Council Tax debt, Council want sale of House over 5k

blueangel-99

Hi all,

I have a long winded situation. I have council tax debt that has gone up to £5,000. This has been going on from more than 8 years from a different house I lived at before moving in to my own house.

The council has passed all dealing and account to Wilkin chapman LLp solicitors who I have had a few email communication with confirming I will be making a £100 monthly payment towards the debt as well as paying £1200 of council tax on my current property yearly. The house is worth £285k today.

Three different Charging Orders have been applied to the house for council tax debt as I have tried to keep up with paying for the council tax going forward and also paying for the debt owed from years back.

It has been such a challenge as the type of work I do is contracts which is not too regular. I am currently not working, I have three children with the youngest a year old and oldest 8 years old. My Partner works part time.

I have just had this bulky document come through the post. They are court papers. The Council are taking me to court to push for a sale of my house I live in to recover 5k of the money owed.

This is very distressful and annoying to say the least. I have offered to be paying £100 towards the debt via Wilkin chapman LLp, who refused it contending that their client - the council - are not accepting this as it will take too long to pay off the money owed.

The court date is for the 18th of October next month and in the meantime, there is a job I am scheduled to commence on the 2nd of October too which will enable me make some bigger payment towards the debt.

The issue now is, legally, where do I stand and how do I contest this as it stands. I have evidence of all the payments I have made so far and email correspondence with Wilkin chapman LLp Solicitors.

What advice and how do I proceed, it can not be just and equitable to push for a sale of a house worth £285k over a 5k debt with children in the house!! I am not disputing the money owed either, I just need more time to come up with some of the money.

I am not in receipt of any benefit from the state either.

I await your responses and thanks in advance all.

CIS

The issue now is, legally, where do I stand and how do I contest this as it stands. I have evidence of all the payments I have made so far and email correspondence with Wilkin chapman LLp Solicitors.

Legally the council can apply for the sale to be forced on the back of a charging order. It would be up to the court to decide if it was granted but I'd be surprised if they did so for a family home with children living there.

ACG

The value of the property is irrelevant.

Ultimately they are owed money and they want that money. You are sat on an asset that can pay the debt.

Why would they choose to wait for 5 years before seeing their money in full when they could force it through in 5 months?

I would try to look for alternatives - can you get a loan for the money and pay that back at £100 a month?

CIS

Why would they choose to wait for 5 years before seeing their money in full when they could force it through in 5 months?

Charging Orders are not generally the first choice for a council, they usually only use the option after having tried other forms of enforcement first.

agrinnall

blueangel-99 wrote: »

I am not disputing the money owed either, I just need more time to come up with some of the money.

More time than the 8 years you've already had? If you had been paying it off at £100 a month starting 8 years ago you'd have finished in just over 4 years, clearly you haven't done that so you can surely see why the council have lost patience with you?

Even if the court doesn't agree to the house being sold this isn't going to go away. To get the council off cour back do as ACG says, get a loan and pay that back.

G_M

Agree with the posts above.

Have you been on the debt board here for help? Clearly you have major money problems which may be because of

* lack of income
* essential outgoings
* excessive outgoings
* unclaimed benefits
* poor financial management

you need to look at all these areas to see how you can increase your income, reduce your outgoings and prioritise

IAmWales

I am not in receipt of any benefit from the state either.

If you're not in receipt of child benefit or tax credits then you must be on a very healthy income. You need to look at your outgoings, see where you can make cutbacks and offer a higher repayment amount.

catshark88

If you put a SOA (detailing all your income and outgoings) on the debt free wannabe boards, you will get loads of help and advice regarding how to free up some cash. Maybe the council would defer court action if you raised your regular payments.