Council Tax

[philh]

Right..first of all I would like to thank all who contribute advice on this forum. Reading and researching on this site does make a world of difference. i have tried to deal with this problem without asking for help but i seem to have hit a brick wall.

My Story
In februaty/March i received my council tax bill as normal, however as i now live on my own, i filled in the form to claim the 25% single occupancy discount. I returned the form but heard nothing, consequently I didn't make arrangements for the instalments to be paid, i accept this was my fault. In april i left the house for a lengh of time, staying with relatives in Spain for most of the summer.

On my return in September, I had a number of bailiff letters waiting for me, the usual nonsense, 7 days notice of removal, 48hrs notice, 24hrs notice, 5pm notice, all the usual stuff,. The charges were also several hundred pounds over the top (thanks again to this site, i would not have known otherwise).

I wrote to the council, in particular pointing out the illegal charges, and stating i would not deal with a company which has such disregard for the law regarding these outrageous charges. i also raised the issue of my missing discount, I asked for a new, correct bill, and offered 5 equal monthly payments direct to the council to fully satisfy the debt by February, which is the normal time for instalments to be completed..

i probably jumped the gun a little, but i also wrote to 2 councillors and asked them to look at my case but also in general at the bailiff's charges, i raised the vicariously liable bit

The problem I now have is that I have heard nothing, no reply from anybody, i seem to be being ignored. i have however received another 7 days notice of removal BUT the extra charges have been removed, which suggets some dialogue has taken place.

i am currently away most of the week and when at "home" I am staying at my partners house, it suits us both in the very short term, so the bailiff's have little chance of harrasing anybody. Even If i wanted to deal with the bailiff's(i don't and wont) the bill is wrong, so surely the council need to step in.

I suppose I could just wait untill the bailiff's return the debt to the council, but i really do want to sort the matter out. It is my debt, I would like to pay the correct amount. The other issue is my stepdaughter would like to stay in my house with her little girl from time to time, but this can't happen, she is only 20 and would probably be intimidated into letting the bailiff in, which would change the whole ball game.

Help please, i am so anxious to sort this out.

[Swingletree]

Re: Council Tax

Write to the Council again, with copies of the original letters, ask why you have not had a reply and maybe give them a number of days in which you will expect a reply. Ask for a breakdown of monies paid, charges raised. Details of Liability Order.

Ask Council to place a 'hold' on any Bailiffs action whilst the account is being sorted out.

Send a SAR to Bailiffs.

Pay 'something' direct to the Council, with a payment plan of how you are intending to pay the debt in the future.

Rather than 'just wait' YOU take control of the situation. A CT debt is a 'priority' debt and WILL have to be paid.

[charitynjw]

Re: Council Tax

Write to the Council again, with copies of the original letters, ask why you have not had a reply and maybe give them a number of days in which you will expect a reply. Ask for a breakdown of monies paid, charges raised. Details of Liability Order.

Ask Council to place a 'hold' on any Bailiffs action whilst the account is being sorted out.

Send a SAR to Bailiffs.

Pay 'something' direct to the Council, with a payment plan of how you are intending to pay the debt in the future.

Rather than 'just wait' YOU take control of the situation. A CT debt is a 'priority' debt and WILL have to be paid.

Aka Recovery Hold, according to this very useful post.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=26823

[philh]

Re: Council Tax

Thanks Swingletree

I have every intention of paying. I have written twice, the second time addressing the letter to the chief exectutive (revenues and benefits) with copies of the original letters. I have offered a payment plan of 5 equal monthly instalments, which would have cleared the debt at the same time as everybody else paying by the normal 10 monthly instalments.

[Swingletree]

Re: Council Tax

If you are not getting any where with correspondence turn it into a formal complaint stage.

That usually kicks someone into action.

The threat of involving the local Press can sometimes also get the required action.

In my opinion, the threat of involving the Local Government Ombudsman does NOT usually kick the Council into working any faster

[WendyB]

Re: Council Tax

In the meantime, pay the instalments you were planning to pay, anyway. Pay them direct to the Council, they cannot refuse to take your payment.

Also, I know we always say to keep everything in writing, but as you have already done that, it might be worth a all to the council. If you do do this, however, you need to make sure you get through to the CT recovery dept (every council has one), not just the usual muppets in customer services. You will find, when you do get through, that they can actually take payments over the phone, and (usually) allocate them to the correct year's account.

Whih counil is it? Someone on here might have a contact number for a "useful" person

[philh]

Re: Council Tax

Thank You Wendy

The council is Bury (Lancashire)

I have been reluctant to make my proposed payment because nobody from the council has acknowledged anything, just a bit nervous if i do get caught out by the bailiff's, they would be demanding the full amount, my single occupancy discount has not been acknowledged in anyway. I can manage my proposed payment but only just, if I had to make an overpayment then claim it back,i could come seriously unstuck, especially with the way the council are dealing with things.

