Petition Order that a Bankruptcy Order be made for Council Tax ..VERY .URGENT

[tashanice]

Dear All

Please Please can you help me...

I have a court date on 24th Nov . Lewisham Council are presenting a Petition Order for Bankruptcy Order made against me for council tax owed for £5803.41.

I have been asked to file in court a notice in Form 6.19. Specifying the grounds on which I object.... I have received no advice I am currently with StepChange who advised me to contact the council and offer a payment but they told me it is too late for them to accept any payment and I will have to go to court.

Is there anywhere else I can get legal advice, all the ones I see online require monies that I just do not have. I am getting so nervous and am having anxiety as I do not want to lose our home. There is a lot of equity in our home but we cannot touch it as we are in mortgage arrears too. So Our credit file is poor. By the way the mortgage is only in my name. i AM NOT ALLOWED TO SELL IT EITHER BY LAND REGISTRY.

Do I have to pay for filing this ? As I do not have any funds.

I do not have any other creditors, I am married with 3 boys under the ages of 10. First one diagnosed with autism. I have been home schooling him since September and so unable to work. My husband earns approx 30,000 but is self-employed so doees not come home regularly with an income,

PLEASE HELP ME , PLEASE ????? THANKYOU.

[Debt Camel]

Re: Petition Order that a Bankruptcy Order be made for Council Tax ..VERY .URGENT

Sorry but quite a few questions:

Which council tax years do these debts relate to?
Do you have any reason to disagree with the amount?
Why are you "currently with StepChange" if you do not have any other creditors?
What is happening about your mortgage arrears, have you come to an agreement with the mortgage lender to repay them?
Are you getting DLA for your son?
Do you have a car or any other assets that you could sell?

[Snoopy1948]

Re: Petition Order that a Bankruptcy Order be made for Council Tax ..VERY .URGENT

It seems to me that some local authorities take such hard line actions and others continue a line of negotiation. You would not have been presented with a petition to file for your bankruptcy if everything else had been tried and I assume that this petition follows a Statutory Demand being served on you which perhaps you have neglected to respond to? This situation needs a closer look and more information. Are you up to date with current council tax or do you persist in going into arrear?

Remember that even going to a bankruptcy hearing is not an automatic award for bankruptcy to be awarded. If you have a lot of equity in your home then there is no reason why the council should not accept a charge on the property with the agreement that you clear it by mutually agreed payment. Somehow I am sensing that you are experiencing poor money management here and things are getting worse. Can you confirm if the house title is in your sole name and what names the council tax account are in?