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Hi
Please can anyone advise or help with this situation? I received a letter in July 2007 from a bailiffs office informing me that they were intending to recover council tax arrears of £280. from 1993.
I disputed this (as I have always paid my CT) but got nowhere with them. In 1993 I paid my CT in cash installments at the council office, needless to say I no longer have receipts as it was 15 years ago. I wrote the local council 9 times and sent them umpteen emails finally in January 08 I received a reply simply stating that their achieved records show that I only made two payments. I again I disputed this, but they insist (very rudely) that their records are correct and unless I produce receipts to show that I have paid these arrears, the matter will be passed back to the bailiffs within 21 days.
All my CT payments have been upto date because I have paid these by direct debit since 1994. non of these bills showed or indicated that I was in arrears with my CT.
I have heard that there may have been a legal ruling on a similar situation - I think it was "Fallows v Tower Hamlets" Please could anyone advise me on this, or where I stand legally?
"
If the Council Tax was due more than 6 years ago then the council are unable to ask the Court for a Liability Order (a liability order allows the council to deduct the Council Tax debt from your wages or benefits)."
If you have definately had no contact from the council about this then I believe it is up to them to prove you owe it and not you to prove that you do not owe it.
Be aware they don't just add it to this years due tax
If bailiffs are collecting then it looks like a liability order has been made as bailiffs can only collect on an order from the courts.
Hi Conniff,
Thank you very much for your reply. The council say that the arrears are in relation to a previous property. I left that property in 2001 and upto that point there was no arrears showing on my account. However, they passed a debt over to rossendales which they said was from 1993 at that address and rossendales contacted me last year at my current address demanding the arrears.
I have never owed this money and I have since discovered that apparently the council went to court in 1995 to recover the debt and a warrant was issued for my arrest. Therefore, I presume that a liability order was issued. However, whilst at my old address I never received any court papers or any indication from the council that there was a problem and all my council tax bills showed no arrears. I informed the council of my new address and again all my bills at this address showed no arrears.
I have requested copies of all previous communications in relation to this matter but they have refused and simply sent me a small printout with abbreviations and some dates of the court action etc and informed me to pay the arrears within 21 days, or it will be sent back to the bailiffs. They gave no indication of whether I can challenge this or an offer of installments.
The problem for me, is that I have paid this CT for that particular year in cash installments but have no receipt because it was so long ago and it appears that the council obtained a liability order whilst I moved addresses.
Council Tax Recovery 15 years ago
office informing me that they were intending to recover council tax arrears of £280. from 1993.
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