Council Tax Direct Debit

LeeCee

Hi All,

I'm having a bit of trouble with Manchester City Council with regards to Council Tax, I'll try to be clear and concise to avoid confusion.

My mother has been in and out of hospital for several months over the last year, I was aked to open her mail regularly whilst she was in hospital.

On March 16th, 2020 I opened several threatening letters from Manchester City Council stating that she owed Council Tax and needed to make immidiate payments.

I tried to contact Manchester City Council on the numbers they provided but all three phone numbers lead to an automated payment line.

I notified the council via e-mail regarding her circumstances and informed them that I had set up a direct debit for £50.00 a month from my account to clear the balance. I never received a reply.

I created a direct debit on the Manchester City Council website for £50.00 a month from my account and got an automated acknowledgement that same day.

On 7th April, 2020 Manchester City Council debited £156.07 from my account without my consent and without notifying me.

On 7th May 2020 Manchester City Council debited £218.61 from my account without my consent and without notifying me.

No mail has been received at my mothers address, she's still in hospital and has not been home.

I have not received any further communication via e-mail or phone using the contact information provided with my direct debit.

I have complained to Manchester City Council and am currently waiting for a response, but that could only be done via e-mail.

Would there be consequences for my mum by cancelling the direct debit?

In light of the above I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Has anybody else had this issue and, if so, how was it resolved?

DoaM

I'm not sure this is the best board for questions like this. Maybe Debt-Free Wannabe or Other Reclaiming might be better.

LeeCee

Cool, thanks I'll pop it in one of those.

Socajam

This is one of the reasons why I refuse to pay my council tax by direct debit.
I do not allow the council to have any access to my bank account - learned this lesson the hard way.
I have a credit card specifically for council tax.  I pay three months at a time and enjoy 7 weeks free credit from the CC company.
For example,  my CC statement was on the 4th of March - I paid my 3 months council tax on 7th of March  - which means that my CC bill would not be due until 2 May.
I have the CC set up in my bank account as a payee - the payment is scheduled to leave my account on 29th April, giving me 3 days for the money to reach my CC account.
The councils are merciless when it comes to council tax and they are going to be even more so post corona virus.

KatrinaWaves

When you say you set up a DD for £50 how did you select that amount? Usually with a DD you are told what to pay, you don’t get to choose it.

im assuming this home is still owned by your mother, and with the debts from last year and the current charges this year, a £50 is likely to just make the debt build up. 

On the bill she was sent in March for the tax year 20/21 what were the instalments? It looks to me that you’ve maybe set up a payment for her normal instalment and requested a payment plan of £50 for the arrears, allowing for the roughly £50 increase between month one payment and month 2.