However you are far more knowledgable than me, so if that is the advice I will make the payment early next week.

my plan was 5 equal instalments, would you pay 1/5 of the bill as it stands or 1/5 after the deduction of 25% for a single person.

Thanks again to all

[WendyB]

Re: Council Tax

Personally I'd ring the recovery department and give them hell, get them to agree to my proposal, follow this up with a fax/email them a complaint and tell them to call the bailiffs off and do away with the bailiffs charges. Get them to fax/email straight back to you with their confirmation. I would do this, but that is because the staff in the recovery dept at my council are actually halfway decent (and I think scared of me now lol, after my previous dealings with them).

As I said, that's what I'd do. Others may advise against this. If you do decide to call them, as I said you must get through to the recovery dept, not just the customer service clones. You must also be very sure of your facts etc

I'll email a link of your thread to Amy and ask her to have a look at it later, she's the bailiff expert. (and I'm off to the Races )

[Amy]

Re: Council Tax

I agree with everything said on this thread. You need to pay something and you need to escalate your complaint.

[philh]

Re: Council Tax

Thanks Wendy hope you enjoyed the races.

Thanks Amy, I will make a payment on Monday

[philh]

Re: Council Tax

Ok, made a payment of £350 but had to do it online, nobody answering the phone in the recovery dept, and didn't really want to discuss the matter with some randon person in the council, and had people with me most of the day so it was a bit awkward.

I will send a letter to the recovery dept at the council with the payment receipt, asking that they ensure all records are updated. I will also enquire as to the progress of my single occupancy discount and confirmation that they accept my proposals.This will be the 8th (eighth) letter I have sent on this matter ( including letters to councillors) so far, without a single reply. I am beginning to doubt my own sanity!

If I was a betting man I would place money on the next communication being from the bailiffs being a 48hr removal notice demanding the full original amount.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Council Tax

.I will send a letter to the recovery dept at the council with the payment receipt, asking that they ensure all records are updated. I will also enquire as to the progress of my single occupancy discount and confirmation that they accept my proposals.This will be the 8th (eighth) letter I have sent on this matter ( including letters to councillors) so far, without a single reply. I am beginning to doubt my own sanity!

Send it by Special Delivery or, at the very least, by Recorded Delivery.

If I was a betting man I would place money on the next communication being from the bailiffs being a 48hr removal notice demanding the full original amount.

Or much more, with lots of (improper) fees added.

[philh]

Re: Council Tax

A very, very big THANK YOU to all.

At the worst of all this the demand from the bailiff was £2450. I have made a payment of £350, I have today recieved a new bill with the amount of £869.77 and a demand from the bailiff of £912, which includes thier legitimate costs, RESULT, thank you.

A couple of unresolved issues, the councill have refused to recall the debt from the bailiff, not too disturbed by this, I will just continue to pay the council direct, however it does prevent me from allowing my stepdaughter to stay in the house in my absence, which is a great shame, but she would no doubt be intimidated into letting a bailiff in.

The issue that really p*****s me off is the non response of the letters i sent to 2 of my councillors, in the letters i posed 3 questions

1. Are you aware of the illegal charges being imposed by bailiffs working on behalf of the council
2. If so, why have you allowed such disregard for the law to continue.
3. If not, what are your proposals to deal with the issue

I followed this up with a "why have you not replied" sort of letter, again, no reply. I really do not think it acceptable that they have ignored such a letter from a person they are supposed to represent, there are many more vulnerable people who would be intimidated into paying these costs. where would you go next with this?

anyway, once again, thank you

[charitynjw]

Re: Council Tax

Info re complaints about councillors

http://www.standardsforengland.gov.u...ourcouncillor/

[CleverClogs]

Re: Council Tax

The issue that really p*****s me off is the non response of the letters i sent to 2 of my councillors, in the letters i posed 3 questions

1. Are you aware of the illegal charges being imposed by bailiffs working on behalf of the council
2. If so, why have you allowed such disregard for the law to continue.
3. If not, what are your proposals to deal with the issue

I followed this up with a "why have you not replied" sort of letter, again, no reply. I really do not think it acceptable that they have ignored such a letter from a person they are supposed to represent, there are many more vulnerable people who would be intimidated into paying these costs. where would you go next with this?

On the matter of the lack of response from the council officers, you could take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudswallah - link

On the matter of your local councillors choosing to ignore you, you could raise the matter(s) with your local press or, if they are Labour or Lib-Dem councillors, perhaps report them to the Daily Wail. Failing that, you could print out the questions - replacing "illegal charges" with "excessive charges not allowed by law" - and affix them to every public notice board you can find.