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Tripletmummy

Hello

Hoping you can give me some advice regarding some debt collectors that are chasing me for unpaid council tax.

I have outstanding council tax due and finally after a long battle with the council involved, got the bill reduced due to my children being in further and higher education and not required to pay thus meaning that I was entitled to a 25% discount on the bill.

In the meantime, the council passed the debt on to Bristow and Suitor. I had them come out to my address whilst I was still disputing the bill and as a consequence the bill was increased by approximately £300.

I have now tried three times to set up a payment agreement with them and each time, they have said that they are not prepared to accept the amount. I have sat and done all my sums and there is absolutely no way that I can pay any more than I am offering. They are insisting on more than double the amount I can afford and I have no hope in hell of being able to get close to that figure.

Having read some older threads on this board, it appears that the amount of £300 additional fee is more than they are allowed to charge. Is this still the case, and is the acceptable fee still £42.50 or has it increased?

In addition, is it still an option for me to write to the head of the council asking for them to take back the debt and agree a payment plan with them instead of with these debt collectors?

Any advice that you can give me would be really gratefully received as I am losing sleep about this and have no idea what I can do to get this sorted out.

StepChange_Patience

Tripletmummy said:

Hello

Hoping you can give me some advice regarding some debt collectors that are chasing me for unpaid council tax.

I have outstanding council tax due and finally after a long battle with the council involved, got the bill reduced due to my children being in further and higher education and not required to pay thus meaning that I was entitled to a 25% discount on the bill.

In the meantime, the council passed the debt on to Bristow and Suitor. I had them come out to my address whilst I was still disputing the bill and as a consequence the bill was increased by approximately £300.

I have now tried three times to set up a payment agreement with them and each time, they have said that they are not prepared to accept the amount. I have sat and done all my sums and there is absolutely no way that I can pay any more than I am offering. They are insisting on more than double the amount I can afford and I have no hope in hell of being able to get close to that figure.

Having read some older threads on this board, it appears that the amount of £300 additional fee is more than they are allowed to charge. Is this still the case, and is the acceptable fee still £42.50 or has it increased?

In addition, is it still an option for me to write to the head of the council asking for them to take back the debt and agree a payment plan with them instead of with these debt collectors?

Any advice that you can give me would be really gratefully received as I am losing sleep about this and have no idea what I can do to get this sorted out.

Hi there

Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your situation, I'm sorry to hear you're losing sleep over this. 

It sounds like the debt has been passed onto Enforcement agents (bailiffs) and you're correct that they can only charge set fees, this usually starts with a £75 'compliance fee' and if they visit your home then they'll then charge an additional £235 (plus 7.5% if the debt is over £1500). It sounds like that they may have added on the correct charges. 

If you feel that they haven't charged you fairly then I would highly recommend complaining to Bristow and Sutor (not the agent who visited)

You can find out more information about this here. 

It sounds like you've been doing your very best to come to an arrangement with them, if they're not agreeing to this then there are a couple of things you can try: 

• Try writing/speaking to the council to ask them to take the debt back, this would be at their discretion
• Pay the amount you're offering anyway towards the debt, you can't pay what you don't have

I would also highly recommend seeking free and impartial debt advice, StepChange will be able to help you create a budget which can show the council and enforcement agents your situation. You can find out more information about how to deal with enforcement agents here and when you're ready you can start creating a budget online and at your own pace here.

You may also be able to apply for a scheme called Breathing Space, you can find out more information such as eligibility and how to apply for this here. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

leggyno9

Hi, we have an issue in Scotland. My husband lives alone and racked up a council tax debt. He was in touch with a collection agency and set up a repayment with them. The payments stopped coming out of his account last year for some unknown reason and there was no further contact from the collection company.
My stepson, same name as his father and uses the same address as a postal address because he works offshore and lives abroad and also banks with same bank, got an arrestment charge on his bank account from the sheriff court. Upon investigation, it seems that the court have arrested my step sons bank account to pay his dad's council tax. 
Not sure where we stand with this as it is the wrong person but same name and technically same address. It's taken 2 days to get any information at all but as this debt is nothing to do with my stepson, (husband has obviously reimbursed him). 
Obviously we would like to know the best/easiest way to resolve this but also, is there any way of claiming compensation or something similar for them raiding the wrong person's bank account?
I would have thought there would be things in place to prevent this happening as a lot of men name their son after themselves. Thankfully he had money in his account to cover this or it could have been a costly mistake.

kentguy07

Due to mental health issues and my learning disability I struggle to manage my finances, I have more going out each month than what is coming in, I’ve racked up 1.5k in debt, I can no longer afford to pay my phone bills and I’m afraid that in the coming weeks they’ll try to take money out of my bank that I don’t have and I will go overdrawn and rack up even more debt and I need my bank account to pay for food and essentials. I feel very stressed and anxious about it. I dig myself in a big debt hole, some of it’s very, some of it’s credit card and other is debts to a friend. I am off work due to illness so am now on benefits, I’m not sure where to start to dig myself out of this situation

StepChange_Patience

leggyno9 said:

Hi, we have an issue in Scotland. My husband lives alone and racked up a council tax debt. He was in touch with a collection agency and set up a repayment with them. The payments stopped coming out of his account last year for some unknown reason and there was no further contact from the collection company.
My stepson, same name as his father and uses the same address as a postal address because he works offshore and lives abroad and also banks with same bank, got an arrestment charge on his bank account from the sheriff court. Upon investigation, it seems that the court have arrested my step sons bank account to pay his dad's council tax. 
Not sure where we stand with this as it is the wrong person but same name and technically same address. It's taken 2 days to get any information at all but as this debt is nothing to do with my stepson, (husband has obviously reimbursed him). 
Obviously we would like to know the best/easiest way to resolve this but also, is there any way of claiming compensation or something similar for them raiding the wrong person's bank account?
I would have thought there would be things in place to prevent this happening as a lot of men name their son after themselves. Thankfully he had money in his account to cover this or it could have been a costly mistake.

Hi there

Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your husbands and step sons situation. I'm sorry to hear that happened and understand how upsetting it must have been. 

I would suggest resolving the issue with the council directly, this is likely to involve placing a formal complaint over what has happened. If you're not happy with the response then you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to have a look at it for you. 

You can find their contact details here. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

StepChange_Patience

kentguy07 said:

Due to mental health issues and my learning disability I struggle to manage my finances, I have more going out each month than what is coming in, I’ve racked up 1.5k in debt, I can no longer afford to pay my phone bills and I’m afraid that in the coming weeks they’ll try to take money out of my bank that I don’t have and I will go overdrawn and rack up even more debt and I need my bank account to pay for food and essentials. I feel very stressed and anxious about it. I dig myself in a big debt hole, some of it’s very, some of it’s credit card and other is debts to a friend. I am off work due to illness so am now on benefits, I’m not sure where to start to dig myself out of this situation

Hello

Thank you for getting in touch.

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling to manage your finances, I understand how difficult it can be to know where to start.

When you're struggling with your mental health, this can make dealing with finances feel that much more challenging but you don't have to deal with this alone.

When you're ready, I'd recommend reaching out for free and impartial debt advice, StepChange would gladly take the time you need to understand your situation to help you find the best way to move forward with your debts. 

You can find out more about debt and mental health here, and some really helpful tips to get started.

I hope this helps. 

Patience