Hello all, first time poster so please go easy on me!

I am in dispute with my local authority and although it's at an early stage I suspect they will seek a liability order against me eventually.

I think I have a good defence but my question is this:

If I attend court and win can I claim costs for loss or earnings incurred and for travel to/from court?

Thanks

You don't say what your dispute is. To contest liability there are only a few grounds and the decision when made is a simple yes or no answer. As to the question of costs unless the Council have made an absolute mess of things I would think it likely you would get not a lot.

PT

You don't say what your dispute is. To contest liability there are only a few grounds and the decision when made is a simple yes or no answer. As to the question of costs unless the Council have made an absolute mess of things I would think it likely you would get not a lot.

 

PT

Thanks for the reply Ploddertom, I didn't mention the nature of the dispute because it didn't seem particuarly relevant but I will now.

I moved into a propert recently and immediately downloaded and completed a form detailing my name, address, date of commencement of tenancy and date I moved in. I sent the form along with a covering letter (on headed paper, again detailing my name). In response I received a council tax bill in the wrong name, not a simple spelling mistake but an entirely wrong name, it is in fact a name I used to be known as but as I haven't had an account with this LA for years that is hardly relevant I don't think.

I wrote to the council but also called them...they said I needed to provide proof of my name change as if they send me a bill with the wong name on it I could use it to commit fraud!

Knowing the coucil as I do I suspect we will quickly reach a stalemate as I clealry cannot pay the bill in the name they have used so I suspect they will keep sending letters in the wrong name until a liability order is applied for at which point I will go to court and hopefully win.

I just don't want to go to court if it's going to cost me money and I imagine costs will be awarded against me if I lose so I wondered how to go about recovering costs if I win.

so for years you were know as smith not your birth name but because its your stepfather's name or your name by marriage

you have now reverted to your birth name Jones and the council are having none of it

TBH providing it the same person then differences in name would not stop the liability order being legal e.g Mrs Smith marries and changes her name to Mrs Jones, it would be unusual to do so but they could still issue bills to Mrs Smith and Mrs Jones would still be fully liable for the balance due.

Its done this way so that people cant just change names to frustate the process.

Marco (Croydon) Ltd. v Metropolitan Police [1984] RTR 24, [1983] Crim LR 395, followed in R v Greater Manchester Justices, ex parte Aldi GmbH & Co. KG [1994] TLR 678, 28 December, drew a distinction between cases where the right person had received the summons and know it was intended for him and was not prejudiced in any way (amendment allowed) and those where the wrong defendant (of a group of companies) had been summonsed (amendment not permissible).

Thanks once again for the answers, and that case law you highlight does raise a valid point however my circumstances are slightly different to those you describe.

I am not denying that I am the liable person, I have in fact filled in all the right forms in an effort to identify myself as the liable person...I actually want to pay the bill.

I would be perfectly entitled to pay the bill if it were in anybody else's name but I changed my name by deed poll and the document I signed expressly forbids entering into any transactions if they are in the my old name.

Personally I can think of no reason why the council can't simply change the name they have on the bill, perhaps they will, but I'm not holding my breath!

you should escalate this and make a formal complaint to the CEO

councils don't administrate there own council tax they outsource it and believe me they most of them know very little

Some councils do deal with their own council tax - my local one does, in fact.

lawandorder: have you provided them with proof of your name change?