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Hi Guys
Hoping someone can help. I will try to be brief.
I live abroad. I have properties back in the UK that are managed by letting agents. As you know the properties become liable for council tax when untenanted.
In the past when the property becomes liable for council tax the letting agent receives the bill, passes it on to me, who then approves it for payment. Many times the bill is wrong, generally an overcharge due to incorrect dates. The letting agent then goes back reluctantly, as the council are so difficult, who amend their bill and it gets sent back to me. It has never before reached the point of going to court. I have emails/letters proving these repeated incorrect charges.
My issue now is that a tenant left on 16 April, 2016 and I was sent the yearly demand from the council. Because the council assume you will remain at the property for a full year and pay over 10 months the charge is always inflated. So I asked the agent to go back and explain the situation and what I believe the charge should be for the remaining days in April, as I usually do. The agent said the council were unresponsive and said they would not listen to any explanation. The agent did manage to get talk to someone early June, who advised on a payment amount up to the end of June, I still didn’t understand it but I paid it at the beginning of July. I then receive a post liability order notification dated 20 July adding £95 to my bill (£63 for the summons and £32 for the liability order). LA speaks to the same lady at the council, who had advised on the previous payment, who apologises and says ignore it. A day later I get another council demand with the court fees added in. So the LA goes back to the council again and we are now told again they will not budge and that was the only payment plan available. What happened to ignore it! I was changing letting agents at the time and it was a time of upheaval, so whilst I did not agree, I paid each installment until the property became tenanted again at the beginning of September. I thought that was an end to it.
In November my new letting agent (forwarded from last agent) sent me a post liability order notification for an £89 debt. I have no idea what this is for, so my agent tried to speak to the council, and was led to believe this was a court fee. I said the court fee had already been added to the demand notice so the agent went back again but was put on hold for ages then cut off. When he did finally get through he thought he had managed to resolve it. Nothing else had been received like reminders etc I assume as the last agent didn't pass them on.
A few weeks ago 2 letters were sent from the bailiff threatening to remove goods from my parents’ house (none of my assets are there). My agent again calls the council again who refused to discuss it, so my agent called the bailiffs, who say speak to the council. This went on several times and my agent got nowhere. My agent refers to it as ‘council ping pong’.
Not really knowing what else to do, I wrote to the Chief Executive, who has simply passed my letter back to the council tax department. They still have not explained what the £89 is for but have called the bailiffs off for now. They want the £89 by April. Of course everyone is fault but them, they even blame my new agent for not getting in touch with them regarding the change of agent, but why would they…we were not aware of any liability. No other agent just calls the council to tell them they are now the new letting agent, that's ridiculous! However I note they still went on and discussed the balance of my account with my new agent despite not knowing who they were, then further liaised with my old agent following this.
Can anyone shed any light on what my next step should be? Obviously I need to go back to the council as ask what the £89 is for.
Do I have any come back that I didn't receive the reminders etc as I had changed agent, and thought the bill had been paid, given I had paid all they asked?
Can I request to see copies of all reminders, notices?
What are post liability order notices?
They have sent liability order notice, and post liaiblity order notice to my previous agent despite on 2 occasions having discussed at length my account, with my new agent. They now claim they believed that was because the old agent was still managing the properties. In these cases should they then have discussed my details with someone who they claim they didn't know?
Have I in any way acted unlawfully, by not paying what the council believe I owe and sorting it out later (although never done this before)? I just want to pay what I owe, no more no less.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Hoping someone can help. I will try to be brief.
I live abroad. I have properties back in the UK that are managed by letting agents. As you know the properties become liable for council tax when untenanted.
In the past when the property becomes liable for council tax the letting agent receives the bill, passes it on to me, who then approves it for payment. Many times the bill is wrong, generally an overcharge due to incorrect dates. The letting agent then goes back reluctantly, as the council are so difficult, who amend their bill and it gets sent back to me. It has never before reached the point of going to court. I have emails/letters proving these repeated incorrect charges.
My issue now is that a tenant left on 16 April, 2016 and I was sent the yearly demand from the council. Because the council assume you will remain at the property for a full year and pay over 10 months the charge is always inflated. So I asked the agent to go back and explain the situation and what I believe the charge should be for the remaining days in April, as I usually do. The agent said the council were unresponsive and said they would not listen to any explanation. The agent did manage to get talk to someone early June, who advised on a payment amount up to the end of June, I still didn’t understand it but I paid it at the beginning of July. I then receive a post liability order notification dated 20 July adding £95 to my bill (£63 for the summons and £32 for the liability order). LA speaks to the same lady at the council, who had advised on the previous payment, who apologises and says ignore it. A day later I get another council demand with the court fees added in. So the LA goes back to the council again and we are now told again they will not budge and that was the only payment plan available. What happened to ignore it! I was changing letting agents at the time and it was a time of upheaval, so whilst I did not agree, I paid each installment until the property became tenanted again at the beginning of September. I thought that was an end to it.
In November my new letting agent (forwarded from last agent) sent me a post liability order notification for an £89 debt. I have no idea what this is for, so my agent tried to speak to the council, and was led to believe this was a court fee. I said the court fee had already been added to the demand notice so the agent went back again but was put on hold for ages then cut off. When he did finally get through he thought he had managed to resolve it. Nothing else had been received like reminders etc I assume as the last agent didn't pass them on.
A few weeks ago 2 letters were sent from the bailiff threatening to remove goods from my parents’ house (none of my assets are there). My agent again calls the council again who refused to discuss it, so my agent called the bailiffs, who say speak to the council. This went on several times and my agent got nowhere. My agent refers to it as ‘council ping pong’.
Not really knowing what else to do, I wrote to the Chief Executive, who has simply passed my letter back to the council tax department. They still have not explained what the £89 is for but have called the bailiffs off for now. They want the £89 by April. Of course everyone is fault but them, they even blame my new agent for not getting in touch with them regarding the change of agent, but why would they…we were not aware of any liability. No other agent just calls the council to tell them they are now the new letting agent, that's ridiculous! However I note they still went on and discussed the balance of my account with my new agent despite not knowing who they were, then further liaised with my old agent following this.
Can anyone shed any light on what my next step should be? Obviously I need to go back to the council as ask what the £89 is for.
Do I have any come back that I didn't receive the reminders etc as I had changed agent, and thought the bill had been paid, given I had paid all they asked?
Can I request to see copies of all reminders, notices?
What are post liability order notices?
They have sent liability order notice, and post liaiblity order notice to my previous agent despite on 2 occasions having discussed at length my account, with my new agent. They now claim they believed that was because the old agent was still managing the properties. In these cases should they then have discussed my details with someone who they claim they didn't know?
Have I in any way acted unlawfully, by not paying what the council believe I owe and sorting it out later (although never done this before)? I just want to pay what I owe, no more no less.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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