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Can anyone help with this.
I am currently only 1 month behind on my council tax payments and have received a court summons. I payed July's installment on friday so really I am only now 2 weeks behind so I rang them and asked if I could make an arrangement to pay the arrears and they said I could but I would have to pay by direct debit which I do not want to do so I told him this and he said I would have to pay the whole years balance in full, Which I cant afford. Is there any way round this? I usually pay by internet and would prefer to do this, it seems so unfair that I cant pay monthly just because I missed one payment.
Yes, I missed out one months payment so the payment I made this month was Julys installment so now I am behind with Augusts payment.
I dont want direct debit cos they can only take it out on the 1st or 25th of the month and those are the two worst weeks bill wise and I do not want to start getting bank charges again.
I'm surprised they said you would have to pay by direct debit as usually if they have issued a summons for court then you normally forfeit the right to pay by DD.
If the council will not accept montly payments in any other form that DDR you could always attend the court hearing and put your point across.
When the council go to court they have a long schedule of people that have not paid and the amounts they owe, they give it to the judge he rubber stamps it and off they go. They dont into the circumstances surrounding these non-payments.
I missed two payments with my council tax and i got a summons, unfortuantely i could not attend that day as i was seeing someone in hospital otherwise i would have gone, so i wrote a letter to the court and requested that it be read out i also copied it to the council. The Liability Order still went ahead but instead of it automatically going to baliffs the judge refered it back to the council and told them to contact me with regards to a payment arrangement. After lots of two and throwing the council finally agreed a figure, i also managed to get them to agree to splitting the bill over 12 months instead of 10 and yes i got the 'you will have to pay by DDR to get that' i said no my bank account does not have a DDR facility (little white lie) so i now pay by cash with a giro slip every month.
Its worth a try....at the least the judge can see your not just trying to avoid paying.
Will you be able to pay your arrears and be up to date before the court date?
Have you got a local office you could go into to make payments? It may also be more effective to discuss the situation face to face.
I had to let my case go to court but agreed an arrangement beforehand so that i didn't have to attend. They initally sent me a payment book. I was the opposite to you and wanted to pay by DD!!
Local councils do vary, which is a shame, because some are so much more helpful than others.
Hi, thanks for all your replies.
I have now reluctantly agreed to the direct debit but they would not let it go up until march, they said it had to be paid by january.
They also said they could not stop the summons unless I paid the whole year up until january in full, even with making the DD arrangement the court date will still go ahead and even if I paid the 1 month arrears it would still go ahead. And if any of the DD's fail they will start bailliff action on me and if I didnt set up the DD or pay it off in full they would start bailliff action so it didnt look like I had much choice.
All that for one months arrears, and they get paid in advance anyway.
So if the DD fails I not only have bailliffs to look forward to but also a £30 bank charge which I cant claim back cos of the test case.
As you can see I am not very happy about the situation but theres nothing I can do.
Oh Pennypenny i'm so sorry - that's really annoying. There's absolutely no need for them to be that inflexible. I would be inclined to write to them after the first payment has gone out and ask them again to alter the date. It's always worth a shot and you know what the worst they can say is....:-|
Thanks Hopeful.
I tried to get them to collect it on a different date but they said they only collect Direct Debits on the 1st and 25th of the month and they cant collect them in Feb or March just April to Jan.
I dislike council tax almost as much as I dislike Direct Debits.
Anyway, I've calmed down since my rant earlier, I'll just have to make sure the money is there every month.
when i left my partner there was a council tax bill she had not paid. the bills where in both our names but since leaving it has bin me who has got an attachment of earnings to my wages as she is on benefits so i am paying for the full bill an she has not paid anything towards it, are they allowed to do this when we where both on the bill, when i rang the council tax ppl they told me i needed to take it up with my ex about her contributing towards it, surely they should be persuing her for half of it?? can someone help me as the council tax ppl dont seem bothered as long as they get there money
My council are absolute b*stards when it comes to late payments too. Over 2 weeks late and it goes in their "refer for court action" folder and they won't take it back. I know of people who have had a DD returned and got the court summons before the bank has told them of the bounced DD. Once the summons has been issued, they insist on proceeding with it even if you offer to pay the full balance there and then as they seem to like passing stuff to the bailiffs...
Hopefully they are now rethinking that (see my Goodwillie & Corcoran thread in the bailiff forum) but some councils are horrible to deal with.
