IPA Amounts and Council Tax

debt_doctor

KJ2886 wrote: »

My income was made up of Wages £520/ DLA £345/ WTC £403 monthly amounts so didnt know what to expect IPA with mainly benefits too and as i live alone I put what I thought was good amounts for my expenditure, it was just hard to know what to put as costs relating to my DLA/Care
I got the original IPA of £180 and then down to still £163, wish I had the energy to question it more but couldnt deal with the stress as not been well so signed it this week!
I dont think my income will change but its just knowing its 36 months and the what if's

Your DLA could have been put in as income and the exact same amount taken out as 'care needs'. I don't know if that's what you did.
Yes, no one wants to be tied in to something longer than they have to be.
DD

Butts

fatbelly wrote: »

That's my understanding too. An IPA is set up for a fixed period, usually 36 months, but can be varied, more than once if necessary, and could be set to zero for some of that period.

With regard to "Current Year" Council Tax always being in a debt in Bankruptcy - would it not be better to qualify that statement along the lines of - "which may or may not be claimed by the OR"

As far as I am aware there is no such thing as a "Council Tax IPA" in the same way there is an NT IPA.

It only becomes a factor if it's monthly amount would be enough to trigger an IPA - ie wipes out your SOA defecit.

KJ2886

I did try to with my DLA when i tried to negotiate the IPA but they wanted a break down on what it was spent on and I didn't know what to put as nothing is regular and hard to put a figure on whats spent on what!

debt_doctor

KJ2886 wrote: »

I did try to with my DLA when i tried to negotiate the IPA but they wanted a break down on what it was spent on and I didn't know what to put as nothing is regular and hard to put a figure on whats spent on what!

I think you have been treated unfairly and you should consider a formal complaint.
The complaint would be that due regard to your disability has not been taken in to account and that the IPA has not been made with due regard to the principles of the Standard Financial Statement (SFS). I think you should consider withdrawing your agreement to the IPA. Also think about whether you can cope with the hassle.
If you decide to complain, I will help you draft letters etc. You will need an email address to correspond with me.
PM me if you wish.
DD

KJ2886

Thank you! Is it worth ringing them? I only sent my signed IPA off a few days ago too ( and was a bit late sending it back too with a lot going on) so they may have only just got it! 1st Payment would have been due early december

National_Debtline

Hi KJ2886


Apologies for the confusion, and thank you debt doctor and fatbelly you are correct. If there was no IPA in place at the time of discharge there would be no need to declare any further change in circumstances, however in your case your IPA is still running, albeit that you may have stopped making payments as you can no longer afford them (due to an increase in your outgoings). That means you would still need to inform the OR of any change in circumstances for the 36 months the IPA lasts.


Susie
@natdebtline

System

Butts wrote: »

Are you sure about that ?

My Council Tax (up to date at the time of Bankruptcy last Month) has not been included in my Bankruptcy and I am continuing to pay it to the Council.

If you are continuing to pay then you need to stop right now. You are currently by continuing the direct debits committing an offence as you are giving beneficial treatment to a creditor. You need to contact both the council tax office to explain why so they don't needlessly start recovery proceedings (and if they do you hand it over to the OR) and that the money shouldn't have been paid and you need to tell the OR so they can recover the money.

Council tax for the remainder of the year following the declaration plus any arrears is most definitely included in bankruptcy. 100% of the council tax bill is due on the 6th April every year so by not paying it in full on the 6th April you have a debt with the council. You are given leave to pay it in installments by the council, the council is effectively giving you an interest free loan for the amount of the CT bill.

CIS

Council tax for the remainder of the year following the declaration plus any arrears is most definitely included in bankruptcy. 100% of the council tax bill is due on the 6th April every year so by not paying it in full on the 6th April you have a debt with the council. You are given leave to pay it in installments by the council, the council is effectively giving you an interest free loan for the amount of the CT bill.

For council tax purposes the tax year starts on 1 April rather than 6 April.

debt_doctor

KJ2886 wrote: »

Thank you! Is it worth ringing them? I only sent my signed IPA off a few days ago too ( and was a bit late sending it back too with a lot going on) so they may have only just got it! 1st Payment would have been due early december

It's up to you if you ring them.
I'll PM you later this evening with my debt doctor email address. I will have a letter ready for you to put in Monday mornings post, or to copy/paste in to an email.
DD

Butts

Tarambor wrote: »

If you are continuing to pay then you need to stop right now. You are currently by continuing the direct debits committing an offence as you are giving beneficial treatment to a creditor. You need to contact both the council tax office to explain why so they don't needlessly start recovery proceedings (and if they do you hand it over to the OR) and that the money shouldn't have been paid and you need to tell the OR so they can recover the money.

Council tax for the remainder of the year following the declaration plus any arrears is most definitely included in bankruptcy. 100% of the council tax bill is due on the 6th April every year so by not paying it in full on the 6th April you have a debt with the council. You are given leave to pay it in installments by the council, the council is effectively giving you an interest free loan for the amount of the CT bill.

If you had read the relevant post it was the OR who advised me they would not be seeking any sort of IPA and to continue paying my Council Tax as normal.

Why are the Council going to start recovery proceedings when my account is completely up to date and the OR has no interest in it ?

Perhaps the clue is here "Council Tax for the remainder of the year following the declaration plus any arrears is most definitely included in the bankruptcy"

As I pay by installments at the time of my October Bankruptcy only three payments were outstanding totalling £186 (no arrears). As it costs the OR £150 to set up an NT IPA with the fee coming from the first payment I suspect a similar arrangement applies to Council Tax. So for the sake of £36 it looks like the OR "kicked it into touch".

Anyone got a view on whether I may be correct in my assumption ?