Council Tax - Debt Collection

SirAnon

Hello,
I would be really grateful for some help cleaning this issue up.

My partner and I ended up in a little debt last year. I don't see the relevance of how we ended up in this situation, as far as I can see we owe the money and it should be paid. All debts have either been cleared or are close to being cleared all bar this Council tax, which is being chased by Bristow and Sutor.

Unfortunately we aren't the most organised people and when the issue first occurred, we didn't know how to proceed so just hoped it went away. Realising quickly that this wasn't the case we tried to deal with it.

However the initial phone call with BaS resulted in them not accepting our offer. Since this phone call I have personally answered the door (unknowingly) to an agent. Both times we have come to an arrangement of what could be paid, but when I refuse access to the property so he can mark some goods in case we don't stick to the arrangement, again he refuses to go any further.

After today's visit, I phoned the council directly to see what can be done. Our outstanding bill with them is around £200 compare to the £500 BS are expecting (I have a breakdown of this figure). Anyway I told the council that I may be able to pay the £200 directly to them, If that would solve the case. I was told they would accept the money to pay off the balance on their system, but he couldn't tell me what would happen to the fees BS was after, since they want the compliance fee of £75 and the enforcement fee of £235.

I then phoned BS and wish I had recorded the conversation as I had done a little research before the call and she made a lot of inaccurate statements which she correct when i challenged them. However this call resulted in the same way.... The council cannot take payment and we wont negotiate you have to pay the full balance or have the collection agent walk round your house spiel.

I guess my question is... if I pay the council directly the money owed in full, what actions can the agency take.
I've also looked into the Denial of Implied Right of Access, would this help me.

Thanks in advance for any help

HappyMJ

SirAnon wrote: »

Hello,
I would be really grateful for some help cleaning this issue up.

My partner and I ended up in a little debt last year. I don't see the relevance of how we ended up in this situation, as far as I can see we owe the money and it should be paid. All debts have either been cleared or are close to being cleared all bar this Council tax, which is being chased by Bristow and Sutor.

Unfortunately we aren't the most organised people and when the issue first occurred, we didn't know how to proceed so just hoped it went away. Realising quickly that this wasn't the case we tried to deal with it.

However the initial phone call with BaS resulted in them not accepting our offer. Since this phone call I have personally answered the door (unknowingly) to an agent. Both times we have come to an arrangement of what could be paid, but when I refuse access to the property so he can mark some goods in case we don't stick to the arrangement, again he refuses to go any further.

After today's visit, I phoned the council directly to see what can be done. Our outstanding bill with them is around £200 compare to the £500 BS are expecting (I have a breakdown of this figure). Anyway I told the council that I may be able to pay the £200 directly to them, If that would solve the case. I was told they would accept the money to pay off the balance on their system, but he couldn't tell me what would happen to the fees BS was after, since they want the compliance fee of £75 and the enforcement fee of £235.

I then phoned BS and wish I had recorded the conversation as I had done a little research before the call and she made a lot of inaccurate statements which she correct when i challenged them. However this call resulted in the same way.... The council cannot take payment and we wont negotiate you have to pay the full balance or have the collection agent walk round your house spiel.

I guess my question is... if I pay the council directly the money owed in full, what actions can the agency take.
I've also looked into the Denial of Implied Right of Access, would this help me.

Thanks in advance for any help

Next time you get into a little debt you must prioritize current council tax payments fairly highly just after you've paid your rent, gas, electricity and put some food on the table. If you're unable to make any council tax payments you must discuss this with council and can come to an agreement before fees are charged. Any arrears then due must then be prioritized over unsecured debt repayments. If you still have nothing left to make a payment then they can suspend collection action until your benefits have come through or your situation changes. If neither of those things will happen they can write the debt off if you cannot pay.

Anyway, that's all too late now so we'll move on.

The council must (is supposed to) apportion any payment you make directly to them between your council tax arrears and the fees that have been charged by the enforcement agent. As some money will still be outstanding on your council tax bill enforcement action will continue.

My advice...ignore the enforcement agent. Lock your doors, remove any assets such as a car from your property. Without an answer from you they'll eventually give up and return the debt to the council but without the fees. They can still recover their fees from you but in my experience they don't tend to. You can then make full payment to the council. This might take several months or more. You could wait until the council gets a warrant for committal and explain your circumstances to the court. The court is much more willing to listen and will give you a more than reasonable repayment plan and may even remit some of the debt if you can prove you can't pay rather than just refusing to pay. They'll only remit the debt if you've been in communication with council demonstrating you can't pay though.

Good luck...they do give up. Usually after just 2 visits where you completely ignore them and appear to not have a car.

SirAnon

Ok that great thank you.

I do have a car which I am the registered keeper but I am not the legal owner so this shouldn't present a problem

National_Debtline

Hi

Regarding the car I think it’s worth keeping it secured in a garage or well out of the way while the bailiff is still trying to collect from you. If it’s registered in your name they’re likely to assume you own it and could take control of it which could be a lot of hassle to resolve.

James
@natdebtline

Herbie21

SirAnon wrote: »

Hello,

After today's visit, I phoned the council directly to see what can be done. Our outstanding bill with them is around £200 compare to the £500 BS are expecting (I have a breakdown of this figure). Anyway I told the council that I may be able to pay the £200 directly to them, If that would solve the case. I was told they would accept the money to pay off the balance on their system, but he couldn't tell me what would happen to the fees BS was after, since they want the compliance fee of £75 and the enforcement fee of £235.

I then phoned BS and wish I had recorded the conversation as I had done a little research before the call and she made a lot of inaccurate statements which she correct when i challenged them. However this call resulted in the same way.... The council cannot take payment and we wont negotiate you have to pay the full balance or have the collection agent walk round your house spiel.

I guess my question is... if I pay the council directly the money owed in full, what actions can the agency take.
I've also looked into the Denial of Implied Right of Access, would this help me.

Thanks in advance for any help

The legal position is that once the debt has been passed to the enforcement company the Compliance Fee of £75 is added to the debt and from any payments made the Compliance fee is to be deducted at source and the balance of the payment apportioned on a 'pro rata' basis with approx 70% being allocated towards reducing the debt to the council and the remaining 30% towards the remaining bailiff fees.

In the early days of the legislation (April 2014) many people tried avoiding bailiff charges by paying the council direct. The current position is that most local authorities software now properly allocate the payment in accordance with the regulations (on a pro rata basis) and those that don't do so, simply forward the payment onto the enforcement agency so that they do the accounting.

Bailiff Advice Online