Council tax, CCJ and whole load of mess...

Imodar0609

Hi guys, so a little advice needed please.

About 5 years ago as a young lad I moved in with 3 of my mates, times where good and parties where has etc until one lad met a girl and moved out. This meant we had to go to a smaller place. Council tax was my responsibility but in my young niavity and in experience I never told them we where moving out properly so in the end they stung us with a bill for council tax for a few months when we had in fact moved out. Because I didn’t keep paperwork and what not at the time I couldn’t prove the dates.

They then split the council tax over 2 tax years so one was for £352 and one was for £550 and started to chase me. Because I was young and stupid I thought there would be a way out of it so was going back and forth for ages. Because of this council passed it to a debt collector (Rossendales) and they got really heavy handed and started using the usual bully boy tactics. They added hundreds of pounds for sending letters etc and the bill rose to £3500. I refused to pay that because it’s extortion and so eventually they took it to court and issued me with a ccj. I sent back a means form saying I could afford something daft like a pound a week and then heard nothing from them. It just sat on my credit file.

Fast forward 4 years and one of the lads I lived with a letter through the door from Rossendale council saying all 3 of us owe council tax ( £352 & £500 over 2 tax years) so I ring them up and explain everything and they basically say because it was never paid it’s just been sat ‘floating around’ and has gone back to be chased and so if an arrangement wasn’t made then it would go back to recovery and enforced upon (meaning another £3500 bill no doubt) so I said what happens if I agree to pay it through them as a ccj is still active and I’m not paying the same debt twice plus all the little extras.

The lady on the phone checked with the recovery team and managers and basically said I have to set up an arrangement and sort the ccj thing myself 😕 sounds to me they just want money which is fair enough but that doesn’t help me.

So the advice I need is where do I stand? What do I do? Rossendale council say I owe £900 and I have set up an arrangement for them to take £5 a week via direct debit. There is now a £3500 ccj sat there for what is essentially the same debt 🤯 help please.

CIS

The lady on the phone checked with the recovery team and managers and basically said I have to set up an arrangement and sort the ccj thing myself �� sounds to me they just want money which is fair enough but that doesn’t help me.

So the advice I need is where do I stand? What do I do? Rossendale council say I owe £900 and I have set up an arrangement for them to take £5 a week via direct debit. There is now a £3500 ccj sat there for what is essentially the same debt �� help please.

Council Tax does not use CCJ's , money is recovered via a Liability Order (through the magistrates' court rather than through the county court with a CCJ).

They then split the council tax over 2 tax years so one was for £352 and one was for £550 and started to chase me. Because I was young and stupid I thought there would be a way out of it so was going back and forth for ages. Because of this council passed it to a debt collector (Rossendales) and they got really heavy handed and started using the usual bully boy tactics. They added hundreds of pounds for sending letters etc and the bill rose to £3500

A debt for council tax would not go from £900 to £3500 unless there was a charging order or bankruptcy involved.

You need to check who the CCJ is from - you can check here and it should be shown: https://search.trustonline.org.uk/Search/Person

Imodar0609

Thanks for your response. Very helpful and prompted some digging. I was always believing this ccj was for council tax. It turns out it was issued by a hillesden securities which after a brief internet search is now trading as dlc.

The other problem I now have is that I have zero idea what this money is owed for. I haven’t heard a peep from this ccj for nigh on 3/4 years. Never taken a payment from me, never actually received a letter. What do I do?

fatbelly

I'm confused - what have you received recently in regard to this debt to DLC/Hillesden?

If the answer is nothing, then do nothing.

If you're curious what it's for, ask the court (email, probably Northampton court) to send you the particulars of claim. They will not alert the claimant.

Imodar0609

I haven’t had any correspondence from hillesden/dlc. For years I’ve had this £3500 ccj on my credit file but I mistakenly thought it was council tax. Because council tax started chasing again I had to check and it turns out it was lent council tax, it was hillesden. Not a clue what it’s for but never had anything about it ever. Confused as to what I should do as I’ve been told ccjs never go away and that 1 day a court bailiff could turn up but it’s been nigh on 4/5 years since it was issued but I don’t know what it was for or anything.

fatbelly

Well, if you want to know what it is you can ask the court.

If DLC/Hillesden want to try to enforce their ccj they are expected to do that within 6 years.

After that time they would need specific permission from the court. So although ccjs never 'expire', they drop off your credit file and become difficult to enforce after 6 years.

twhitehousescat

a ccj DOES disappear from your record (6 yrs?) and the company would have to act in that time ,

what was the date of the ccj?