Local Council court summons on council tax paid in full.

cannugec5

xaerocool said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Your local council will have an official complaints process detailed on their website, use this to lay out the issue and see what response you get back.

If the matter can't be resolved you can, at some set point, go to the ombudsman.

If it turns out you've over paid AFAIK you have 6 years to claim the money back (unless council tax is different from the usual) and given the headache I'd certainly be looking to have any over payment refunded.

I need planning permission from them, is there a chance they will retaliate if i complain?

No! 

The planning Department and council tax department are different parts of the council. Complaining about a significant error in one department should have no bearing on the other. 

I think you should get a written complaint in as soon as possible. 

Put a heading of ‘complaint’ at the top of the page and keep the letter brief. 

Better still, as others have suggested use any free legal help to write such a letter for you. 

Jumblebumble

xaerocool said:

Dear readers, 

I need some help please, 

I started having trouble with the council tax late in 2023, I paid the council tax as I always do on time in October 2023. In November 2023, the council told me they needed to issue me with a new council tax account number. They did this and I thought all was ok. I have paid in full for October 2023 on the old account number, then i paid the November bill in full on the new account number. In December 2023 i received a late payment notice, then again in January 2024, once for no payment in October 2023, then no payment for December 2023. I called the council over 20 times, i provided them statements from the bank showing payments for the council, they continued to say they could not locate the payments. I paid for January 2024. Later in January 2024 i received a court summons to appear in court in the first week of Feb for none payment. They gave me the option to appear in court or pay the entire remaining balance in full £1100. I paid the £1100. The council now owed me over £500 in overpayment. 

In April 2024 when i received the new council tax bill for 2024/2025 the bill said the amount i owed for the year less £259.29 which was one of the months i had double paid for. After banging my head against the wall for 4 months, i very reluctantly decided not to pursue the other £259 the council owed me....the amount of mental stress it had caused me, i just wanted to be done with it. 

So far since today i have paid just less than £1100 for the year in council tax on time for 2024/2025. Total i received a bill saying i owe the council £2000 for the years council tax and the the account is in arrears. 

I logged into the online council tax website and can see all the £1100 that i have paid this year is captured in their 'payments received' against my council tax account number and the address correctly. However I also notice that they state that I owe them the amount of £2000 from today's bill. Underneath the amount paid, it shows 'liabilities'. The council has applied a £2000 liability to the account. Meaning that i am paying double council tax this year...where £1991 was due for 2024 they expect me to pay £3982. 

The council has appointed an external agency to deal with this and the council is not dealing with it directly. Honestly i'm not sure I can go through this again. I have worked and paid tax for 55 years and never been late on a bill payment. 

I don't know how to get the liabilities removed from my account, which are being applied to me for a payments that I was never late on. Last year no one was willing to listen to me despite all the documented bank statements i showed, showing that the money had left my account and paid the council. Instead i was taken to court. I was never able to get them to listen and instead overpaid and lost money to put the issue to bed. Now a year later I have the same issue with 9 times the bill. The same agency is still in charge and I don't know what to do, if I don't pay they will take me to court again. 

I apologise for the long post, but I had to explain in full. Any advice and guidance is appreciated. I appreciate that the advice will likely be get a lawyer but this will be further money spent on something i'm already paying for and on time. Furthermore I'm concerned they will just continue to keep doing this. 

Thank you if you've read this far. 

Kind regards  

Jon. 

I would formally complain to the council and then go to the Local Government Ombudsman) if you dont get a satisfactory response
This was very effective last time I did this

bcanswer1333

xaerocool said:

Dear readers, 

I need some help please, 

I started having trouble with the council tax late in 2023, I paid the council tax as I always do on time in October 2023. In November 2023, the council told me they needed to issue me with a new council tax account number. They did this and I thought all was ok. I have paid in full for October 2023 on the old account number, then i paid the November bill in full on the new account number. In December 2023 i received a late payment notice, then again in January 2024, once for no payment in October 2023, then no payment for December 2023. I called the council over 20 times, i provided them statements from the bank showing payments for the council, they continued to say they could not locate the payments. I paid for January 2024. Later in January 2024 i received a court summons to appear in court in the first week of Feb for none payment. They gave me the option to appear in court or pay the entire remaining balance in full £1100. I paid the £1100. The council now owed me over £500 in overpayment. 

In April 2024 when i received the new council tax bill for 2024/2025 the bill said the amount i owed for the year less £259.29 which was one of the months i had double paid for. After banging my head against the wall for 4 months, i very reluctantly decided not to pursue the other £259 the council owed me....the amount of mental stress it had caused me, i just wanted to be done with it. 

So far since today i have paid just less than £1100 for the year in council tax on time for 2024/2025. Total i received a bill saying i owe the council £2000 for the years council tax and the the account is in arrears. 

