Bristow and Sutor council tax- please help

TryingToBeBetter

I would really appreciate any advice.

I had an arrangement in place to pay Bristow and Sutor £240 a month for previous outstanding council tax (from a previous year). We could ill afford this but stuck to it. Anyway, I have fallen behind with current council tax. I did speak to the council and they said the priority was Bristow and Sutor, and to phone back up when we received a letter ( from the council) so we could then arrange smaller repayments.

Anyhow, next thing I knew we had a letter from Bristow and Sutor basically saying we now have to pay them for this new amount. They want my 240 payment to change to 380. Total balance is around 1400 now. We filled in an expenses form to show them our incoming etc (not a lot- one parent working, one stay at home parent, 3 children including a 2 year old, in receipt if working tax credit and a little housing benefit etc).

They replied saying that as we sent this information back late (it was a day it 2 after the deadline given on the letter) we would have to pay the 380 a month they have set.

We can't afford this. I'm too anxious to not pay hope they refer it back to the council (I have depression and anxiety). So, do I try and appeal to the council to take the debt back?! Although I doubt that would work. Or, is there anyway I can convince Bristow and Sutor to reduce my payments over a longer period?

TryingToBeBetter

Just to add- the new payment plan they have put in place is not due to start until the end of February, so a payment isn't due immediately

fatbelly

Usual bullying from B&S. Talk to the council t see if they will take it back.

How much surplus did your financial statement show?

Why are the council not doing an attachment to earnings from the working partner?

Do you have other debts?

£1400 arrears on a priority debt is on the serious side and if you have other debts you may need a strategy for all of them.

TryingToBeBetter

Thank you for your reply.

We do have some older debts which I plan to set a dmp for. My husband is currently looking for a job (so we will both be fulltime) so I am planning to use the extra money to tackle that.

There wasn't any mention of an attachment of earnings order. Should I look into this? I am thinking if sending a recorded letter (or email?) to the council outlining everything and seeing if they will take back the debt. I know when speaking to them previously they said once it went to Bristow and Sutor it was out of their hands, but this doesn't seem to be true from what I have read.

CakeCrusader

It might be a good idea for you to contact the council and ask them to recall this. Let them know that you're a vulnerable adult (as you have small children and you have health problems). The council will have information about the charges and payments that you've made so far and they can check that this is all correct, and see if their amount is the same as the amount that Bristow and Sutor say that you owe (they've been known to slap stupid charges onto accounts).

TryingToBeBetter

I'm planning on writing an email to the council tomorrow, but have come across 'Counciltaxadvisors' online (free organisation) who say they can speak to them on your behalf. Does anyone have any experience of this? Not sure whether to try them first or to email myself.

fatbelly

TryingToBeBetter wrote: »

I'm planning on writing an email to the council tomorrow, but have come across 'Counciltaxadvisors' online (free organisation) who say they can speak to them on your behalf. Does anyone have any experience of this? Not sure whether to try them first or to email myself.

Hmmm Brighter Money Futures Ltd t/a Council Tax Advisors

Not exactly clear how they get an income from this, is it?

TryingToBeBetter

Yes I did wonder about that. Wasn't sure whether it was similar to one of those fee charging debt management companies

CIS

Council Tax Advisors were originally a community interest company but they ceased trading. The current incarnation trading as Council Tax Advisors seems to be a newish company, with some of the same directors, and were known as THE DEBT HELPLINE LTD until August 18 when the name was changed to BRIGHTER MONEY FUTURES LTD. I have come across them before but I'm not sure how they make their income.

CakeCrusader

This is something that you can do yourself. Generally, people don't work for free, they will be making money out of this in some way, either by charging you or by charging the council. If you do need help then the best place to go is your local CAB. They are an established charity.