Council Tax

[Ladidi]

Hi everyone,

I would like someone to advise if they can. My council tax for the this year was paid 3 months late. We received a letter stating they are taking us to court at the end of this month for the full balance plus court costs.

I argued and stated that how can they justify asking for a full amount due when I might not be in the property for the full year therefore they are not entitled to sue for a full amount due but arrears payments due. They argued when you make no payments they can sue for full amount.

I said well as I have missed 3 months I will give you 3 months and paid this there and then and requested a DD be set up for the remainder and as they have now received and accepted the payment and set up a DD the court date should be cancelled. They informed me this will not cease as I still owe them for the rest of the financial year and I said in which you will get montly as just been agreed, they said as balance still outstanding we will still go to court for remainder due!!!

Surely to god they dont have the right to sue for full payment of financial year but for arrears owed?

[Guest]

Re: Council Tax

Sadly they do. Once you fail to make payments, they can recover the full amount.

Council Tax legislation allows for the customer to have the statutory right to pay by instalments but you forfeit that right if the payment dates are missed.

It may be possible to negotiate with them, but you are not in a position of strength, having failed to pay for three months.

It is worth a try however, in particular since you have not yet had a court hearing.

[Ladidi]

Re: Council Tax

Hi Ceteleco.

Many thanks for your reply. I have contacted them in relation to this matter and spoken to a manager who refused to have the case removed from court and informed me that full amount is due including court costs. I informed him that as payments are now upto date he has nothing to take me to court for, he says he does as I owe them for the full financial year!! I said yes in installments!! he has no power to claim full amount when I might not be in the accomodation for the full year therefore he cannot sue for future payments he may not be due to! He argued he could, so I said I would see them in court and I wanted letter from them showing DD payments have been agreed and that the 3 months owed have been bought upto date. I am going to be chasing this come monday as I still have not had the letter although payment made has come out of my account and the DD we set up over the phone has still not been added to my account.

[Amethyst]

Re: Council Tax

As Cet says - the do have the right to claim the full year from you. Council Tax is payable on an annual basis, and they have to allow us to make monthly installment payments but once this is defaulted yes they immediately require the full annual payment and can sue for such even if you pay up the arrears. However they do have some discretion and negotiating in writing would be better than phone calls and 'see you in court' threats. You are now liable for the court costs. Court is a rubber stamping excercise and if they do proceed with it then they will just have a court order for you to keep to the monthly installments - I doubt so long as you keep paying those that they will involve bailiffs and the like.

[Budgie]

Re: Council Tax

Here's some blurb from Tandridge District Council. All seems pretty self explanatory !!

Check on your own Councils website Ladidi to see if they have something similar.

Important thing to note is that if you go to Court you will firstly LOSE and secondly get lumbered with additional charges. Better to call them on Monday, or as Ame's suggests write, and try to avoid going to Court. See if you can negotiate paying off the rest of the years Council tax by monthly installments.


What if I don't pay my council tax?

Every year we collect Council Tax from over 34,000 homes. Most payments are made on time, but sometimes people miss payments and we have to issue reminders. If they ignore these, we may have to take them to court.
When are my payments due?
Unless you agree a different arrangement with the Council, your yearly council tax has to be paid in ten instalments.
These are due on the first day of each month from April to January, which means you do not normally pay anything in February and March.
What happens if I miss a payment?
The first time you miss a payment date you will get a First Reminder. As long as you bring your account up to date, you can carry on with your monthly payments.
We wait about two weeks after each instalment date before sending out reminders, because we know it is not always possible to pay on the due date and sometimes payments are delayed in the post or banking system.
If you bring your account up to date, but miss another payment later in the year, we will send you a Second Reminder. You must bring your account up to date and keep it up to date if you want to carry on paying by instalments.
If you get a first or a second reminder and don't bring your account up to date within seven days, you lose your right to pay by instalments for the rest of the year.
We will not send any more reminders. If you miss any other payments we will send you a Final Notice.
What is a Final Notice?
If you get a final notice it means you have lost your right to pay by instalments and you have to pay all your Council Tax for that year within seven days.
If you do not do this, we will send you a summons for a hearing at Redhill Magistrates Court. You will have to pay £28 court costs, as well as your council tax.
Even if you get a final notice and you make one instalment payment, we will still send you a summons because you have lost your right to make monthly payments.
If you get a final notice and cannot pay the full council tax, please telephone the Council to discuss what arrangements you can make to pay.
What happens if I get a summons?
If we do send you a summons you must pay the full balance including costs, before the date of the court hearing. If you don't, the Council will ask the magistrates for a liability order and a further £50 costs.
You do not have to appear in court, but you can if you want to. A liability order allows the Council to take recovery action such as sending in bailiffs or taking payments direct from your wages.

http://www.tandridge.gov.uk/faq/faq....e=20&pk_faq=81

[WendyB]

Re: Council Tax

They will not stop the court case, even if you have paid up. They will obtain a liability order. You can still arrange to pay by instalments bafter this but you have to keep to the instalments, otherwise the council will pass it to the bailiffs. thats what our local council do anyway. Or they can do an attachment of earnings so it comes straight out of your net wages.

[Ladidi]

Re: Council Tax

Hi everyone,

Having read all the messages left for me. Many thanks to all. I understand what you are all saying, but I find it so annoying that they can bill you for a whole year when the whole may not be due to them.

Since my last posting I have noticed however that the council have added themselves to my bank account for the DD to be included and therefore next payment will be taken as agreed.

From what you have all said it is the same as what they have said and that I dont need to to attend court etc. As I have agreed with them to take their monies due on the 1st of each month and that all payments are up to date by my standards and not theirs, and they are still proceeding with court later this month and from what you have all said, I will lose and they will win regardless of monies paid and DD being in place. Will this in turn give us a CCJ on our credit files?

[Happyolddog]

Re: Council Tax

Hi Ladidi,

Someone you owe money to (a 'creditor') can take a County Court action against you to claim the money. If you pay the amount outstanding, you can avoid a hearing or judgment. If not, there'll be a simple court hearing in private. You can attend if you wish, or just send the information the court asks for by post.
The court doesn't find anyone 'guilty' or 'innocent'. It looks at the facts and decides whether you owe any money, and if so, how you should repay it.

After the court hearing, the court may issue an order saying you must repay the debt. This order is called a CCJ and will either be for the amount agreed between you and your creditor or, if you can't agree, a payment set by the court.

Unless you pay the full amount of the judgment within one month, your CCJ will be recorded on the Register of County Court Judgments for six years.
Organisations such as banks, building societies and loan companies use the registered information to help decide whether to give you credit or loans, like a mortgage.

My advice would be to contact the court with regards to paying the debt in full within a month of the judgement and avoid six years of bad credit scoring due to the CCJ.

Best wishes,
Hod..Liam...

[WendyB]

Re: Council Tax

From what I understand, its in the Magistrates court, not county, so there would be no CCJ. TBH the council have taken me to court on more than one occasion for Council Tax, (I'm always late in paying it, and they issue papers at the drop a wheeelie bin). And I've never had a CCJ for it yet.

[Amethyst]

Re: Council Tax

Yes it is Magistrates court. No CCJ just liability order.