Council Tax summons question

[Deleted User]

I've just found out I've been summonsed to my local magistrates next week due to falling behind with my council tax.

Firstly I've seen some threads on here where people get judged for their debts, I accept full responsibility so I would prefer judgmental responses to be avoided if possible as they aren't really going to help me.

I have an appointment with the CAB at the end of the week but I'm hoping for some advice in the meantime so I can go in there with at least some idea of what I'll be talking about.

Anyway I was paying my council tax at a monthly rate but fell behind around Christmas. The council helpfully offered an arrangement to spread the outstanding over each month however I wasn't able to stick to it and irresponsibly buried my head in the sand. The council cancelled the arrangement as well as my right to pay monthly and demanded the year's remaining CT be paid in full which I had no chance of doing and again I stupidly ignored it. I reiterate, I'm not after sympathy (not that it's deserved), just advice.

Anyway due to the useless Royal Mail I only found out about next week's summons last Friday. I have no way of paying off the amount I owe, neither is borrowing it from anyone and I don't have any credit cards, not that I'd be accepted for one. I've also checked that the correct CT band has been applied and I do have the single person's reduction but no other discount applies.

I'm planning on speaking to the council before I have the CAB meeting but my question is do I need to attend the hearing? The council will get their liability order no problem, I have no good reason for falling behind other than burying my head in the sand.

Of course I have to pay what I owe, not just because persistently not doing so would see me end up in jail. I've read that councils favour CT arreas repayment plans that see the outstanding paid off before the start of April, obviously that's not going to be possible for me so I was also wondering whether or not that will affect their decision about accepting my repayment proposal. I'll complete the income/outgoings form they'll no doubt send me but what happens if the figure I'm left with to offer them per month is (as they'd see from the form) is minimal? I'm aware that with a liability order they can get an attachment to earnings but surely they wouldn't do that if they can see what I offer them without it is literally all I can afford? Plus I have virtually no viable assets, my car is probably worth a quarter of what I owe, I don't have anything like a 50 inch to etc that a bailiff could take to auction and I'm a private renter.

Apologies for rabbiting on but was just hoping specifically for advice from anyone else who has been in a similar spot.

sourcrates

Hi,
I am by no means an expert on council tax & enforcement, but there are a few who know there stuff on here.
But in the absence of any other advice, have a look at the National Debtline fact sheet, it may be of use to you :


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/information/debt-types/Pages/Council-tax-arrears.aspx

HappyMJ

Deleted_User wrote: »

I've just found out I've been summonsed to my local magistrates next week due to falling behind with my council tax.

Firstly I've seen some threads on here where people get judged for their debts, I accept full responsibility so I would prefer judgmental responses to be avoided if possible as they aren't really going to help me.

I have an appointment with the CAB at the end of the week but I'm hoping for some advice in the meantime so I can go in there with at least some idea of what I'll be talking about.

Anyway I was paying my council tax at a monthly rate but fell behind around Christmas. The council helpfully offered an arrangement to spread the outstanding over each month however I wasn't able to stick to it and irresponsibly buried my head in the sand. The council cancelled the arrangement as well as my right to pay monthly and demanded the year's remaining CT be paid in full which I had no chance of doing and again I stupidly ignored it. I reiterate, I'm not after sympathy (not that it's deserved), just advice.

Anyway due to the useless Royal Mail I only found out about next week's summons last Friday. I have no way of paying off the amount I owe, neither is borrowing it from anyone and I don't have any credit cards, not that I'd be accepted for one. I've also checked that the correct CT band has been applied and I do have the single person's reduction but no other discount applies.

I'm planning on speaking to the council before I have the CAB meeting but my question is do I need to attend the hearing? The council will get their liability order no problem, I have no good reason for falling behind other than burying my head in the sand.

