Council Tax - Court Summons

dimp81

Hi dont know whether anyone can help, but I am due in court tomorrow I dont owe any council tax for this year but what I'm disputing is my court costs, as I dont feel that I broke any of my payment schedules. This is what I will try to put across. Could anyone give me any guidence. Thanks

sugababy

I had a little problem at the begining of the tax year, I didn't realise the city Council had changed the way we pay online. Before I could pay anytime around the clock late at night etc. As I always tend to pay my council tax off by November of each year that leaves me a few months to sort other things. I thought my acc/number was wrong. I tried contacting the council but the line was constantly engageed, I was frustrated. The only times I can ring is before I leave for work if I decide to be late and after work if I manage to get home on time. I decided by this time I had missed April's payment I was at my wits end. I recieve a letter from City Council in May inviting me to attend court. on the 9th June this was a day I had to take my daughter for a epileptic review. Still no joy, I decided to check an old payment booklet I had at home and realise I can pay by phone. I phone the council tax and went through to their payline which was automated. I paid them £190 for April and May. I did not recieve an attach form of any sort with this letter only to say I had a court date. By this time I was extremely mad, I sent City council a very heartfelt email explaining the reason for the delay in payment. I also inform them I would not be attending court and that I have less to live on each month than the £1002 council tax they qoute me for the tax year; I let my feeling heard. I ask them for an immediate response I recieve a autoresponse email that they would respond to my email within 14 days. I never heard from them again. In September my estrange husband was at my house and open the door to a man who handed him a letter claimed he was a baliff. He spoke with the man and later he told me of the unsuspected visit to say I have not been paying my council tax. I said I have been paying my council tax and is way ahead with my payments. I thought it mus be a miss understanding. I thought no more of it until I came from work this evening and found a letter from Bayliff stating they are coming to confiscate my Disability Car for non payment of council tax. I contacted the Bayliff to ask them what bill, I have paid my bill off from 2010 and I do not owe council tax a bill. The rude man at the end of the phone kindly informs me that I was informed by City council to pay my Council tax bill to Equita and I refuse to comply, he informs me that he spoke with me in September and I still did not comply, he did not speak with me he spoke with my estrange husband who doesn't live with me any way. I told the very rude gentlman the car he so happily tagged do not belong to me it is a hired car, he had the kind cheek to tell me that he do not care if its a hired car, he will still remove it for non payment and I will have to pay for the clamping. He told me he did not care if I and my family had disability, he did not care how I would epileptic child to school, he did not care if I lose my job. Yes a baliff told me this on the phone this evening and that he will be round to clamp my car. Well bully for him I have moved the car from outside of my house in the morning, I will be seeking solicitors advice first thing on Monday morning. He told me the charge is for hiring a removal transport to move my car. I told him if he clamps a DLA car I won't pay for it because I have no money. I only have less than 100 pounds to get me to then end of the month and to pay for my daughters school meals as well as my lunch and food in the house.
I contacted City council this evening and was informed that they did respond to me with a new payment plan, I told the lady I never recieve the email. she told me that she can see the email sitting on my account, I ask her to have the email re-sent to me as I needed it as evidence as I am going to seek leaga advice and to take it further. She promise me she would but up until the close of day I hadn't recieve this email. I do not know what games city council is playing but I know one thing I wont be intimidated by them and I won't be paying no baliff charges.

I know so many people who do not pay council tax and they are roaming free not hiding and making it known they don't and will not pay it. Here I am trying to make sure I pay my council tax but by being a good citizen for years managing to pay off my council tax before December one little mix up and you thing I killed someone.

Sugababy

Valli

@ Sugababy (thread now merged)

Please break your post up into paragraphs and leave out the emotive language. Give us a realistic timeline of what happened when and what you failed to do.
No-one thinks you actually committed murder; lots of people, for various reasons, don't pay their council tax or pay late or don't pay enough.
If you don't contact a council to let them know what a situation is then, understandably, they will pursue you for payment.
So, to re-iterate. What have you done? What have they done?

sugababy

I did email the council back in may I recieve an automated email to say they would respond in 14 days. I continue to pay may my council tax three payments went to them in June and I paid all my coucil tax by December 2010.

I contacted the council yesterday they told me the email me a response on the 24th of May last year. I ask the lady to resend the email which she promise to do. I am still waiting for the email. I contacted the baliffs again and was told they are coming to remove my Mobility car for non payment of council tax. He tells me he do not care if its a mobility hire car it is in my name, he do not care if I and my child has a disability, he do not care if I have to take my daughter to school, he do not care if my car is the only means to keep me in employment, he do not care if I lose my job he will remove my car impound my car for non payment of council tax.

Well how do you argue with some one who is contented to ruien your life? Well he made his intention known so what else can I do?

