council unable to produce copys of final demads notices

[beary1977]

hi all,

I am helping my partner out with a out council tax debt dating back to 2005/06 which has recently surfaced and been passed to enforcements.

couple of quick questions

1) if the council is unable to produce any evidence bar a screen shot showing it was issued or the address they where issued to, is this ok?

2) if the liability orders where granted in 06 - ten years ago are they still enforceable?

3) if they where passed to enforcement in jan 15 when will they revert to back to the council remember reading somewhere that its after 12 months?

[Debt Camel]

Re: council unable to produce copys of final demads notices

1) yes, they don't have to keep paper copies
2) yes, a liability order doesn't become statute barred
3) that will depend on the specific arrangement between the council and the bailiff

If your partner doesn't think they owed this money then they should put in a formal complaint to the council saying this, explaining why and saying that because there has been no contact for more than x years, they thought the matter resolved and haven't kept their paperwork. Ask for the debt to be written off. At the same time contact a local councillor and ask for their help with the matter.

[Snoopy1948]

Re: council unable to produce copys of final demads notices

Hi ...

Local authorities always try and collect council tax debts of any age and only write off debts if 'they are uneconomic to pursue'. Having said that, if they have located you, then that is good enough. However, even in write off mode, council tax debts can be written back in if contact with the debtor is established. If the liability order was granted at the appropriate time after non payment, then the debt remains enforceable.

Passing for 'enforcement' depends on whether the council operates its own 'in house' enforcement agents or passes the whole case ( and debt ) to external enforcement agents. Councils can be resolute that the debt stays with external agents regardless but they always have the power to request papers are returned for whatever reason i.e. there may be vulnerability in the household or doubt proven on the correctness of their case.

When was the last written contact between the council and your partner? Does your partner accept that the debt is correct? Frankly, you are better off negotiating with the enforcement agents to minimise stress and pursue the matter to resolution. Be prepared to either pay the debt in full or offer a reasonable amount up front and a payment plan to follow. And also be prepared to pay costs!