Council Tax

csingleton

I moved into a property in Feburary. I phoned up the council and they sent me a bill for around £130 for the next 2 months. I paid it can never heard any thing for a while. In June I received a letter from them saying I had to go to court becuase I hadn't paid my council tax! This was a shock because I had only ever received 1 bill. I phoned them up asking what was going on. They asked me if I received a payment book, I said no. They said it must of been lost in the post. There was already an extra £47 bill on my account because of court costs. I was told I could possibly have the £47 charge removed if I go to court and explain, or I could setup a new payment plan of £101 per momth (which it should be £75 per month) and avoid court. I opted for the £101 per month option.

I am now going to be moving out of the property at the end of next month. If I pay the council tax of £101 for next month and then contact them and tell them I am moving, would I have to pay for the months I havn't paid (April, May, and June)? I'm really confused. Any help would be great.

grumbler

Different councils have different policies. Ours spreds annual bill between 10 months with 9 equal round payments and slightly different final payment. I *guess* yours spreads it for the whole year between 12 monts. As a result after you missed 3 months they increased your monthly payment proportionally: 75*12/9=100. If you paid £101 for two months you have paid about 2*(101-75)=£52 of your debt. If you move out you have to pay further about 75*3-52=£173. To make sure find out the exact annual amount of your council tax.

Mumstheword

yes, work out roughly what you should have paid by dividing your council tax annual bill by 365 (days in a year) then multiplying the answer by the number of days you owned (or lived at if rented) the property.

That should give you an idea of whether you still owe them

Personally, I'd have gone to court over this - if you really didn't receive anything, then they can't have sent any demands, even final ones, by recorded delivery - not even the court summons for their original court day.

Did your cheque get cashed for the £130? The only thing they could say against you is that you ought to have noticed that the cheque was never cashed, if it wasn't.

Hope you get sorted soon,
Mumxx

robnye

silly question, but did the £101 per month include the £47 costs....?

personally I would have gone to court.......
the council normally goes through a process of you being sent 3 letters before costs are added
original bill
reminder bill
red bill
debt bill (inc costs)

rchddap1

Just a note for the future. I have my council tax set up as a direct debit. This way I know that it is always paid. It is far simpler and far less hassle to do it this way. It is one of those nasy bills that always has to be paid come hell or high water.

robnye

yep council tax is the one that could get you into prison very quickly.......