CIS

I had a little problem at the begining of the tax year, I didn't realise the city Council had changed the way we pay online. Before I could pay anytime around the clock late at night etc. As I always tend to pay my council tax off by November of each year that leaves me a few months to sort other things. I thought my acc/number was wrong. I tried contacting the council but the line was constantly engageed, I was frustrated. The only times I can ring is before I leave for work if I decide to be late and after work if I manage to get home on time. I decided by this time I had missed April's payment I was at my wits end. I recieve a letter from City Council in May inviting me to attend court. on the 9th June this was a day I had to take my daughter for a epileptic review. Still no joy, I decided to check an old payment booklet I had at home and realise I can pay by phone. I phone the council tax and went through to their payline which was automated. I paid them £190 for April and May

The April payment should have been made 1 April and you would have been given at least 7 days leeway to pay the instalment due and then a minimum of a further 7 days before the Summons.

When it got the stage of the Summons then the only way to stop the Liability Order being granted would have been to pay the full balance and costs by the court date. This is in line with the relevant council tax legislation.

You have stated that you couldn't ring them but that unfortunately is not the council's responsibility. You also stated that you had an email address for them - did you not try and email them again ?.

I contacted the Bayliff to ask them what bill, I have paid my bill off from 2010 and I do not owe council tax a bill

Although you may have paid what you believe is the council tax due its probable you have not.

Once the Liability Order is issued and the costs incurred then any payments you make will generally be applied against the costs first and the outstanding Council Tax second (the council can pursue action for the costs only).

The same happens when it goes to the bailiff, any monies paid would be offset firstly against the bailiff costs and the council tax second.

e.g.

The bailiff gets £1000 of council tax to collect and charges £42.50 costs.

You pay the bailiff £1000.

The bailiff takes his costs of £42.50 first from the £1000 and then pays the remaining £957.50 to the council. You still owe the council £42.50.

mmmkbb

hi i was just wondering if anybody can help

i just received a summon tooday asking for £97.50 for tax year 2010-2011 + £40 court summons fee

i have no quibble about paying what i owe. but i do think the £40 summons is harsh

my point of argument is:
the £97.50 is what i owe on the tax year 2010-2011

the reason they issue me a summons is because i fail to pay my last payment on the 1st Jan (last payment date)
for the tax year

so technically i din owe them anything until AFTER 31st March. is that not right?

thanks for any guidance + advice
for me it seems that they were very quick on issuing the summons than sort out differences with us tax payer.

lincroft1710

mmmkbb wrote: »

hi i was just wondering if anybody can help

i just received a summon tooday asking for £97.50 for tax year 2010-2011 + £40 court summons fee

i have no quibble about paying what i owe. but i do think the £40 summons is harsh

my point of argument is:
the £97.50 is what i owe on the tax year 2010-2011

the reason they issue me a summons is because i fail to pay my last payment on the 1st Jan (last payment date)
for the tax year

so technically i din owe them anything until AFTER 31st March. is that not right?

thanks for any guidance + advice
for me it seems that they were very quick on issuing the summons than sort out differences with us tax payer.

Suggest you read all the previous posts by CIS in this thread. Any missed payment still outstanding should be paid asap, you do not have the right to wait until 31 Mar 2011 to clear your debt.

jackbauer1_2

ive got a similar problem,

i have just recieved a summons for 65 pound plus 50 pound summons

but my issue varies slightly from this thread.

i got made redundant in december and cancelled my direct debit as soon as this happened (seems to be a mistake now)

i then recieved a reminder about a month later, so i went into my local council office and explained the situation and that the reminder wasnt for the correct amount as i had started claiming job seekers allowence. (it was for 120 something pound.)

the women who i spoke to said dont worry we will send you another reminder with the correct amount (65 pound) i never recieved a reminder for this amount, just the summons this morning with the correct amount shown.

I'm fuming, and cannot get in touch with the council as its a saturday

as i have previously stated, im happy to pay what i owe, but not the summons, because i have been wrongly advised.

whats the best way in dealing with this?

alterego_2

I'm due in court tomorrow over this, as when I rang the council in February to make an arrangement, they said they could only do that once they had a court order. I have since made a £100 payment, leaving £320, which I don't dispute, but their attitude is annoying. Also, how can the issuing of a computer-generated summons with a scanned signature cost £58? It must cost them about 50p + postage, so the rest must be a penalty charge, and that's not allowed is it? I'm happy to stand up in court over this - it must be unreasonable, but it would be nice to quote chapter and verse!

lincroft1710

alterego wrote: »

Also, how can the issuing of a computer-generated summons with a scanned signature cost £58? It must cost them about 50p + postage, so the rest must be a penalty charge, and that's not allowed is it? I'm happy to stand up in court over this - it must be unreasonable, but it would be nice to quote chapter and verse!

You would be wasting your time, all councils charge a court fee, some are as high as £95.