Council Tax Enfield Council

[Ostrich in sand]

Hi All

I've have been sent a letter by the above mentioned council saying that I am in court in relation to council tax and that I am in arrears. I am due in court on the 5th December and I have been making payments to them. I know that I am not in debt and now have the stress of going to court. Any ideas on how to handle this situation.

cheers.

Ostridge.

[Ref]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Do you have further details such as reminder notices, dates sent (reminders, summons etc.), amount outstanding?

I guess your council has added £70 costs to your outstanding council tax already, and presume they are threatening an additional £25 if it goes to court, i.e., if you don't pay the entire amount outstanding (plus costs) before the 5th?

[Ostrich in sand]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

The amount outstanding would be at the time of going to court December 2013, January 2014 and February 2014.
Yes they have attached the fee already. The thing is I have been paying my council tax and I have gone over my statements and seen that I am only outstanding the 3 months mentioned.

As far as I can see I have no arrears with them.

[outlawlgo]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

You should have had a reminder notice before they issued you with a summons.

Check the dates of your payments and see if you breached the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations.....Regulation 23 (Failure to pay instalments)

Regulation 23 sets out the procedure to be followed by the council where an account holder fails to make an instalment payment under the statutory payment scheme.

Where an instalment is not paid in accordance with the scheme the council needs to serve a reminder notice stating the instalments to be paid.

If the liable person fails to pay the amount within seven days then the whole amount due for the balance of the year becomes payable at the end of a further seven days. However, after the issue of two reminder notices in one tax year, any further failure to pay an instalment renders the whole amount payable on the day following the failure.

This must be specified on the second reminder notice because no further notice is required before recovery action can be started where no payment has been made after the reminder notice.

If a payment has been received after the reminder notice then a final notice will be needed to advise the person of the amount outstanding for which a liability order will be sought.

Regulation 3 of SI 1994/505 substituted paragraph (1) of regulation 23 to provide that the following information must be stated in a reminder notice:

• the aggregate amount of unpaid instalments together with the amount of any instalment that becomes due within seven days of the issue of the notice
• the amount shown must be paid within seven days of the date of the notice
• that, if the amount is not paid as above, the full amount for the year will become payable seven days after the failure to pay
• where it is a second reminder notice, that the full amount for the year will be due on the day following the failure to pay any further instalment due for that year.

If an instalment has not been paid but the whole amount has become due, a "final notice" will be required before recovery proceedings can be commenced (see Regulation 33).

[Ostrich in sand]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Okay I am scratching my head a little at that response, and need to find a more lay person lay of the land.
When the reminder notice had been sent I was not in arrears. I know that by looking through my statement. What else am I able to do.

[wales01man]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Phone the council and ask whats going on

[outlawlgo]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

In that case it's easy.

Just print off the relevant statement and either send it to the council before the hearing as proof, or provide it as evidence before the bench at the Magistrates' court.

[Inca]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

You're not behind with any other years?
If not,,follow the advice above..you can prove you are not in arrears,,let them prove you are

[Ostrich in sand]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Actually I am in arrears to them, however that has been taken care of with instalments, the local authority took it back from the Bailiffs back in 2010 and I have been on a payment plan ever since at £10.00 per week, so it should be due to be completed in December 2014, hopefully and has not been brought into this current situation.

Was more inclined towards the Magistrates route to be truthful. Just seeking an understanding of what might happen and if my case is worth trying. And what I would need to take with me. Worst case scenario well I get egg on my face big time and a worse situation instead.

[Ostrich in sand]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Nothing to see

[Ostrich in sand]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

You got a way round the automated system of the council to get to the relevant department. :tung:
I tried and got frustrated by their automated system.

[Inca]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

You'll just have to be patient I'm afraid...

[bluebottle]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

In that case it's easy.

Just print off the relevant statement and either send it to the council before the hearing as proof, or provide it as evidence before the bench at the Magistrates' court.

I know of a case where a local authority did that and, despite there being clear evidence that the local authority had "no case", the two JPs and clerk of the court granted an LO and were quite aggressive towards the CT payer when evidence of "no case" was offered. I am helping the CT payer in the case draft a formal complaint against the two JPs and clerk of the court to HMCTS. The two JPs and clerk of the court clearly were ignorant of what the law allowed them to do and what it didn't allow them to do, or were aware and were furious their misconduct was being challenged.

Incidentally, the CT payer was completely up-to-date with payments when their local authority started playing silly buggers. The same local authority has done this before and are facing legal action over the previous occasion.

[outlawlgo]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Not so easy in practice then. I'm glad to hear in the case you've described that the negligence of the Magistrates and clerk will not go unnoticed by HMCTS.

I have a feeling sooner or later the spotlight is going to fall on Magistrates Courts, particularly surrounding council tax liability order applications.

[bluebottle]

Re: Council Tax Enfield Council

Not so easy in practice then. I'm glad to hear in the case you've described that the negligence of the Magistrates and clerk will not go unnoticed by HMCTS.

I have a feeling sooner or later the spotlight is going to fall on Magistrates Courts, particularly surrounding council tax liability order applications.

For a clerk of the court to tell the JPs that they don't have to look at any evidence that would prove the local authority has no case shows crass ineptitude and/or gross incompetence, at the very least. Notwithstanding that it is a breach of Article 6, Human Rights Act 1998 (Right to a fair hearing) to deny a defendant the right to challenge any evidence against them and to have any evidence that proves they are not guilty/not liable examined by the court. I have checked the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 and cannot find any provision that compels the court to grant a local authority an LO if they have issued a summons, the JPs claiming that if a local authority issues a summons they have no choice but to grant an LO. Unless there is some case law that substantiates this statement, my feeling is that the JPs, in this case, are talking out of their backsides, along with the clerk of the court.

As regards bringing the matter to the attention of HMCTS, I cannot see HMCTS being very impressed with the behaviour of the two JPs or the clerk of the court.

I have a feeling the spotlight is going to fall on the magistrates courts and, when it does, the brown and smelly stuff will hit the air conditioning big-time. And thereafter? That is when the spotlight is likely to turn on local authorities. And that is when I can see the Tories, who invented Council Tax to replace the Community Charge (aka Poll Tax) will get what has been coming to them for a long time and they get thrown, unceremoniously, onto the rubbish tip of history.