Greenhalge Kerr- council tax collection

on_the_ball29

omg I have had the misfortune to try and sort some council tax debt out for my 85 year old father - for reasons unbeknown to us the debt has gone to Greenhalge Kerr and they have added 2k to it! 

Im not sure why Nottingham decided it passed this debt on - its the first we heard of it so could have been sorted out- but given as its from 2020 and dad was 80 im not sure hes supposed to have this debt anyway - basically he fell into self neglect so any chances of getting hold of paperwork are zilch and we only got POA because social services were alerted 2 years ago .

This company employ rude, tiny hitlers - we have fully co-operated with them but they are so rude and belligerent . Dad is with the co-op so any large payment needs to be over seen by them - as the bank they use is called Handelsbanken and the account called Greenhalgh Kerr Solicitors - naturally they were concerned it may be fraud.

Grenhalges response - If payment of the Balance is not received in cleared funds in our client account by 4pm on 11 August 2025, we will be issuing proceedings without further warning or reference to you/Mr xxxxx.

any phone calls , emails are met with curt robotic phrases , ive even tried asking Nottingham CC to recall debt and pay them instead but its gone to far. So looks like their methods work - unfortunately we are not trying to avoid the debt but surely their methods are unlawful. I'm a reasonable person and they have drove me to the brink of tears.   

Grumpelstiltskin

You do realise Council Tax is the one debt you don't want.

Have you contacted your father's councilor?

Have you read the council's website?
Unpaid Council Tax - Nottingham City Council

Is he paying the correct amount? Does he live alone and is he claiming single persons discount?

on_the_ball29

thanks - yes sorted his council tax out for his current years - he actually has a a nil bill as he's on pension credit - but before we took over he wasn't even claiming benefits that he should have had. I did contact his councillor who wrote to the council - but their response was - he has a history of debt so no intervention - we could try and prove he's not liable but to be honest we are exhausted and have poor health ourselves.

we have been compliant and responsive - but my goodness - this company is the worst - i pity anyone with fragile mental health - its only a matter of time before someone is driven to attempt the worst . There has to be some intervention soon. these agencies are unscrupulous.

on_the_ball29

interestingly a brief search in this forum highlights the company as far back as 2008 where they disgraced themselves on Panorama  - and yet they are still applying the bully boy tactics.   

Grumpelstiltskin

Might be worth contacting the councillor again asking if they can bring it up with the full council about the conduct of this firm. In fact if you live locally can you find out if there is ever open council meetings where people can raise problems.

I guess the council has a website, you could always post about it on there.

fatbelly

Not a company that I am familiar with. Normally, for council tax debts, councils get a Liability Order then pass the debt to bailiffs, whose additional costs are set by statute.

Nottingham appear to the following a different track. Nevertheless I would expect them to have obtained a Liability Order with some small additional costs, around £200. Any additional charges are unlikely to be enforceable. I have no idea what their threat of 'issuing proceedings' actually means in relation to a council tax debt that already has a Magistrates Court Order on it. Maybe you could ask, and post their rep!y.

The Council must be able to recall the debt and I think that you should nag them to do so. It is possible that your local CAB may have a relationship with them. They should certainly be familiar with their practices

The other course of action that may be useful is to engage with your father's local councillor

https://www.writetothem.com/

fatbelly

Escalating a complaint will mean referring it to either

https://www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Or

https://valuationtribunal.gov.uk/council-tax-appeals/council-tax-reduction-appeal/

on_the_ball29

I've asked the council to recall the debt but revenues said its out of their hands now - its almost as if they have sold the debt on? there is no response from GK just the same curt answer as before - they explain nothing- even on the phone.
Nottingham were one of the councils that allegedly went bust so I'm guessing this is part of the re-coup - it also seems to coincide with audit trails /paperwork falling off system in 2023 except for this bill? 

we will pay it as have not the energy to fight it - but looks like Grenhalge Kerr will be having a good xmas party this year!

RAS

Pay it under protest.

Then contact the Local Government Ombudsman.

It's not beyond the wit of man to work out that an elderly person found to be experiencing self-neglect in 2023 was probably suffering from mental health issues in the midst of Covid in 2020, or even just the disruption of skills post infection. 

Obviously beyond the robots at Notts but put in that compliant, to Notts and then the LGO.

on_the_ball29

yes the dates are from 27/02/2020 - 16/05/2022
dad would have been 80 years old !

fatbelly

I wouldn't pay it. Nottingham Council still exists and guidance says they should always consider recalling a debt