Council Tax Debt Issues

anotherperson3904

Hello.
I hope this finds you well.
Over the past I have struggled with living life as a standard person, personal issues, depression finding work, etc. Over the past year and a half or so I have got back on track, got myself back into education in a manner to start afresh. Although my years of financial ignorance have come back to bite me just as things have started to look positive again.
After seven years of living alone I have moved back with my parents for the past year and a half. During the past week and a half I have received three letters declaring I owe two sets of council tax debt and a debt with the DWP, all three of these coming from debt agencies. I understood and accepted the consequences of this, but I had never received anything to my present address from the council stating this. So I wasn't too sure about them, I went to a "one stop shop" type place that is in the local area in an attempt to try and consolidate them and pay them back in a smaller regular amount directly to the council. The lady at the place gave me a print out of my account summary (how much I owe to the council) but then went on to say "I can't pay directly back to the council now that it has gone to bailiffs, it is now out of their hands, it is not the way XYZ council works". This I found suspect, the way she stated "this council", as well as the fact that the amounts that I was given from the account summary is drastically lower than that of which the bailiffs are claiming:
Address 1 - Council price:449.78 - Bailiff price: 545.47+289.31
Address 2 - Council price:625.97 - Bailiff price: 730.99
I haven't been able to speak to someone about the DWP debt as of yet but intend to one day this week.
I understand that Bailiffs do add charges for this they do, but this seems absurd, To my knowledge, I have never received a letter from the council so (I, somewhere in the back of my mind, knew the debts existed) but they have never informed me about them via post (I know they have my address both because they lady I visited told me I should of received letters but apparently didn't, and I voted in the most recent general election, so they have certainly had it since then and I have had no correspondence). I have received two letters and one visit (which I was out for) regarding address 1's debt, and I have received one letter regarding address 2's debt.

I guess basically what I am trying to ask, is, I know I owe money, I have no issue scrounging around to pay the debts, as I wish to rectify all aspects of my life whilst I can. I don't wish to be paying absurd charges which basically seem to be stealing from the poor. Is there anyway I can actually rectify this directly with the council? Is what the lady told me, that I can't deal with the council about it true? Is there any advice that you may be able to give me to rectify this?
Like I said I am both clueless and hopeless when it comes to things like this, and I'd rather not bother my parents with the idea of these things turning up anytime soon until I have to.
Should any further information would be required please don't hesitate to query, I'll gladly oblige.
Thank you for your time and any assistance!

Regards.

HappyMJ

Do you actually have any income or money to pay the outstanding council tax debt in full without cutting down on your essential expenses?

If you are not earning very much, have no assets or money and no prospect of your income improving then there is little the bailiffs or the council can do. They can't get money out of someone who has nothing.

It costs £90 to get a DRO a debt relief order and all your debts can be written off including council, the DWP and the HMRC. After another year on JSA you won't have to pay anything towards these debts.

It's nothing to get yourself down about. They use strong language but that's only to try and encourage those who refuse to pay to pay something. It sounds like you can't pay.

National_Debtline

Hi there, welcome to MSE.


A DRO may be an option to deal with the council tax debt but if the other debt you owe to the DWP is a social fund loan then I am afraid that won't be written off as part of a DRO.


Bailiffs can charge a £75 compliance fee per debt and a £235 enforcement/ visit fee. The council will have also added the court costs to the debt as well. You should write to the bailiffs and ask them for a breakdown of the debts (including what fees they have added) to determine what is owed. You can write to the council and ask them to take the debt back but it is at their discretion and it doesn't happen very often. The bailiffs are likely to keep visiting you at your parents address so everyone needs to know about the bailiffs to make sure that they do not get inside.


This type of bailiff can only come inside through open or unlocked access or if you invite them in. So from now on everyone needs to keep the house locked and secure, make sure no one lets them in. And if you have anything of value outside (like a car) - you need to hide it.


