council tax and prison??

scooper

hi , of interest how long can you go to prison for debts with council tax, is it that severe?
when does it get to that stage?
thanks

trafalgar_2

they won't just throw you in prison if you've not paid them.......you will get chance to pay

if you refuse to pay after it has been to court they may very well send you to prison but how long will depend on if you ever intend to pay and the judge :-/

Jen_Jen_5

Prison is the ultimate sanction and should only happen if you refuse to pay rather than unable to pay.

Basically its reminder, liability order, bailiffs/attachment of earnings/benefit deductions, if still no payment council can ask for commital hearing at Magistrates Court. (at this stage the magistrate can also write off the debt). Depending on which council you owe the tax to depends on whether they will go to commital, depends on magistrate whether you go to prison.

If this is a real situation you should get advice - make an offer you can realistically afford so you can stick to the payments.

scooper

hi thanks for repling, i ask this as at the moment my account has been passed to a baliff and i have rung them to sort out a payment plan, the man who i spoke to said i could pay back £150 a month, which i explained i could not afford at all, but he wouldnt budge on the amount at all, he said then to pay what i could but it still wouldnt stop a baliff calling at my door and there would be incurring costs of i think £15 a vist could be more, so i said no matter what i pay im never going to clear the debt as you will just keep sending them out therefore incurring more costs, he just kept saying that is how it works,the next step i have been advised is when they come they can come into my home only by me letting them in and seeing what i have got to pay the outstanding, if i havent got enough to pay then they will pass it back to the council.
what do i do?i do have things on hp, renting, but they can still take other items that obviosly i do not want them to take, i would prefer it to go back through the courts and pay through them, at least they will accept any offer of what you can afford

Jen_Jen_5

First off - baillifs cannot force entry into your home, do not open the door and dont leave any windows open.

The bailiffs if they cannot get the money/goods will eventually pass it back to the council however the added costs wont do you any favours. As the council is owed the money contact them, they may accept an offer directly from you not via the baillifs and ensure they take the account back from the baillifs.

They are likely to want a standing order set up or possibly if you are working an attachment of earnings (this may be cheaper than the baillifs £150 but the council like it because its guaranteed)

All of this will depend on your local council and previous payment history etc. When making offers make sure you are accounting for the bill that will begin next april - no point continually being in arrears and I suggest you go to local CAB or independent advice agency because they can help you negotiate, do financial statement etc.

Good luck -

westernpromise

go here http://www.debthelpuk.co.uk/law/bailiffs_types.htm
for info about what bailiffs can and cannot do, including their tactics for getting in and what they can and cannot take.

once you have let them once, like vampires they can come back in anytime, so beware of them calling and suggesting that "we go inside and talk rather than doing it here on the doorstep".

how come you can't afford council tax? it should be your priority after the mortgage / rent and utilities.

scooper

thanks for all your advice.
in answer to your question western promise,it is something that has just spiraled out of control to be honest and im trying to get back on my feet with it, so hopefully i will now.
i will try and hang on and see if they pass it back to the council, as i said before they will be more reasonable with repayments i think.
thanks again to all who repled ;D

Jen_Jen_5

More likely to get council to accept if you contact them and be pro-active, bailiffs may take months and lots of stress and costs.

Sorry - its not going to go away unless you sort it out.

scooper

hi jen-jen,i have contacted the council and they say it has been passed on now and to sort it out with them, but as i say they are being very uncopretive.so i will ring them again and see if they will ask for it back
thanks for helping ;

nearlyrich

Have you enlisted the help of your local councillor or even your MP?

System

This thread demonstrates something I've been saying for years.

The UK parliament passes laws for the UK.

There are just under 40, I think 38, police forces across this country.

There are even more local authorities.

The police in one county will charge you with something whereas in another you may just get a caution.

In this case, a council in one area will press for you to be sent to prison whereas another won't.

Why does where we live change the punishment for doing wrong?

Additionally, you should have sorted this out long before it got to the baliff stage. If you have trouble paying councils are willing to set up a payment plan.

I know this as my girlfriend and her Mum both work for my local district council.

So, sympathy is withheld.