Advice needed regarding council tax court summons

richreed2426

Hi, I was hoping I could get some advice regarding a council tax court summons I received from Birmingham city council. Below is the letter I have sent to them which pretty much explains the whole situation. I have phoned them twice trying to resolve this but its a case of 'computer says no' attitude and I need to deal with the back office through writing. Obviously I don't want to attend the court summons - I just want to understand the charge they are billing me for. Thanks in advance.

Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing in relation to my council tax for ADDRESS DELETED Account Number: DELETED
On the 31st January 2019 I no longer became liable for the council tax at this address as there was a change of owner. On the 7th February 2019 I had a bill from yourselves stating that my account was £19.68 in credit, a credit which I have yet to receive.
I then on the 21st March 2019 received a reminder to pay £102.32. I queried this by email on the 21st March 2019 because I never received an amended invoice so had no idea what this charge related to. I finally received a response on the 16th April 2019 from NAME DELETED stating that the charge related to an adjustment to my single person allowance discount. This doesn’t make much sense to me because my final bill dated the 7th February 2019 clearly states that the necessary adjustments to my single person discount was already done.
I then receive a letter in the post today dated the 17th April 2019 summoning me to court for a charge of £171.32. Whilst I understand Birmingham city council have a due process to collect outstanding debt, it is clear in this case that the balance is under query and is not liable for payment until such queries have been dealt with.
I therefore ask as a matter of urgency that this letter is responded to so this matter can be dealt with. I would also kindly request that all summons are put on hold until this matter has been dealt with.
Many Thanks.
Richard Reed

CIS

Ideally the demand notices need to be looked at to try and work out what has happened - clearly the council have adjusted it at some point and it needs looked at. If the council hold firm on their decision then you would, ultimately, need a tribunal hearing.

The fact that is being disputed does not prevent the council from proceeding with the court summons as the demand notice they issued is deemed to be correct until it altered or other discharged. A dispute over a discount is not something the court can get involved with as it is outside their remit.

CIS

I should add that there is no requirement to attend the Liability Order hearing - there is very little that can be done to dispute the issuing of the order, as mentioned above disputing a discount is not one of the defences that the court can hear.

richreed2426

Thank you. Will the court take into account the fact that I have not been issued with an actual amended statement showing what I supposedly owe? So far I have a statement saying they owe me money and then just a reminder notice saying I owe them money. Its all a bit strange but not sure why they think they can just send random demands for money to people without providing backup.

richreed2426

Also do you advice I just pay the amount and then pursue them to recover the money back if it is an error at their end? I don't want this to escalate to an episode of can't pay we'll take it away lol

CIS

richreed2426 wrote: »

Thank you. Will the court take into account the fact that I have not been issued with an actual amended statement showing what I supposedly owe? So far I have a statement saying they owe me money and then just a reminder notice saying I owe them money. Its all a bit strange but not sure why they think they can just send random demands for money to people without providing backup.

Any amount that has been summoned has to have been shown on a demand notice first - as long as they can show it was issued then it would be up to you to prove non-receipt.



Councils don't always make correct decisions - I spend most work days battling with them over various disputes for clients - but there's nothing to stop them revising an initial decision (for whatever reason they see) and refusing to budge without a tribunal. Some cases can be argued and won before needing a tribunal, others will go all the way.

richreed2426

Thank you. Am i better of just paying it beforehand and then going through the necessary means to claim it back? Or will I shoot myself in the foot by paying upfront as this may come across as though I accepted the liability.

CIS

richreed2426 wrote: »

Thank you. Am i better of just paying it beforehand and then going through the necessary means to claim it back? Or will I shoot myself in the foot by paying upfront as this may come across as though I accepted the liability.

Payment is not acceptance of liability, it can always be challenged even if paid. I would suggest that, if you can afford it, you pay the balance to prevent further costs and argue it afterwards.


It can be frustrating - I'm currently dealing with a case where every time one issue is sorted another one seems to be found by the council. Started off as a reasonably simple issue which they've now partially resolved on one account and then they removed a discount on another account...