Council tax..... court summons

CIS

The council have said that they are quite happy for me to continue paying as I do, as the bill is always paid and to make sure I finish paying it off before the next bill comes due. They will send me a confirmation.

Make sure they do ! - it sounds like they've decided to give some discretion in some cases and yours is one of them.

[Deleted User]

Tarambor wrote: »

Council tax is a priority debt as it is the one debt you can go to prison for and my local authority sent 6 people to prison for non-payment last year.

CIS wrote: »

The magistrate's sent them to prison, the council can only make the application for a hearing. It does however demonstrate that councils are pushing cases to the courts and the courts are actively deciding to jail them.

The only ones who get sent to prison are the ones who point blank refuse to pay, like the "freemen on the land" types.

You are unlikely to be sent to prison due to financial hardship while still paying what you can when you can as per the OP. The council will just go for a payment plan or attachment of earnings.

FleetwoodSnipa

Due to council changes around 18 months ago, I was unable to find a date of the very few on offer to set up a Direct Debit for my council tax close to my monthly pay day. As a result, I set up a monthly standing order which was paid without fail each month. As of the 24th February I owed a total of £44 for the year which was paid in full online on the 23rd March.
Today I received a court summons issued on the 23rd March. I checked my council tax online which now only shows the outstanding amount to be the £75 court fees.
I fail to understand how I am liable for anything taking into account my council tax is for the tax year ending on the last day of March 2018 before which I am totally paid up? This seems to be a massive money making scam as the £75 fee is far higher than the actual cost to register a court summons even taking into account the admin costs and court fees.
Am I the only one that feels Councils are treating us all as criminals despite doing everything we can to pay what we owe?

marliepanda

kgw1009 wrote: »

Contact your local county councillor.... explain to them what you said above... they will sort it.

Absolute waste of time, both for the OP and the councillor.

The correct process has been followed. County councillors cannot override legislation.

marliepanda

FleetwoodSnipa wrote: »

Due to council changes around 18 months ago, I was unable to find a date of the very few on offer to set up a Direct Debit for my council tax close to my monthly pay day. As a result, I set up a monthly standing order which was paid without fail each month. As of the 24th February I owed a total of £44 for the year which was paid in full online on the 23rd March.
Today I received a court summons issued on the 23rd March. I checked my council tax online which now only shows the outstanding amount to be the £75 court fees.
I fail to understand how I am liable for anything taking into account my council tax is for the tax year ending on the last day of March 2018 before which I am totally paid up? This seems to be a massive money making scam as the £75 fee is far higher than the actual cost to register a court summons even taking into account the admin costs and court fees.
Am I the only one that feels Councils are treating us all as criminals despite doing everything we can to pay what we owe?

If you could pay on the 23rd/24th, all you had to do was set this up a month in advance, so you were paying on the 23/24th for the payment due on the 1st.

I get paid on the 25th. It doesnt mean I pay my bills due on the 1st March on the 25th March.

CIS

FleetwoodSnipa wrote: »

Due to council changes around 18 months ago, I was unable to find a date of the very few on offer to set up a Direct Debit for my council tax close to my monthly pay day. As a result, I set up a monthly standing order which was paid without fail each month. As of the 24th February I owed a total of £44 for the year which was paid in full online on the 23rd March.
Today I received a court summons issued on the 23rd March. I checked my council tax online which now only shows the outstanding amount to be the £75 court fees.
I fail to understand how I am liable for anything taking into account my council tax is for the tax year ending on the last day of March 2018 before which I am totally paid up? This seems to be a massive money making scam as the £75 fee is far higher than the actual cost to register a court summons even taking into account the admin costs and court fees.
Am I the only one that feels Councils are treating us all as criminals despite doing everything we can to pay what we owe?

Unless you have a council tax demand notice which shows an instalment date of 31 March then all payment will be due by whatever instalment date is shown. Legislation is clear that the payment must be made by the specified payment date shown on the demand notice - if you don't the reminders/final notice will be issued as appropriate. If these notices are not responded to then then the summons will be issued.

The fact that there is now only the costs due is immaterial, the council can pursue via a liability order just for the costs alone. You can ask the magistrate's court to award a lower level of costs at the hearing but that would be at their discretion as to whether they lower them or not.