Hi everyone,

It's that time of year again and electoral roll envelopes have arrived through my current letterbox.

So, Here is my problem. And yeah, I'm pretty worried.

It turns out I've been a complete green horn since leaving university.

I was on a 3 year, full time education course and took another to year 'writing up'. Throughout this time i never completed an electoral form due to common opinion that it was not necessary if i did not want to vote. None of my friends bothered with it, and i had never been a politics person.

I graduated, made my family proud, and worked for a year before renting privately (CT included) closer to work.

So basically, I have not been on the electoral roll or submitted my details etc to the council / government since i left for uni.

For the two 'writing up' years of my course and the year after, i stayed many nights of each month at my grandparents house. They paid full council tax on their property and i was not there for much of the time.

In my head, this was my address of residence (my mail and medical going through my mothers address as it always had).

Last month i researched moving home. I would need to register myself for council tax on a new property. Speaking to my grandfather, I learned he had never declared me on his electoral roll.

I owe a lot to my grandparents! They helped me through my education. But i do not wish to cause them any problems. After seeking citizens advice, i opted to not contact councils until they contacted me. There may be a chance the council didn't follow me up after i gave them my current address as a previous address, and shouldnt have minded me declaring my grandparents as a previous since i was not a liable party.

Long story short, I thought things would be okay (They still might be. I'm a pessimist). But there is a box on the form that rightly asks for my previous address for adding my name to this electoral. If i put my grandfather's address as my previous, will anything befall me due to my ignorance? There was no intentional avoidance, but my grandfather should really have declared me on his paperwork, or i should have declared myself.

Any information on penalties or criminal record would be greatly appreciated. The scenario is genuine mistake, but I guess this may not be seen that way now, especially if there is 'free' penalty money involved.

Thanks for reading everyone, sorry if my situation seems less tragic than most, i'm just really worried this could stun my future.

You'll be fine - although you are supposed to register on the electoral roll many people don't bother. Just fill in the form and register now.

As for living with your grandparents, you were a disregarded student and would affect the council tax they pay.