Council refused to remove ex-boyfriends name from the council tax bill

sophisticatedlinda

Hi everyone,
My boyfriend moved in with me, 5 weeks after we fell out and he moved out. I then informed my local council. Meanwhile, when he moved in with me I informed them and they asked for his personal details which I gave them. His name was never put on the council tax bill, now the council said I am liable to pay the council tax unless I can provide his address but I cannot get hold of him again and does not know where he moved to. Please has anyone ever be in this situation? I am so confused right now.

t0rt0ise

I'm confused too. Are you saying that your boyfriend lived with you for 5 weeks and you want him to pay council tax for that time? But then you say that the council refuse to remove his name. I can't follow it?

calcotti

“Council refused to remove ex-boyfriends name from the Council Tax bill”
”His name was never put on the council tax bill”
if it was never put on the bill how could they remove it?

Even if there are two people on a Council Tax bill I believe they are jointly and severally liable which means that either is responsible for the whole bill if the other doesn’t pay.
In any event I assume if he was only there for 5 weeks that the tenancy is yours so you would be liable anyway if he hadn’t been there so what have you lost.

p00hsticks

calcotti said:

Even if there are two people on a Council Tax bill I believe they are jointly and severally liable which means that either is responsible for the whole bill if the other doesn’t pay.
In any event I assume if he was only there for 5 weeks that the tenancy is yours so you would be liable anyway if he hadn’t been there so what have you lost.

Just guessing, but it may be that the OP lost the single person discount when boyfriend moved in, and now can't get it restored after he moved back out without providing a forwarding address to prove he's paying elsewhere.

calcotti

p00hsticks said:.

Just guessing, but it may be that the OP lost the single person discount when boyfriend moved in, and now can't get it restored after he moved back out without providing a forwarding address to prove he's paying elsewhere.

That would make more sense!

KatrinaWaves

They shouldn’t refuse to remove him and re enact the SPD. These things happen frequently (short amendments) and many people move back out to parents or with friends, aka somewhere where they have no council tax liability, or people fall out and they have no info on the ex partners new address. 

They should only require such information if they are suspicious of a fraudulent claims. 

pmlindyloo

KatrinaWaves said:

They shouldn’t refuse to remove him and re enact the SPD. These things happen frequently (short amendments) and many people move back out to parents or with friends, aka somewhere where they have no council tax liability, or people fall out and they have no info on the ex partners new address. 

They should only require such information if they are suspicious of a fraudulent claims. 

IF this is about the single person's discount then I also have experience of council's asking for a forwarding address when someone moves out and a single person's discount becomes relevant.
I am in two minds about the council's action.  I do understand why they asked for a forwarding address as fraud could occur.  On the other hand, as you say, a forwarding address may not be available.
If I were the OP I would write back to the council (telephone?) and explain that the ex moved out on  (date) you do not have a forwarding address because...……...……...… It is quite unusual not to have a forwarding address (through parents?) because of mail arriving/returning personal property etc

pearl123

sophisticatedlinda said:

Hi everyone,
My boyfriend moved in with me, 5 weeks after we fell out and he moved out. I then informed my local council. Meanwhile, when he moved in with me I informed them and they asked for his personal details which I gave them. His name was never put on the council tax bill, now the council said I am liable to pay the council tax unless I can provide his address but I cannot get hold of him again and does not know where he moved to. Please has anyone ever be in this situation? I am so confused right now.

If you want to get results, then you need to be  clear and precise when imparting information. The above is not very clear. Perhaps, that is why the Council are asking for details.

CIS

The overall situation for any particular day is a matter of legislation however the day to day decisions are made by the council. If they're not sure of the situation then they will ask for more information.

If he's resident then you lose the single occupancy discount and he should be named as jointly liable. If he's not resident then you're solely liable and the single occupancy discount can be reinstated.

In any case, even where he is jointly liable, legislation means that they could simply pursue you for the full balance regardless.

tacpot12

Perhaps the OP could ask the council how she can get the SPD if she cannot provide a forwarding address for her ex?
I would have thought that it would be easy enough to find his address, as the OP will know where he works and where his family are. (I wouldn't ask anyone to move in with my without knowing a bit about them). 

Galloglass

The OP has not returned and may never return but if anyone runs into the same problem then the reference source for information on how to handle these issues is the Valuation Tribunals Decisions. They are online. 

This reported decision appears to sum up the OP's problem and despite the comment about needing to provide forwarding addresses, the VA (in this case) did not appear to think it was necessary.

http://info.valuation-tribunals.gov.uk/decision_document.asp?appeal=/decision_documents/documents/CT_England/0116M87533176C.htm&Decision=liability