Council Tax, I'm so scared

sweet_escape · 19 September 2018 at 1:41PM

I have lots of debts and mental health problems along with being a single mum (very literally - no family, child maintenance etc). Council tax from last year (I think) is currently being taken out of my JSA but this years I haven't been paying... Please bear in mind I really struggle with this and just bury my head in the sand, I feel awful enough as it is, I just don't have the money to spare I'm not doing it for fun...
The last letter I had from council tax was around April after missing payments and nothing since. I'm so scared I'm going to get one turn up saying we're taking you to prison or something! Whats the likelihood of that happening?

Thankyou all.

sourcrates · 19 September 2018 at 1:45PM

Hi,

You must contact your council and deal with this.

If you dont, you will have bailiffs knocking on your door, council tax is one debt you cannot avoid, explain your situation see what they can do for you.
Ignoring it will not make it go away.

You must talk to them.

StokieBecks · 19 September 2018 at 3:10PM

Have you applied for a council tax reduction if you are reliant on benefits ? You should be eligible but only way to find out is to speak to then. As Sourcrates says please don't ignore them. Council tax is a priority bill and you need to take steps to help get you on track. It isn't a bill you can ignore.

If you have issues with debt please speak to stepchange or National Debtline ans they can help advise whatis best for you.

National_Debtline · 19 September 2018 at 3:54PM

Hi sweet_escape,

This is an understandably worrying situation but please try not to panic. The council will attempt to collect the debt through things like bailiffs, or a deduction of wage first. If that is unsuccessful and you still haven’t paid your council tax in full, then the council may apply to the magistrates’ court for a means enquiry hearing to assess why you have not been paying or, possibly, a warrant of arrest but this is very rare and you would receive notice in the post first.

At the hearing the court should not send you to prison if you cannot afford to pay. They should only do so if they think you have ‘deliberately refused’ or ‘neglected’ to pay when you could have done so, which doesn't appear to be the case here.

It would be best to write/ email the council (no need to call them) and ask them to confirm what is owed. Explain your situation with regard to your health and include a doctors letter if possible, and include a SOA to show what you may be able to pay - such as £3.70 per week from your benefits and ask them to deal with you directly.

If they refuse then be prepared that they may enforce the debt, and they can do this with bailiffs. You should get 7 days notice before anyone attends and if you receive this then please remember not to let them in, lock the doors and hide any assets outside the property. You should speak to one of the free debt charities to discuss other possible solution, like a Debt Relief Order - depending on your overall situation.

Laura
@natdebtline

before they consider the possibility of imprisonment, and even then, it is only if you

CIS · 19 September 2018 at 6:44PM

sweet_escape wrote: »

I have lots of debts and mental health problems along with being a single mum (very literally - no family, child maintenance etc). Council tax from last year (I think) is currently being taken out of my JSA but this years I haven't been paying... Please bear in mind I really struggle with this and just bury my head in the sand, I feel awful enough as it is, I just don't have the money to spare I'm not doing it for fun...
The last letter I had from council tax was around April after missing payments and nothing since. I'm so scared I'm going to get one turn up saying we're taking you to prison or something! Whats the likelihood of that happening?
Thankyou all.

It is unlikely no action has been taken by the council but the only way to find out is to bite the bullet and contact the council. It's likely to be a distance away from a committal hearing at the moment so don't work too much about that for now.

fatbelly · 19 September 2018 at 7:35PM

You may be able to get some information without talking to them but ultimately you probably will need to.

If you can find a bill (preferably the one that came in March for year 18/19) you will find your council tax reference and you may find a mention of council tax relief/reduction.

In the old days you would get 100% relief if on income based JSA but now each council has their own scheme and, although it could be anything up to 100%, 75% relief is more likely - you should check and may need to fill in a form.

On some council websites, going through the motions of making a payment and putting your reference in makes the current balance of your account come up so worth checking to see if that works.

It sounds like you are struggling, which is no surprise. JSA doesn't even pay enough to cover the basics and how the government thought people could find money out of it to pay council tax on top of everything else...

While you're on the council website have a look to see if there is anything like a hardship fund or 'exceptional relief' - you may be able to tap into that.

If you have other debts it would be worth running the whole situation past someone like National Debtline.

Laura missed that you already have a deduction from benefit and the council are only allowed to have one of those at any one time. (It's taken at a flat rate of £3.70 per week). One option would be for the council to tag on this year's bill to that deduction but they would need a court order which would probably add £80 to your bill, and you may find you never catch up at that deduction rate.

Daniel1971 · 19 September 2018 at 9:26PM

http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=22087&p=0

Please look at this. Although the booklet is for a particular local council, the information is the same for every council.

fatbelly · 20 September 2018 at 12:13AM

Daniel1971 wrote: »

http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=22087&p=0

Please look at this. Although the booklet is for a particular local council, the information is the same for every council.

That's a s13 write-off and a good shout if all else fails.

I wish you were right that all councils are like this one. Mine has no idea how the handle them and even the valuation tribunal is exasperated by them.

enthusiasticsaver · 20 September 2018 at 4:04PM

Council tax is one debt you should not ignore. If you are on certain benefits and JSA is one of these then you should be entitled to council tax support. If they are already taking money off you for previous years I don't think they can take any more at this point. Ignoring it though is not the way to go. Are you claiming all benefits you are entitled to? Do you receive Housing Benefit?

enthusiasticsaver · 20 September 2018 at 4:06PM

Also please bear in mind if you cannot pay for utilities, council tax, rent then unsecured debts should be at the bottom of the pile. Speak to stepchange as you may find the reason you are finding money so tight is because you are paying off debts you cannot afford. In which case a DMP or DRO would be a better option. So two things.

Speak to stepchange about your debts
Speak to council about your council tax. Email or write if you don't want to phone.

CIS · 20 September 2018 at 7:12PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

If they are already taking money off you for previous years I don't think they can take any more at this point.

You're right, they can't. Only one attachment of benefit order can be in place against an individual at any one time.

Council Tax, I'm so scared

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