Hello,

As the title reads, we have council tax arrears that have accumulated over several years.

Last week we received a letter through the door threatening bankruptcy from the council.

Some background info

- I am a full time student.

My mum is the one who is liable.

She has severe mental health issues.

She has not sought help and is not in contact with any mental health services / CGP etc.

She is on Employment Support Allowance, which is paid sporadically

- has not been paid for the last month or so.

My parents are separated and my dad lives elsewhere. He pays the mortgage for our house.

Please advise me on what steps I need to take.

What info do I need to get from the council about the debt?

Should I send a SAR?

Or just offer to pay whatever my mum can afford?

I understand that writing to the council and providing a letter from the GP explaining her illness and an account of her expenditure is probably best.

I am unsure as to how to word the letter, and how to tell the council that I am writing on my mother's behalf.

I am also unsure as to what amount to offer to pay, that is likely to be accepted.

Is there anything else I should do / anyone else I should seek help from?

Any help is much appreciated.

firstly have you had any bailiff letters?

are you aware of how many Liability Orders Have been Served?

might be an idea too

You need to speak to someone at the Council and ask the following questions:

1 - how many Liability Orders they have against you

2 - the dates they were obtained

3 - the addresses they were for

4 - the period of time each covers

5 - how much each one was for

6 - how much is still outstanding

7 - the dates they were passed on for enforcement

I'm not aware how many liability orders, but thanks for your reply, I'll find out those things from the council.

My mum did mention bailiff letters. She said the lady who delivered the letter threatening bankruptcy did not look like a 'typical bailiff', however she might be mistaken. I'm assuming that as the bailiffs haven't been able to access our property, the account has been handed back to the council.

If there are any relevant template letters anyone can link to, please do.

when were these 'letters' and has she still got them

you've a few days before the council offices open.

can you get thogether everything you can find

and tell us what it is?

obv £11k is from several years

prob +5yrs atleast

give a bit more info please

dx

dx

I would hazard a guess the Council are ready to take further action very shortly.

Have you thought about contacting your local Councillor(s) and ask they intervene,

best initial contact is by phone & my view is that they are contactable 7 days per week

- including Bank Holidays - up until 9 pm.

You are going to have to find out how many Liability Orders the Council have, the dates they refer to and the amount on each one.

A lot of Councils have outsouced their office functions to private companies and they are renowned for not being helpful,

it is better to ask for someone in charge rather than speaking to whoever answers the phone.

Do you own your own home?

Dx100uk: I'm don't think I can get hold of the letters. My mum tends to ignore and hide letters and is very secretive. I know her behaviour seems irrational but such is her illness

Thanks for the suggestion ploddertom, I will try to get hold of my local councillor as soon as I can. I think I will have to contact the council for details as to Liability Orders and such rather than rely on my mum - assuming the council will be truthful? Also my mum owns our home technically, but my dad's paying the mortgage.

Do you know if your mum has other debts and who exactly does the house belong to?

I'm afraid I'm not sure, I shall have to double check with my dad. It's either just my mum's name or both my parents names on the deeds. My mum also has pawnbroker and credit card debts

The reason I ask is because I wonder if your mum has a realistic chance of paying this and if bankruptcy would be such a bad thing as it could clear everything. I'm not sure how it would affect the house so you need to know about this. Others may be able to advise further.

you should be able to check on the land registry site about the joint ownership etc etc

dx

I'm open to whatever solutions there are to this issue, however losing our home is obviously something I wish to avoid.

Just asked my dad, he said it's both their names on the deeds. I don't know what implications that would have for bankruptcy.

I believe it may mean it couldn't be sold.

Might be worth phoning national debtline for advice after the bank holiday. They have some good fact sheets on their site too.

Is bankruptcy the only option?

Despite my mum's willingness to work, her mental illness has prevented her from being in employment for several years now.

So surely she is at present, and would not have been liable for (full) council tax during those years?

Could the arrears be reduced on this basis?

If anyone is aware, please advise me on whether this is the case.

Also if it's of any use, my mum had deductions (I believe around £10 a week) taken from her benefits when she was previously claiming JSA. So I assume the council must have been aware that she did not have the means to pay the arrears? Sorry if I'm not making sense.

I don't know whether they're still deducting from her ESA now.

Thanks caro, I'll get in touch with National Debtline.

I thinks it prudent to gather every piece of info first

before we start looking at things like BK etc etc.

somethings not sitting right here

£11k is one hell of a good number of years of CTAX to mount up.

it might also serve you to get her written authority to act upon her behalf

ready to show whomever

as I expect the council will stonewall you

unless you are jointly liable and named on the CTAX bills.

dx

One downside of the Council applying for BR are the costs involved - very high. I'm with DX as you need lots more info & probably need to get a full list of debts owed. Some can be reduced to the bare minimum whereas others such as Council Tax are a priority.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'something's not sitting right here'. It's not unusual for people with mental health problems to neglect their finances.

I'm a full time student and as far I'm aware, not liable for council tax. Thanks for the tip, I will make sure to get a letter of written authority.

@ploddertom: thanks, I'll try and gather as much info as I can

Has your mum ever applied for CT benefit?

Yes, she has

Yes, she has

Did she qualify?

Yes, she was deemed eligible

So how has she got £11k arrears? That would take years.

Still, as has been advised, get all the info you can. We're here if you have questions.

£11,000 does seem to be a very large debt and difficult to understand how such a debt could have built up if your mother has been receiving CTB/CTR

you could try asking applying for an EMI disregard for your mother and student disregard for yourself