Council tax summons

Jules2776_2

Not sure if this is in the right place to post but could not see where else to post it, I received a summons today regarding my council tax, I thought I had made all this years payments (but appears not!) and I did not receive any reminders from them just this summons which they have now added £62.50 on top of the amount I owe them!! are they allowed to issue a summons without any other prior notification and if not can I get the court cost waived? any help would be great....thanks in advance

DUKE

They did this to me years ago and I only owed about £60. I'd been round the council and offered to pay it, yet they still took me to court and I had to pay costs too. Offer to pay it back at 50p a week - they can't have off you what you ain't got.

Jules2776_2

thanks - I'll ring them on Monday and see if I can pay it of over the next 12 months but I try to get the court cost waived (worth a go!).....actually perhaps should tell them that as they are going to reduce the bin collection to every 2 weeks I won't be paying this back sure they will go for that...hahaha (Fat Chance!!!) lol

CIS

How much is outstanding ? , it will make a difference to what they will accept.

Issuing a reminder is a legal requirement of the summons application process - note that proof of production and posting is proof of receipt in council tax legislation.

Once the £62.50 is charged then if your council only charges the costs in anticipation of the Liability Order and not costs for the actual summons then the only way not to incur the costs will be to clear the debt by the court hearing date.

In my authority unless the debt is cleared by the court date we will always charge the costs as part of any arrangement and very rarely remove costs in this sort of case.

Don't take the advice offered above and offer a stupidly low rate otherwise the council will press on with enforcement - attachment of benefit/earnings or bailiff action

geordie_joe

About 8 or 9 years ago I started paying my council tax be direct debit. The agreement stated that they would take the payment on, or the first working day after the 15 of the month. I got paid monthly, on the last working day of the month.

The first month they tool the money on the 13th, the second month they took it on the 9th, the third month they took it on the 5th and the fourth month they took it on the 1st.


Then I canceled the DD and within days received a court summons. I wrote to the council, and court, enclosing copies of my bank statements and the DD agreement. And explained that I canceled the DD because the council kept taking the money earlier and earlier and if I let it go another month they would take it before I got paid and I would incur a £40 charge from my bank as there would not be enough money in my account to cover it.

I soon got letters from the court and the council informing me that the summons had been canceled. The council also apologised and blamed their computer system for the error, and asked me to sign a new DD agreement, which they promised to honour.

I wrote back to them, copy to the court, saying I would sign the agreement but if they took the money out early again I would cancel it and summons them to court.

They have never taken the payment before the 15th since.

If I were you I would write to the council, copy to the court, explaining what happened and that you are willing to pay the council tax. This way, instead of the court thinking the council have been forced to take you to court to get their money, the court will know the council have done nothing to try and get it. This will make the council look bad in the courts eyes and there's a chance the council won't risk that.

In this case, the court is there to settle something that could not be settled any other way, and it will normally assume the council has been forced to use the court.
They will normally be on the side of the council even before the case begins. But if they know they council did not make any effort to sort it out, and you were willing to, they will more likely be on your side.

The council won't wont to go into court knowing the first question is going to be "Why didn't you send him/her a letter reminding him/her to pay, instead of wasting our time and money?"

geordie_joe

Al_Mac wrote: »

Which I suspect is more to do with fixing the computer, rather than your threat;)

Nope, years later I still know of people who say they agree a certain date then take it earlier until the get to take it on the first working day of the month.

I also work with a woman who used to work for the council and she says they always do that to get the money as earlier as possible.

There's also the question of why didn't they fix the computer earlier, surely I wasn't the first person it happened to. I certainly wasn't the first person to pay my council tax by DD.

Someone told the computer to take the money out on the 15th, then it decided to pick on me and take it out earlier each month!!!

Nope, it's programmed to take it out on the 1st of each month, and if it's told any other date it gradually takes it earlier until it reaches the 1st of the month.

It's got nothing to do with them fixing the computers, it's to do with them trying to get your money as quick as possible, but backing down when you complain.

Jules2776_2

thanks for your replies I will draft a letter tomorrow and send it to the council & the court, they have also sent an income and expenditure form with it which i will send to them aswell as it will show that I do not have a huge amount of spare funds, but hopefully if i offer a realistic repayment plan they will accept it and perhaps they may do something on the charge!

ashlea170706

this happened to me last year but i had to pay 500 pound of within a week otherwise they were taking me to court i rang them up and explained that there must of been a mistake and that i hadnt recieved the letter before this telling me what i owed and there must of been a problem with the post, luckily they believed me and they waved it i hope you have the same luck as me good luck ash