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Brief history ... ok maybe not so brief!
March 2012 - Hand delivered letter from Chandlers baliffs stating they want £463 NOW for unpaid council tax, on the same day by post the new council tax bill arrives for year 2012/13 showing new amount plus £330.42 outstanding from previous years (no mention of a Liability Order), queried with council who at first can't find what it's for, then decide its for year 2009/2010, when my Partner tells them he didn't move into the property until May 2010 which would make him liable for CT year 2010/11 which was paid in full (after a huge cockup by them not activating the direct debit) they agree it's an error and thats the last we hear of it from either the council or Chandlers until ....
21st December 2012 - we received a letter from Chandlers informing us that we owed £426 for unpaid CT – have to admit with Xmas etc didn’t do anything about it, and due to various other things happening, actually forgot about it.
20th February 2013 - letter from Chandlers baliffs stating that we owe £330.42 unpaid council tax with an LO dated 07/08/2011, Partner calls them and asks what is going on as this was supposedly all sorted in April 2012 they say to speak to the council. Partner phones council who say they can't deal with it - speak to the baliffs, baliffs say speak to council etc .. telephone ping pong ensues for a couple of weeks with nothing resolved but no more visits from Chandlers who do agree that the account is in dispute.
12th March 2013 7.30am - Hand delivered letter found in the foyer of our block of appartments stating that Chandlers had called and could not gain access (we live on the 8th floor and it's an entryphone system - no one "buzzed") so were returning at 6am the following morning (the same morning the letter was found) to collect payment or remove goods... no one arrived. Partner spoke to Chandlers at 12:30pm who informed him they would accept 3 payments of £110 to clear the debt starting on 20/03 when he got paid.
19th March 2013 - Partner called the council and asked to speak to someone who could/would actually help him, spoke to "Mike" who informed him that the LO was granted on 07/08/11 (different date to Chandlers letter - although could be a typo I guess) as there was £330.42 outstanding from 2011 (bear in mind we were originally told it was from 2009/10!). During 2011 my Partner became unemployed and was claiming CT benefit - single occupancy as I was not living there at that time. He had paid £266 before the benefits claim, and the benefits claim paid a further £470 making a total paid for the year of £736,the CT for the full year was £886, so the most he should owe is £150, however when speaking "Mike" it appears they are claiming for the full CT with no SO discount, even though it shows as SO discount on the actual CT bill. Council have agreed to look into it as it does appear to be a mistake on their part, and are sending out all the paperwork they hold on this issue (not holding our breath on what that will contain or if we will even receive it)
20th March 2013 - Partner emails Chandlers explaining that the account is indispute and that he will no longer deal with Chandlers but with the Council direct and withdrawing right of access to the property, requesting all correspondence to be in writing etc.. They reply that until the Council tell them otherwise, they will continue to pursue the debt (which is what we expected).
Questions ....
1. Is the LO valid if it is for the wrong amount (not the £330 but £150) if what we suspect about the single occupancy not being applied to the debt, i.e.can it be revoked and possibly re-issued with correct amount on it or written off altogether if we pay the £150?
2. Can we get a copy of said LO as we have never seen it - given that there is a discrepancy on the dates the Council and Chandlers say the LO was granted would be good to know who was right etc.
3. Chandlers say in their email dated 20/03 they did not receive the LO until24/01/13, so if it was granted in July or August 2011(depending on who is correct with the date) who's been sitting on it and why has it only just been actioned?
4. Why are the figures varying, and have gone down not up? Original letter in Dec says £436, LO supposedly £330.42, (discrepancy of £106) this apparently includes Chandlers fees according to their email today - 1st visit £24.50 (20/02/13) which we didn’t know about and had no paperwork / letters left and 2ndvisit £18.00 (12/03/13) – nothing about the letter in Dec (can they charge for this?) but when the LO was granted in July/August it stood at £330.42 which is the amount for the CT, they couldn’t have known how much the bailiff fees were going to be so how could they factor them into the LO?
5. Other than wait for the Council to maybe, possibly, perhaps send out the documentation, is there anything we can or should be doing in the meantime?
