Council tax direct debit
Martink4008095
Posts: 2 Newbie
Hi,
Hope i can get an answer here. Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place..
Today i received a letter from my council telling me a was due them almost £600.00 in council tax! I normally pay £133.00 pm. I instantly looked at my online banking as i was sure i set up a direct debit. I had set it up and this was confirmed when i phoned my bank. They explained that the coucil had cancelled the DD in october for some unknown reason to the bank...i also had plenty of funds in that account. I have not had any correspondence for the council telling me there was a problem with them collecting money from my bank. I have my letter from them confirming the DD was set up also.
Does anyone know what my rights are with regard to this problem. For example do i have to pay this, considering this hasnt been my fault! They want the payment within 1 week ! Its less than 2 weeks before Christmas! I have tried phoning the council but they are closed due to it being the weekend.
Can anyone help?
Thanks
Hope i can get an answer here. Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place..
Today i received a letter from my council telling me a was due them almost £600.00 in council tax! I normally pay £133.00 pm. I instantly looked at my online banking as i was sure i set up a direct debit. I had set it up and this was confirmed when i phoned my bank. They explained that the coucil had cancelled the DD in october for some unknown reason to the bank...i also had plenty of funds in that account. I have not had any correspondence for the council telling me there was a problem with them collecting money from my bank. I have my letter from them confirming the DD was set up also.
Does anyone know what my rights are with regard to this problem. For example do i have to pay this, considering this hasnt been my fault! They want the payment within 1 week ! Its less than 2 weeks before Christmas! I have tried phoning the council but they are closed due to it being the weekend.
Can anyone help?
Thanks
0
Comments
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Martink4008095 wrote: »Hi,
Hope i can get an answer here. Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place..
Today i received a letter from my council telling me a was due them almost £600.00 in council tax! I normally pay £133.00 pm. I instantly looked at my online banking as i was sure i set up a direct debit. I had set it up and this was confirmed when i phoned my bank. They explained that the coucil had cancelled the DD in october for some unknown reason to the bank...i also had plenty of funds in that account. I have not had any correspondence for the council telling me there was a problem with them collecting money from my bank. I have my letter from them confirming the DD was set up also.
Does anyone know what my rights are with regard to this problem. For example do i have to pay this, considering this hasnt been my fault! They want the payment within 1 week ! Its less than 2 weeks before Christmas! I have tried phoning the council but they are closed due to it being the weekend.
Can anyone help?
Thanks
Are you in England, Wales or Scotland ?
What exactly was the notice - a reminder, second reminder or a final notice ?
I'd be cautious on that as it was a common occurrence and the council were always blamed by the bank - even when there was a sheet in front of us from the bank confirming that they had cancelled it and were notifying the council accordingly. Some banks were terrible for cancelling DD's without any apparent reason (I worked in council tax recovery for over a decade).They explained that the coucil had cancelled the DD in october for some unknown reason to the bank.
If the council had cancelled the DD it would almost certainly have been so by changing the payment method, that should have generated a revised council tax demand notice.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0 -
You owe the money so yes you have to pay, if the money wasn't taken out of your account why didn't you notice and even if you didn't then you presumably budgeted for this money being unavailable and the money is still there so pay it... Ask them for a payment plan if you must delay payment0
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As you thought the direct debit was going out, your bank account should be £600 higher. So, you are not out of pocket. It is just a payment failure. If you reconciled your bank account weekly or monthly like most people, you should have spotted this. So, you are not in a position of strength.
However, if you have spent the money through poor money management then you should get away with paying the remaining amount over 2-3 months if you explain it to the council.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Thanks all for your input.
Yes i am in scotland. This is the first letter i have received from them since my DD confirmation letter. I would have thought i would have received reminder letter if there was an issue. I forgot to mention that they screwed up my tax bills earlier in the year also. Before moving into my flat as i was renovating and not living in the property. The council had been notified on serveral occasions about this with 2 visits and they still managed to screw up my tax. So you can probably understand why i have concerns.
It is true that i should have noticed the tax payment coming out, and although not an excuse i have many DD coming out of that account which changes from month to month and always put more than i need in so i have an excess at all times, so have not noticed it. But thanks for stating that my money management is poor.:money:
I have only missed 2 months of payments which adds up to £266.
I will need to phone on monday and explain the situation.
Thanks0 -
If you have missed payments then they will be mentioning the the full balance until the end of the council tax year, not just the monthly payment amounts.
Yes, I would advise to phone them up and explain the situation, I would hope that they should at a minimum let you pay off the arrears and continue the remaining monthly payments as usual.Indecision is the key to flexibility
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Martink4008095 wrote: »Thanks all for your input.
Yes i am in scotland. This is the first letter i have received from them since my DD confirmation letter. I would have thought i would have received reminder letter if there was an issue. I forgot to mention that they screwed up my tax bills earlier in the year also. Before moving into my flat as i was renovating and not living in the property. The council had been notified on serveral occasions about this with 2 visits and they still managed to screw up my tax. So you can probably understand why i have concerns.
It is true that i should have noticed the tax payment coming out, and although not an excuse i have many DD coming out of that account which changes from month to month and always put more than i need in so i have an excess at all times, so have not noticed it. But thanks for stating that my money management is poor.:money:
I have only missed 2 months of payments which adds up to £266.
I will need to phone on monday and explain the situation.
Thanks
You can lose the right to instalments after missing just one payment.
Speak to the council and see what they say. They may still want to apply for a Summary Warrant but they may give you a break.I no longer work in Council Tax Recovery but instead work as a specialist Council Tax paralegal assisting landlords and Council Tax payers with council tax disputes and valuation tribunals. My views are my own reading of the law and you should always check with the local authority in question.0
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