I owe the council £68 in arrears for this year, which I cannot pay as my only income is £124 per week Pension Credit. However, I have just received a letter informing me that if I do not pay within 7 days they will take me to court and add £125 to my bill.

It seems to me that the £125 is a totally unjustifiable figure, and what makes me even more angry is that the council have not had the manners to give me a breakdown of how this charge is worked out. (I suspect that they just get together with the local magistrates' court and snatch a figure out of thin air).

It seems to me that to charge (or, in my case, to try to charge) £125 for a £68 debt is not only ridiculuous but a brazen violation of my human rights. Whatever happens, I am not going to pay such a charge, but I would love to bring the council to heal for even trying to extract it from me.Is there any way I can appeal under the Human Rights Act or other legislation?

Try going to the Council and arrange a payment scheme with them. And point out what your income is as you may be exempt or entitled to pay a reduced amount.

If you do not sort it out, it will go to Court and then you will have bailiffs chasing you. Far better to resolve it before it goes to Court.

It's nothing whatever to do with the courts FP, this is a made up figure by your council alone, they all charge differing amounts.

I'm afraid that you will have to pay the charge, there is no getting out of it and when (not if) they get the liability order, any monies you pay will be to clear the administration (lol) fee first and then the outstanding tax bill.

See also the reply I gave Spacemarine on the same subject:

You should have received letters about the late payments and an invitation to ring them.

If you have a summons to prove liabilty (non of us deny liability) they won't cancel it as it makes them money, lots of money so that will be added to your outstanding amount.

 

Once the liability order has been granted, you can ring and make a payment arrangement. The fee for the liability order is taken before any money is put towards the outstanding tax.

 

Unfortunately there is no point in going to court as the judge cannot take into account any hardship etc; and is only there to rubber stamp the fact you are liable.

 

Liability orders are pure and simple to make money for council like all government departments, that is their first priority. I think the fact you have made payments means you are not disputing your liability to council tax, so even the slightest excuse they can get, they will ask for a liability order.

 

In 2007, councils in England made £240million pounds from liability orders, so they are big business.

 

The actual charge the courts ask is £3 (three pounds) for the order, so all the rest is profit, (makes the private parking companies look a real bargain).

 

Of course, when a liability order has been granted, it gives the councils the power to use bailiffs to collect or to take payments direct from you wages, taken out by your employer.

 

It looks ok for you as you are not far behind, but if bailiffs are used, the council must by law give you 14 days notice in writing that they are doing so.