Thanks,
Kit
March 2012 - Hand delivered letter from Chandlers baliffs stating they want £463 NOW for unpaid council tax, on the same day by post the new council tax bill arrives for year 2012/13 showing new amount plus £330.42 outstanding from previous years (no mention of a Liability Order), queried with council who at first can't find what it's for, then decide its for year 2009/2010, when my Partner tells them he didn't move into the property until May 2010 which would make him liable for CT year 2010/11 which was paid in full (after a huge cockup by them not activating the direct debit) they agree it's an error and thats the last we hear of it from either the council or Chandlers until ....
21st December 2012 - we received a letter from Chandlers informing us that we owed £426 for unpaid CT – have to admit with Xmas etc didn’t do anything about it, and due to various other things happening, actually forgot about it.
20th February 2013 - letter from Chandlers baliffs stating that we owe £330.42 unpaid council tax with an LO dated 07/08/2011, Partner calls them and asks what is going on as this was supposedly all sorted in April 2012 they say to speak to the council. Partner phones council who say they can't deal with it - speak to the baliffs, baliffs say speak to council etc .. telephone ping pong ensues for a couple of weeks with nothing resolved but no more visits from Chandlers who do agree that the account is in dispute.
12th March 2013 7.30am - Hand delivered letter found in the foyer of our block of appartments stating that Chandlers had called and could not gain access (we live on the 8th floor and it's an entryphone system - no one "buzzed") so were returning at 6am the following morning (the same morning the letter was found) to collect payment or remove goods... no one arrived. Partner spoke to Chandlers at 12:30pm who informed him they would accept 3 payments of £110 to clear the debt starting on 20/03 when he got paid.
19th March 2013 - Partner called the council and asked to speak to someone who could/would actually help him, spoke to "Mike" who informed him that the LO was granted on 07/08/11 (different date to Chandlers letter - although could be a typo I guess) as there was £330.42 outstanding from 2011 (bear in mind we were originally told it was from 2009/10!). During 2011 my Partner became unemployed and was claiming CT benefit - single occupancy as I was not living there at that time. He had paid £266 before the benefits claim, and the benefits claim paid a further £470 making a total paid for the year of £736,the CT for the full year was £886, so the most he should owe is £150, however when speaking "Mike" it appears they are claiming for the full CT with no SO discount, even though it shows as SO discount on the actual CT bill. Council have agreed to look into it as it does appear to be a mistake on their part, and are sending out all the paperwork they hold on this issue (not holding our breath on what that will contain or if we will even receive it)
20th March 2013 - Partner emails Chandlers explaining that the account is indispute and that he will no longer deal with Chandlers but with the Council direct and withdrawing right of access to the property, requesting all correspondence to be in writing etc.. They reply that until the Council tell them otherwise, they will continue to pursue the debt (which is what we expected).
Questions ....
1. Is the LO valid if it is for the wrong amount (not the £330 but £150) if what we suspect about the single occupancy not being applied to the debt, i.e.can it be revoked and possibly re-issued with correct amount on it or written off altogether if we pay the £150?
2. Can we get a copy of said LO as we have never seen it - given that there is a discrepancy on the dates the Council and Chandlers say the LO was granted would be good to know who was right etc.
3. Chandlers say in their email dated 20/03 they did not receive the LO until24/01/13, so if it was granted in July or August 2011(depending on who is correct with the date) who's been sitting on it and why has it only just been actioned?
4. Why are the figures varying, and have gone down not up? Original letter in Dec says £436, LO supposedly £330.42, (discrepancy of £106) this apparently includes Chandlers fees according to their email today - 1st visit £24.50 (20/02/13) which we didn’t know about and had no paperwork / letters left and 2ndvisit £18.00 (12/03/13) – nothing about the letter in Dec (can they charge for this?) but when the LO was granted in July/August it stood at £330.42 which is the amount for the CT, they couldn’t have known how much the bailiff fees were going to be so how could they factor them into the LO?
5. Other than wait for the Council to maybe, possibly, perhaps send out the documentation, is there anything we can or should be doing in the meantime?
Thanks,
Kit
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