Laura
@natdebtline

anotherperson3904

HappyMJ & Laura, Thank you both very much for your swift responses, a little bit of the weight has been relieved from my shoulders for now!

Do you actually have any income or money to pay the outstanding council tax debt in full without cutting down on your essential expenses?

I am presently unemployed - I am participating in an Access to Higher Education course which is due to run September 2015 until June 2016, It is a 16 hour per week course and considered full time, so I believe I am ineligible to apply for benefits as well. After this I am intending to participate in a 4 year University degree.
As stated previously I am residing with my parents and have came to an agreement of doing things around the house etc. as a consideration for my board until I am in a position to get a part time job, at which point we will discuss an agreement for me to pay them back something for the period of time which I have stayed rent-free. (which may now be sooner than I had desired).

A DRO may be an option to deal with the council tax debt but if the other debt you owe to the DWP is a social fund loan then I am afraid that won't be written off as part of a DRO.

As I haven't been in touch with DWP as of yet, So I am not entirely sure what the whole debt is for, I believe that 50 pound of it may be for a crisis loan but I am unsure as to the rest of it (Total debt 218.98). From my brief search Crisis loans no longer exist, are they now considered Social fund loans and everything you said above applies to them or something else?

I have only just started reading up properly on DRO, so I presently have very limited knowledge of it, I do have a few questions that I couldn't find information on at a glance.
Would going ahead with a DRO cause any issues with either applying for a student loan or cause any problems with residing abroad for a period of time in the future? (part of the course I am looking to do for university would require me to do so, and even give me the option to live / work abroad in the future also)
Would a DRO have any implications to my family I am presently living with? i.e as I am living with people that earn over x amount, does that have any standing in relation to my personal issues? Or anything else in relation to that, as whilst I live with them they do not provide anything for me outside of board & food.
Would getting in touch with the bailiffs have any implication on the DRO or would it even be better to do so? I have written a draft letter that I am considering sending out to them as Laura said, to provide further information on the direct debts themselves.

Thanks again for your assistance!

National_Debtline

Hi again. Dennis here following up as Laura is dealing with a phone query right now!

anotherperson3904 wrote: »

As I haven't been in touch with DWP as of yet, So I am not entirely sure what the whole debt is for, I believe that 50 pound of it may be for a crisis loan but I am unsure as to the rest of it (Total debt 218.98). From my brief search Crisis loans no longer exist, are they now considered Social fund loans and everything you said above applies to them or something else?

The (now obsolete) Crisis Loans are classed as Social Fund debts and therefore would not be written off in a DRO.

anotherperson3904 wrote: »

Would going ahead with a DRO cause any issues with either applying for a student loan or cause any problems with residing abroad for a period of time in the future? (part of the course I am looking to do for university would require me to do so, and even give me the option to live / work abroad in the future also)!

No issues that I can foresee. It's probably worth doing some basic research into visa requirements for the countries you have in mind, assuming that you need a visa at all (i.e. outside the EU). Some countries may have criteria regarding an applicant's financial position but this is less likely if you're going there on a short-term basis and/or as a student.

anotherperson3904 wrote: »

Would a DRO have any implications to my family I am presently living with? i.e as I am living with people that earn over x amount, does that have any standing in relation to my personal issues? Or anything else in relation to that, as whilst I live with them they do not provide anything for me outside of board & food.

None whatsoever. The financial situations of those you live with are not taken in to account. It would only be if you were living with a spouse/partner that we would seek to work out your respective proportions of household income and expenditure, but in your situation that is not relevant.

anotherperson3904 wrote: »

Would getting in touch with the bailiffs have any implication on the DRO or would it even be better to do so? I have written a draft letter that I am considering sending out to them as Laura said, to provide further information on the direct debts themselves.

You won't be any more or less eligible for the DRO either way. The most important thing is ensuring that you do not let them in and that if you do offer them any payments at present, they are at a level that is strictly affordable for you.


Dennis
@natdebtline