I logged into the online council tax website and can see all the £1100 that i have paid this year is captured in their 'payments received' against my council tax account number and the address correctly. However I also notice that they state that I owe them the amount of £2000 from today's bill. Underneath the amount paid, it shows 'liabilities'. The council has applied a £2000 liability to the account. Meaning that i am paying double council tax this year...where £1991 was due for 2024 they expect me to pay £3982. 

The council has appointed an external agency to deal with this and the council is not dealing with it directly. Honestly i'm not sure I can go through this again. I have worked and paid tax for 55 years and never been late on a bill payment. 

I don't know how to get the liabilities removed from my account, which are being applied to me for a payments that I was never late on. Last year no one was willing to listen to me despite all the documented bank statements i showed, showing that the money had left my account and paid the council. Instead i was taken to court. I was never able to get them to listen and instead overpaid and lost money to put the issue to bed. Now a year later I have the same issue with 9 times the bill. The same agency is still in charge and I don't know what to do, if I don't pay they will take me to court again. 

I apologise for the long post, but I had to explain in full. Any advice and guidance is appreciated. I appreciate that the advice will likely be get a lawyer but this will be further money spent on something i'm already paying for and on time. Furthermore I'm concerned they will just continue to keep doing this. 

Thank you if you've read this far. 

Kind regards  

Jon. 

Hello  , please do some research , was summons from the council or magistrate , it has to be from a magistrate . a liability order can be contested . Do a SAR for all records of your interactions with the council . Ask for your case managment file and you will see they wont have one as the summons is a scam and so is the liability order . Do a SAR with the magistrates court asking again for your case file . 

LightFlare

bcanswer1333 said:

xaerocool said:

Dear readers, 

I need some help please, 

I started having trouble with the council tax late in 2023, I paid the council tax as I always do on time in October 2023. In November 2023, the council told me they needed to issue me with a new council tax account number. They did this and I thought all was ok. I have paid in full for October 2023 on the old account number, then i paid the November bill in full on the new account number. In December 2023 i received a late payment notice, then again in January 2024, once for no payment in October 2023, then no payment for December 2023. I called the council over 20 times, i provided them statements from the bank showing payments for the council, they continued to say they could not locate the payments. I paid for January 2024. Later in January 2024 i received a court summons to appear in court in the first week of Feb for none payment. They gave me the option to appear in court or pay the entire remaining balance in full £1100. I paid the £1100. The council now owed me over £500 in overpayment. 

In April 2024 when i received the new council tax bill for 2024/2025 the bill said the amount i owed for the year less £259.29 which was one of the months i had double paid for. After banging my head against the wall for 4 months, i very reluctantly decided not to pursue the other £259 the council owed me....the amount of mental stress it had caused me, i just wanted to be done with it. 

So far since today i have paid just less than £1100 for the year in council tax on time for 2024/2025. Total i received a bill saying i owe the council £2000 for the years council tax and the the account is in arrears. 

I logged into the online council tax website and can see all the £1100 that i have paid this year is captured in their 'payments received' against my council tax account number and the address correctly. However I also notice that they state that I owe them the amount of £2000 from today's bill. Underneath the amount paid, it shows 'liabilities'. The council has applied a £2000 liability to the account. Meaning that i am paying double council tax this year...where £1991 was due for 2024 they expect me to pay £3982. 

The council has appointed an external agency to deal with this and the council is not dealing with it directly. Honestly i'm not sure I can go through this again. I have worked and paid tax for 55 years and never been late on a bill payment. 

I don't know how to get the liabilities removed from my account, which are being applied to me for a payments that I was never late on. Last year no one was willing to listen to me despite all the documented bank statements i showed, showing that the money had left my account and paid the council. Instead i was taken to court. I was never able to get them to listen and instead overpaid and lost money to put the issue to bed. Now a year later I have the same issue with 9 times the bill. The same agency is still in charge and I don't know what to do, if I don't pay they will take me to court again. 

I apologise for the long post, but I had to explain in full. Any advice and guidance is appreciated. I appreciate that the advice will likely be get a lawyer but this will be further money spent on something i'm already paying for and on time. Furthermore I'm concerned they will just continue to keep doing this. 

Thank you if you've read this far. 

Kind regards  

Jon. 

Hello  , please do some research , was summons from the council or magistrate , it has to be from a magistrate . a liability order can be contested . Do a SAR for all records of your interactions with the council . Ask for your case managment file and you will see they wont have one as the summons is a scam and so is the liability order . Do a SAR with the magistrates court asking again for your case file . 

The OP was last active 14 months ago - pretty sure it's all been resolved one way or another

PTP123

If the're anything like my council they are useless.

I had a late payment letter followed by one of their fake court letters last November

When I called them to tell them I had paid they said they had taken my most current payment and applied it to a missed one from 2021 (when I moved in)

When asked why I had never heard about this missed payment their response was as it was during covid/lockdown they didn't have the means to take anyone to court so never sent any reminder letters out.

I suppose if they were good at their job they wouldn't be working for the council