BCW / Glasgow City Council / Council Tax Arrears

[DNA]

My partner has received this letter from BCW.

Pursuers: Glasgow City Council

Enforcement of Summary Warrant

Council Tax Arrears

Despite contacting you on numerous occasions, you have not responded to any of our requests to settle you outstanding Council Tax arrears.

This notice is to remind you that a Summary Warrant was granted in the Sheriff Court for payment of your outstanding Council Tax.

New regulations require us to instruct Sheriff Officers to serve a Charge for Payment of Money on you before taking any further action. This will result in additional expenses being charged against your account. These expenses will be recoverable from you. If you do not pay the sum specified in the Charge for Payment the following action can be taken:

Arrestment of Earnings or acounts you have with Bank/Building Society

Arrestment of other money and moveable property

Attachment and auction of property held out with your home.

We will hold this action for seven days to allow you to clear your account or contact us on 0845 300 6891 to discuss a repayment arrangement.

I need to ask advice on the following questions:

1. The alleged debt relates to Council Tax arrears for a property my partner rented from Glasgow City Council from 1997 to 1999. Can a debt this old be chased?

2. My partner lives in England. How can a warrant issued in Scotland be enforced in England.

3. My partner tells me that he was claiming full Income Support for the period he lived at the address in question. I know that water rates are included in the Council Tax but not covered by Council Tax Benefit. In a telephone conversation with BCW recently they said that some of the arrears were for Council Tax and some for water. We asked for a breakdown but none was sent. If he was being paid Council Tax Benefit, how can Council Tax arrears accrue (understandable that water rates accrue and may be payable but we don't know how much).

Does anyone have any observations or advice?

Many thanks
Aleks (on behalf of Dave)

[IdaInFife]

1. A council tax debt can
2.Summary warrnts do not need a hearing but not sure of the question
3. If you unsure of the debt you can send the council a Subject Access Request to get the full details
Even if you receive full CT benefit you can still pay for water and sewage charges


Ida x

	Subject Access Request A Subject Access Request is a demand which you can make to any organisation to disclose any personal information which they hold on you. The right to disclosure of data is provided by the Data Protection Act. There is no time limit. The organisation is obliged to reveal everything they have about you - which you ask for - as far back as you ask for. There are very few exceptions. It does not matter whether the data is held on microfiche, in an archive, on tape, in a cardex system, in sound recordings or in screen notes. Some companies are saying that they do not have to disclose where it would be difficult to do so - "disproportionate effort". This is untrue. Disproportionate effort refers to something else under the Act. If you are seeking bank charges information then you should ask for "all data held on you" and you should make it clear that you want everything as far back as it goes. Do not be put off by excuses. Do not accept being fobbed off. It is not in your bank's interest to make full disclosure to you. This means that it is in your interests to get it. If you have not started gathering your bank charges information yet, then you should start now. There will soon be a big rush once the OFT test case has been settled. Get all of your bank account informtion as far back as possible. At least as far back as 1995. If your bank says that they don't keep data as far back as this, don't accept it. Be persistent. They've got what you need in some form or other.

[Czechoslovakia]

I have something similar. This is my first comment here - and why I joined.

I received a letter from a company who I think are sheriffs officers claiming my father owed council tax.

My father died last century, although the council had made errors in his tax that appeared about 2000. These were resolved in about 2001, its a long time ago and I cannot remember the dates.

In about summer 2003 a man came to the door looking for my father. I explained he had passed away some years previously, then the man explained he had visited as there were outstanding council tax bills.

At this time I had all my dads paperwork in a bundle - and I showed him the death certificate, and the letters from the council from about 2000/2001 that cleared up their error. He accepted this and apologised saying that the councils records were lousy and he had to deal with this type of thing daily.

Last week the letter arrived from the people I think are sheriffs officers claiming my dad owes thousands of pounds.

About two or three years ago I threw out anything of my dads that was not of sentimental value.

I feel great annoyance over this matter, as my dad never owed anyone a penny in his life, and its worsened by having the matter resolved twice already, and by the council appointed sheriffs officer admitting himself that the council were clueless.

What should I do?

I doubt I could submit a Data Protection request for someone else, and I appreciate they cannot pursue him, but the entire affair sickens me, and I feel its like they are trying to tarnish the memory, through incompetence, of someone who paid them religiously his entire life.