My last council (Bracknell Forest) were a breath of fresh air in comparison with the stuck up barstewards at Rushmoor BC.
I dont know the answer to that one Originalpapes, but it hardly seems fair that you should be paying for your ex if the full years bill is in both names. Maybe start your own thread in this section and more people who can offer advice will see it.
I know what you mean Alexteh, they just wash their hands of you after one missed payment, the monthly payment is not exactly a small amount of money and sometimes its easy to get a week or two behind but they dont care. I think they would expect you to pay them their money before you even buy food.
Unfortunately council tax liability is not "splitable" a couple is jointly and severally liable so they can pursue either person for the whole amount (hardly fair, but unfortunately true). We have been lucky with our council they have been very flexible with payment arrangements, but some councils are swines. Obviously the council will pursue the one working not the one on benefit as they want their money asap, again not fair.
Hope everyone gets something sorted out, was in the same position a couple of years ago, but have been paying arrears and current years tax since and will finally clear the arrears early next year .
ali x
Btw I am no expert just give notes based on what I have read on here and other forums/sites, plus my own experiences and investigations.
All ccj's now dropped off file, 2 yrs to go to clear file.
All old debts either settled or made unenforcable.
It seems our council must be one of the worse ones then. They told me its out of their hands when it gets that far and theres nothing they can do but if other councils can be more lenient with late payments why cant they be?
Earlier this year my GF had problems with bailiffs behaving badly over council tax arrears . In the end myself and other family members had a whip round to pay the £300 owed as she could no longer take the stress of the bailiffs behaviour. I also got the bailiffs charges down from nearly £500 to £41. Even though she had offered a payment plan to clear the arrears, she wanted the bailiffs gone..
so the up shot now is having paid back those that borrowed her the money she has fallen behind by 2 months with her current tax bill.... the council has issued a summons and the whole sorry mess will start all over..
it seems unfair that they take people to court without warning and whilst you are still in the council tax year for which they are taking you to court. Surely it would only be right for every one to be given the opportunity to catch up by the end of the council tax year instead of just taking everyone to court and handing it over to the bailifffs who will bully and intimidate those already in financial trouble into paying what they cant afford and adding fictitious charges
i intend to write to the council and the courts as yaffsimone suggested,
sorry didnt mean to hijack your thread
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Hi kfdh, its okay hijack away, the more the merrier.
I totally agree with what you are saying. We are paying in advance and fair enough if we are still behind when the new bill comes out in April but no they whisk us off to court after one missed payment. Then they send bailliffs round and add more money on when its obvious we couldnt afford it in the first place.
Good luck, I hope your GF gets it all sorted out.
Penny.
Earlier this year my GF had problems with bailiffs behaving badly over council tax arrears . In the end myself and other family members had a whip round to pay the £300 owed as she could no longer take the stress of the bailiffs behaviour. I also got the bailiffs charges down from nearly £500 to £41. Even though she had offered a payment plan to clear the arrears, she wanted the bailiffs gone..
so the up shot now is having paid back those that borrowed her the money she has fallen behind by 2 months with her current tax bill.... the council has issued a summons and the whole sorry mess will start all over..
it seems unfair that they take people to court without warning and whilst you are still in the council tax year for which they are taking you to court. Surely it would only be right for every one to be given the opportunity to catch up by the end of the council tax year instead of just taking everyone to court and handing it over to the bailifffs who will bully and intimidate those already in financial trouble into paying what they cant afford and adding fictitious charges
i intend to write to the council and the courts as yaffsimone suggested,
sorry didnt mean to hijack your thread
Hi all
I have been taken to court and lost because I always pay my council tax late but never miss a payment. The council refuse to readjust the payment date although they are aware that I always pay around the same time of the mth. They also have no provisions for self employed people, I am a sole trader and have been in business for 19mths running at a 6K loss in the 1st yr. I did not attend court as I could not close my business.
It seems now I am at loggerheads with the council, I will not pay the costs and when summons for that I will charge the council for my time to attend court, and deduct it accordingly from my council tax bill. I hope you can see where I'm coming from!! so where do I stand?
Regards
Scott
Council Tax Arrears?
which I do not want to do so I told him this and he said I would have to pay the whole years balance in full, Which I cant afford. Is there any way round this? I usually pay by internet and would prefer to do this, it seems so unfair that I cant pay monthly just because I missed one payment.
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Originally Posted by kfdh1962
