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Council tax arrears

Jameswill18
Posts: 6 Forumite

Hi I have substantial council tax arrears going back as far as 2015. Some of these are with the council some are now with a recover agency. Some years I have paid some. Some I have paid none. The reasons for this are being out of work for some of the time and sticking my head in the sand for others.
I am very keen to get in control of these and have made an offer of payment to the council. I have not jmywt spoke to the bailiffs. They sent me through three letters last week.
Ideally I would like all this debt in one place so I can go about paying it off but the council says I have to deal with them and the bailiffs separately.
Is there a way to get the debt all in one place so I know what it stands at? Am I best speaking to the bailiff agency or dealing only with the council.
Thanks.
I am very keen to get in control of these and have made an offer of payment to the council. I have not jmywt spoke to the bailiffs. They sent me through three letters last week.
Ideally I would like all this debt in one place so I can go about paying it off but the council says I have to deal with them and the bailiffs separately.
Is there a way to get the debt all in one place so I know what it stands at? Am I best speaking to the bailiff agency or dealing only with the council.
Thanks.
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Comments
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You may find this factsheet helpful.
Fact Sheet - Council tax arrears | Council tax bailiffs | National Debtline | National Debtline
If your earlier arrears are subject to enforcement action then you have to deal with the bailiffs for those.
If the later ones haven't got that far then you come up with a repayment plan with the council.
So the council are probably correct that it is two separate pathways depending on the debts and what debt recovery actions have been taken so far.
Have you worked out a budget to show how much you have available to pay to your council tax debt as a whole? If you have, then split that between the two. If not, then you need to do one so you can evidence the maximum amount that you can afford to pay.
Do you have other debts that you are also dealing with?All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.1 -
No I don't gave any other debts. It is a total mess the oldest ones are actually with the council. It is the newer ones that are with rundles. I have made a payment offer to the council. I haven't spoken to rundles yet.0
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If you ignore the bailiffs they usually just return the debt to the council after three attempts to collect. Just don't open the door to them!
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While I appreciate your advice Jon surely just ignoring them in the hope they give up isnt best practice?0
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Jameswill18 said:While I appreciate your advice Jon surely just ignoring them in the hope they give up isnt best practice?
Do you have any CCJs or High Court judgements and enforcement notices either already issued, or are there any court proceedings currently taking place? Councils would normally have taken legal action for debts from 2015 so I would be somewhat surprised if you do not.
Secondly you need to establish who owns what debts and for how much, you might find the debt collectors do not own the debt, they are just trying to reclaim it on behalf of the council (for a fee), but the council still owns the debt, in which case you can ask the council to deal with the whole amount.
When you say you have made a "payment offer" to the council, is that for the full amount owed, or are you after a discount of some kind? Bearing in mind that as the council has the power to fully enforce the debt, and indeed jail you if you refuse to comply, they very rarely agree to any kind of discounted settlement.
Finally how much do you owe and in what kind of position are you to repay it, eg. all in one go, over the next 6/12 months, do you have any assets or property you could sell to cover the debt?0 -
Have a read of these
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/council-tax-arrears-ew/
https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/bailiffs/dealing-with-bailiffs.aspx
Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.0 -
I have been keeping to my payment schedule with regards to this. Every Monday £10 paid direct via Internet banking to the bailiffs. Rundles. I didn't set up a standing order and have just been doing it as soon as I remember in the week. Two weeks ago I forgot till the thursday night. It showed as paid in on Friday. I then got a bailiff visit at 8am on the Monday. I have since had several calls letters and emails advising I need to pay in full which I am unable to do. I contacted the office from wmine if the emails and was advised I now had to deal with their "agent' as he was now dealing with it. I explained I haven't in fancy missed a payment and they fobbed me off.
The last letter I received advised they were going to apply for a magistrates liability order.
Sorry for the steam of consciousness. I guess my first questiin is how late is considered a missed payment for this kind of escalation? What would be my advised course of action?0 -
You said you've always paid it on a Monday, if that was the day it was supposed to be paid and you didn't pay it till Thursday then that's a late payment.
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poppy12345 said:You said you've always paid it on a Monday, if that was the day it was supposed to be paid and you didn't pay it till Thursday then that's a late payment.0
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It will depend on what day of the week you agreed to pay it. If you don't pay it on that day then it's classed as a late payment.0
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