to make payments, but they never replied. we both work full time and are not allowed to call from work, although we did ring 2x times to be put on hold.

they are now saying that we did not try to contact them therefore the installment plan is not available. i argued with them that we DID try to contact them numerous times,

she says they only got 1 email, yet i printed off 16 emails from my account sent to them! she said even if i sent them to her it doesnt change the circumstances, but yet this proves that we did try to make contact to arrange payment! can they get away with this?

she said as no payment/contact was made its not out of their hands! this is so unfair, we are only 20 have only just lived by ourselves away from home, we were told the wrong information, we found it confusing and tried to get advice but they would not answer our requests. we would have made payments as we had to (its the law even if it is disgraceful!)

we are now in debt to the council for what??...nothing, its made up of bin removal costs, olympic games, childrens education - when we are also in debt for our college education, who paid this for us?.....no-one!

also street mainteinance, we dont even have kids! why should we be made to pay for this! and all these other things should come out of the governments pockets anyway!!

this makes us feel like emigrating!

we arent even council residents, we only moved here from scotland! we are not even with this council, dont own a property in our opinion it is outrageous, the owner of the property should pay council tax as they own the building. we rent the space therefore... we pay rent, we use gas, eletrcitiy.... therefore we pay for this.

whoever made this law up should be locked up. i wish people would protest against the government, it is impossible to survive in this day and age as it is. all my wages just get taken by the government.

we need advice on what to do now......they said the whole amount £2400 has to be paid before january 2008! we cannot afford this in any way possible!

regards

guppy

First of all, don't panic.

But I think you need to be a bit more realistic about the situation. Everyone has to pay tax, no one likes it, but its your responsibility to make sure you do, not anyone else's. Unfortunately they have plenty of complicated taxes abroad too so I wouldn't bother emigrating for now.

It sounds like the council have been a bit incompetent and there's been a breakdown of communication, but this doesn't mean they're going to write off a year's council tax.

If you can find the money now, or at least a chunk of it, that would be best. There's no sense in dragging your heels, you're going to have to pay anyway, and if balliffs get involved you'll be charged for them too.

I'd phone up the council direct, ask to speak to a manager and explain the situation. Don't make excuses, they'll have heard them all before, just admit you were ignorant and offer to pay as much as you can. If you show willing maybe they will accept some kind of payment plan for the rest of the amount once they know you are serious. They only want the money ASAP, if you can pay it, your problems will hopefully disappear.

There are others far knowledgeable about CT here than me, so hopefully they'll have more (or better) advice.

Good luck.

michael2007

thanks for the advice,

we weren't being ignorant by not paying just totally unaware. we would have paid the money had we known it was to be paid in installments, we would have obvously rather avoided this situaiton.

the trouble is we dont have alot of money, if we had obviously there would be no problem. :rolleyes:

my partner is on a low income and all my money goes on rent, bills, her money goes on shopping, other essentails.

its how much they would accept intially. they said to pay the money to them but yet they're passed it onto the bailiffs? if i get a spare £100/200 odd should i pay it directly to them? if i pay that just now would that be enough for them to not send in the bailffs du think?

thanks mic

mic

guppy

Hi,

Sorry if I was a bit abrupt. I'd really recommend talking to someone with authority at the council ASAP and just being as honest as possible. If you can beg or borrow any money to start paying them off (without getting yourself in other financial trouble) then maybe do that.

If you don't talk to them they won't know your intentions and the process will just drag on ending in more hassle and costs for you.

Obviously I don't know your financial situation but you might need to cut back a bit to pay them off. Unlike most other debts, not paying your CT is a criminal offence.

Don't panic, but don't think it will go away. I know it can be unpleasant but just get in touch with the council ASAP.

Sorry I can't help more.

michael2007

thanks for the advice

CLAPTON

Its essential that you contact the council and make an offer of payment

When did you move in
how much is the council tax per year
how much do you owe.

Its likely that if you offer to clear the debt before tax year end (i.e. March 2008) they will accept.

You say they have threatened you with bailiffs... did you receive a court summons?

astonsmummy

I'd advise going to the CAB if you can too.

fraoch

The bailiffs have no right of entry unless they have been in your house before, they cannot break the door down, but what they can do is walk in if there is an open door, they can get in an open window.

You can refuse them entry politely and tell them you wish this to go back to the council. Do not open your door to them, do not sign anything, as it has been known for them to ask you to sign a form to say they have been and in fact what you are signing is a walking possession order.

(The above is advice from an advice centre)

I am having similar problems due to working then not working, benefits being messed up and last but not least the council working my benefit out incorrectly, and certainly not to my advantage. I have now placed mine in the hands of a solicitor as I have so many letters with differing amounts to pay and the last one incorrect.

I am however making token payments to the council while this is in dispute.

Also contact your council again and contact a citizens advice bureau who will be able to act on your behalf