Of course I have to pay what I owe, not just because persistently not doing so would see me end up in jail. I've read that councils favour CT arreas repayment plans that see the outstanding paid off before the start of April, obviously that's not going to be possible for me so I was also wondering whether or not that will affect their decision about accepting my repayment proposal. I'll complete the income/outgoings form they'll no doubt send me but what happens if the figure I'm left with to offer them per month is (as they'd see from the form) is minimal? I'm aware that with a liability order they can get an attachment to earnings but surely they wouldn't do that if they can see what I offer them without it is literally all I can afford? Plus I have virtually no viable assets, my car is probably worth a quarter of what I owe, I don't have anything like a 50 inch to etc that a bailiff could take to auction and I'm a private renter.

Apologies for rabbiting on but was just hoping specifically for advice from anyone else who has been in a similar spot.

So what are you spending your income on?

Tax and National Insurance should be taken from your income.

Child support and fines can be taken from your income.

First bill after that is always is Rent - Not paying that you lose the roof over your head.

Then spend just enough for basic food and electricity to keep the food cold and give you a means to be able to cook it. Not paying that and well you'll be starving.

Then pay for the council tax followed by the other bills.

You won't go to prison if you genuinely cannot afford the council tax.

You said you owe money on the car. You have to stop making payments on it and pay the council tax. Unsecured creditors are always paid last after everything else. Until you've paid your council tax you must pay them just £1 per month. You cannot prioritize debt repayments over council tax.

[Deleted User]

I meant the car is worth a quarter of what I owe the council.

HappyMJ

Deleted_User wrote: »

I meant the car is worth a quarter of what I owe the council.

Whatever you do make sure that without fail you make the first payment on next years council tax on the 1st April in two weeks.

Once the council has a liability order the priority of the bill falls to that of an unsecured creditor. You can then spend years paying it off at an affordable rate....but make sure you don't get any more and keep the next council tax bill that is due soon up to date.

nkkingston

You seem pretty aware of the potential impact of not paying a priority debt, but I'm not sure if it's entirely sunk in.. If they think you're willfully refusing to pay, yes, they can send you to prison. And failing to turn up to the hearing makes you look very "willful"! Probably not imprisonably so, yet, but certainly makes you look like the sort of person where it would be much safer for them to secure an attachment of earnings rather than hope you'll send them what you say you can afford. Then you'll have to start the whole merrygoround again when that causes you to fall behind on your rent, or other priority bills, and send out income/expenditure forms all over the place to prove the AoE is causing you distress.

Try doing a Statement of Affairs on here, and let the good folks help you go through it. That'll make it easier for you to complete the council's one when it comes.Then you can go fully prepared, and tell them how you're tackling the problem: how you're reducing your monthly expenditure, how you're increasing your income, how you're going to not only pay it back but make sure it doesn't happen again next year. Then they'll be much more likely to be accommodate your request to pay it back at a rate that's affordable to you.

[Deleted User]

I don't use the site very often but by a statement of affairs on here, do you mean going through my income/outgoings on here?

National_Debtline

Hi Bobby and welcome to the forum


Try this link for putting together your budget (also known as income/outgoings, statement of affairs or SOA for short) as it's easy to paste into this forum thread:


http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php


It's not necessarily pivotal that you attend the Liability Order hearing - as you say, it will get granted regardless if the debt is still outstanding at that point - but if you can get in early with your repayment proposal it lessens the odds of the debt then simply being passed to enforcement agents, as will happen a lot of the time.


Dennis
@natdebtline

[Deleted User]

Cheers Dennis, much appreciated :-)

Primrose82

On the day of the proceedings at court there should be an officer from the council in attendance to speak to people before the hearing. I would suggest going to the court on the day with details of your income and outgoings and speak to the council officer. You are quite right when you say that the liability order will be granted because you have defaulted and the council will want to re-coup the money.

[Deleted User]

If it's going to be granted anyway I'm not sure there's much point to me being there as any conversation I have on the day with the council rep is exactly the same as what I'll have when they later write to me about it. I'm not being flippant in any way or failing to appreciate the seriousness of the situation but getting time off from work at such short notice would be difficult and under these circumstances somewhat hard to justify.