Burnley Council chasing 10-year-old council tax debt

Dora_the_explorer29

I’m sharing this because it highlights how councils can pursue people unfairly.

Burnley Borough Council is chasing a 10-year-old council tax debt (£1,000). They failed to contact me for 4–5 years and part of the debt comes from a property I was illegally evicted from, where the council provided no support at all.

At one point, I was in a Breathing Space debt moratorium, during which enforcement should not have happened, but the council acted anyway. I had to spot and correct their mistake myself. They recalled the debt afterward, but it is still technically active.

I also contacted the Ombudsman and cited LGSCO precedent (Case 20 006 031), which found historic council tax debts can be unfair to enforce after long delays. The Ombudsman dismissed my concerns with minimal explanation, ignoring both my vulnerability and the council’s repeated errors.

This situation is disproportionate, stressful, and unfair. Small historic debts should not be treated as an opportunity to harass vulnerable people, especially when the council itself created or mismanaged the circumstances.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you stop a council from pursuing historic debts unfairly, particularly when there were errors, lack of support, or Breathing Space involved, the council don’t care about acting in line with legislations or their own policies

ManyWays

what are the rest of your debts at the moment and did you put a plan in place during the breating space? 

MayDogsandCoffee

Are you planning to dispute and not pay - or do you intend to repay at some point?