Council tax - Final Demand

James08

Hi, i wonder if anyone can help me out with a bit of advice....


For the whole of September i lived in a shared house with 3 chinese people, waiting to start University in October (i wasn't a registered student at the time so i know i owe for this period).

Today, nearly 4 years later, i had a final demand /warning for a payment of £88 for that period (September). The letter is addressed to me and the 3 Chinese people however i haven't seen them since leaving the house.

I rang the council today and they say i am joint and severally liable for the amount, as they can't get hold of the chinese people (presumably back in China after completing their studies) the financial burden falls on me.

Now i know technically i probably am liable, he said there is ''no chance'' of getting out of it after i offered to pay what i, individually, owe.


Anyone had any experience with these things, can i appeal or persist in negotiating the sum as i really can't afford £88 at present.


Thanks for any advice,


James

James08

Sorry whole of September 2004 i might add

sweetpeas_2

james, if the debt is at the right stage of recovery you should be able to offer a payment amount which you can reasonably afford but they are also happy to pay.
i work in council tax (boooo hissssss) but only on the phones to help people that call with enquiries- nothing to do with the recovery side of things- if you were all liable for the debt and they are unable to trace the other 3 people, even if you pay your £22 share, you will still be jointly liable for the other £66. it seems unfair i know.
if the 3 people have left the country the debt does fall on your shoulders. if they are in the country the council tax debt should be able to do a trace and link up their account (where you were living) to where they are now and send out recovery to them too.

hth, if you want to pm me so i can help more feel free xxx

James08

Thanks very much noggin, i have a feeling one of them might still be in Reading (where we were living) but i have no idea where, she is probably in University accomodation.

If i told them that would it then be up to them to locate her?


Yeah it is unfair, if i had known this nearer the time i could have chased them up but this has just come out of the clear blue sky after 4 years! I didn't recieve a reminder although they claim to have sent one (probably went to the house i left)!


thanks agin for the advice!

CIS

I work in Council Tax recovery - in the cases of joint and several liability any of the persons can be chased for the whole debt - its unlikely under the circumstances that the council would attempt to chase the other debtors for a low amount.

If the council wished to locate the other persons then that is their prerogative - you do not need to give any assistance if you don't wish to do so. Students are usually hard to trace even using credit records - I'd probably manage to find around 1 in 10 on an average day..

sweetpeas_2

no worries james,
if you can provide a rough idea they should be able to do a trace on her to find out where she is and get the final notice to her aswell.
is this a final notice or a summons? they are two different things altogether and could affect what you should do next.
are you still a student- what income do you have to live off? i can try and work out what you would be expected to pay back.

x