Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

[ninja_ww15]

Hi

Could anyone please give me some advice. I recently received a letter from my local council stating that I owed £192 Council Tax for 1 month in 2010. They informed me that they had been to Magistrates Court and had a Liability order against me and if I didn't pay the money within 14 days then Bailiffs would be sent.

I had never lived at the address they had linked me too and have always paid my council tax bills.

I contacted the council to inform them that they have made a mistake and they did agree to freeze the case until a department could investigate, when I asked for the member of staffs name for my contact log she refused to give me it.

I was then contacted approx 7 days later from the council who informed me he was investigating the case. I confirmed that I had never lived in the property or owed Council Tax. He asked me to send him an email to confirm this (which I did). He then emailed back the same day saying that no further action will be taken, but not a hint of apology for the distress they have caused, in fact the arrogance of them was quite staggering.

A few things have made me angry and concerned. How can they get a Liability Order against me when they actually have the wrong person? I had no previous correspondence prior to this, apart from telling me it already had gone to court and the bailiffs would be round in 14 days. This threatening letter caused distress as I have a job that requires regular Security clearance and am now concerned that this Court order is now against my name. Also I am not sure of the implications of this Liability Order being in my name even though it has been wrongly issued. It caused stress to my wife as well as she runs a child minding business from home and was worried Bailiffs would turn up and how it would look to parents. Also they have passed on my personal details to the Court and possibly Bailiffs.

I would of expected at the very LEAST a full letter of apology, explaining how this had happened and what steps they were taking to make sure things like this don't happen again.

Unfortunately the council seem to think that 'no further action will be taken' is acceptable. I don't, I am wondering If I could take up legal action against them? maladministration?

[ploddertom]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

Is this the Council for where you presently live?

[ninja_ww15]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

Yes it is.

[ploddertom]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

In that case write a letter about your concerns to the Council CEO and head it Formal Complaint. Also ask your local Councillor(s) to investigate - if they refuse or are reluctant then go to the Leader of the Council. You could also make a complaint to your MP. Exhaust the Councils complaints procedures and if still not happy you have the right to go to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Legal action should be a last resort as you may find the Council have very deep pockets & if it all goes t*ts up you could leave yourself to exposed to costs.

[ninja_ww15]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

Thanks I'll go down that route. 👍

[lgfa92]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

A few things have made me angry and concerned. How can they get a Liability Order against me when they actually have the wrong person?

For one reason or another they'd determined in their minds that you were the right person - that's all they need to do. The magistrates were very limited as to being able to refuse to grant the liability order as a liability dispute is a matter for the valuation tribunal responsibility (it's specifically written in to legislation).

The Local Government Ombudsman can look in to the case and issue a decision but they generally only look at aspects that don't fall under the Valuation Tribunals remit so they'll probably only look at the aspect of how the council determined that you should be liable. They can make a recommendation to the local authority but it's not enforceable.

I have seen cases where, after using all the records the council had and credit agencies, a person could not be ruled out as liable on the information that was available - it was only when person provided more information further down the line that it could be shown they weren't.

This threatening letter caused distress as I have a job that requires regular Security clearance and am now concerned that this Court order is now against my name

In 10 years I've never known it cause any problems with security checks - even for people in the forces etc. The details also don't appear on a public record.

You can ask the council to request that the magistrates formally quash the order (S82 of the Local Government Act 2003).

Craig

[ninja_ww15]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

Thanks Craig.

[ninja_ww15]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

I know how they determined it was me. The person living at that address at that time had the same surname and first initial as me. However she is called Sarah and I'm Scott. We aren't related, or know each other. Quite how they have made this mix up I don't know.

[lgfa92]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

I know how they determined it was me. The person living at that address at that time had the same surname and first initial as me. However she is called Sarah and I'm Scott. We aren't related, or know each other. Quite how they have made this mix up I don't know.

Probably that someone hasn't done the basic of checking if the tenant was male or female where a full name wasn't originally known - it was policy where I worked that initials would only be used where full names couldn't be ascertained by other means. Staff were made to call back landlords / agents to double check if needed and it was a common question to ask if you were trying to trace someone if you weren't sure (common sense really - if nothing else if saves yourself the hassle when you're trying to track someone down).

Craig

[ninja_ww15]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

Thanks Craig. It does sound that way. A quick check of the electoral register would show I've never lived there and was registered in another property at that time. The least I would expect after a mistake like this was a letter of apology. Really unprofessional on all fronts by the council. I'll make a formal complaint now and also request the magistrates quash the liability order.

[lgfa92]

Re: Liability Order Council Tax arrears. (Wrong Person)

The local authority would be the ones to apply for the order to be formally quashed however the end result is no different from the local authority simply withdrawing any action on the liability order. The order isn't recorded anywhere other than on the original court application and the council's own records.

The electoral roll itself isn't a great indicator for council tax purposes as councils tax liability is independent of it.

Craig