Council Tax Arrears - Court Summons!

adridude · 27th November 2006, 19:58

Hello Again,

I've just been summoned to court (14-12-06) as I am £614 in council tax arrears.

Currently I am not working, so it's a bit difficult to pay it from JSA (which is temporary anyway).

Is there any way I can stop this court hearing and agree to pay a small sum each week or whatever off?

Also is THIS a CCJ? (Never been to court eek!)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Adrian

MrShed · 27th November 2006, 20:30

I do not know the answers to the rest of your questions, I'm afraid, and the best people to speak to regarding it would be your local council tax department. In particular, I am sure that you get reduced council tax when you are claiming benefits, and so may be worth mentioning this to them.

However, this is NOT a CCJ. A CCJ(county court judgement) is ONLY put on your credit file if you are taken to court and lose, and you then do not pay the full amount within 14 days. For this reason, if you will not be able to pay the full £614, it is well worth attempting to negotiate some kind of pay off schedule to prevent things going to court. However, the council may well be somewhat less receptive to this than private firms would be. I would strongly suggest NOW paying them as much as you can comfortably afford, along with a realistic schedule of payments you can meet. This will be in your favour with the judge, as it has shown you have attempted to resolve the situation. Can I also suggest posting in another more suitable area of these forums with regards this, other users who do not frequent this section will be able to help you more than my limited knowledge of this area.

adridude · 27th November 2006, 21:38

where else would I put this in the forums? lol

MrShed · 27th November 2006, 21:49

Here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...iliffs-advice/

Gruffy · 27th November 2006, 23:21

As I said in my other post - phone the council tomorrow and explain.

If there is one lesson I have learnt in the past couple of months is always talk to people you owe money too! - In your case though you should be able to claim Conucil Tax Benefit - see my other post!

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