Hi all - hope someone can help.

(if this isnt the right place to post this, grateful if someone would move it to relevant forum )

I owe council tax on a previous rented property which I moved out of in 2005 and didnt leave a forwarding address.

sometime in 2006/7, they found me at my current rented place (assuming from credit checks) and a started receiving letters from bailiffs etc.

I ignored the bailiff letters and subsequently, the debt got passed back to the council.

I wrote a letter to the council in late 2007 to explain i didnt have much money and could i pay back £100 a month. they didnt accept this as they wanted the full amount to be paid by the end of the council tax year (March), but were willing to accept £150 for the next 3 months and then review the account.

I made a payment of £150 in Oct 2007 and Nov 2007 (i have email receipts for these) I then didnt make any more payments as I was unable to afford to.

since then, the only correspondance i have received is a leaflet about 'naming and shaming' those who owe the council money, and that i would be put on this list.

From what I remember, they claim I owe about £1300 (for one years council tax) but I dont know if they amount includes any charges or fees etc which they added on.

As I am in process of buying a house with my partner, I would like to get this sorted out into some sort of payment plan so at least I wont have to worry about bailiffs knocking on the door etc.

What is the best way to go about this? With the payment of £300 already made, i owe about £1000 probably and am not in any position to pay anything more than £100 a month on this. As its already Sept, I am worried they wont accept this (like before) and want it all cleared by march again.

how do i go about finding out how much i really owe them and also, whether i have a liability order against me?

once i find out the amount, what is the best way to get them to agree to £100 a month as i really am struggling.

i would be grateful if anyone could offer any advice/insight into this.

thanks

i would be inclined to pay what you can direct via internet banking.

then in a few months time, enquire what is outstanding.

many councils now have automated payment lines which tell you your balance, poss try that method?

dx

If you have your account number any local office will tell you the balance. Write to them and ask for a breakdown of the account.

Did you look into any benefits you could have claimed or discounts?

As long as you are paying your current and subsequent monthly payments they should accept additional payments to clear the arrears.

They won't be happy to do this and will press for as much as they can get as soon as they can get it but if you make it clear that you can only offer £xx per month and are willing to set up a SO or DD that should satisfy them. Ask to speak to someone more senior if they are playing hardball.

Only offer what you can comfortably afford and on a £1000 it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest £50 p/m or less and negotiate from there. Alternatively you can send them an income and expenditure form to show your surplus income and what is affordable.

If the bailiffs were involved, and from what you have said, it is certain you will have had a liability order. Ask the council for a copy or send them an SAR.

since my orginal post, I have been busy with house buying and family issues so haven't had a chance to deal with this problem

today i received a letter from the council saying that the debt has been passed back to them from the bailiffs. they say i can stop a 'commital summons' being issued against me if i pay £464.81 immediately or send details of how i intend to pay (they will then consider my offer).

from my previous post, I thought I owed in the region of 1K. I am now confused as to how much I owe.

is the correct plan of action to contact them to find out once and for all the amount I owe? or should i just pay the amount they are asking for and hope they forget about the rest? ........... actually, thinking about it, thats a bit of a head in the sand attitude, i suppose they could always chase me again down the line.....

ok - i write them a letter asking for full amount owed before i offer a payment plan? will a normal letter do or should I SAR them?

i really wish it was just 400 odd i owed!!!

They should accept a normal letter by rights, just ask them to confirm the amount owed. State that once you have received this you will sort out a payment that you can reasonably afford. It is sad but true that the majority of councils now pursue people even to them going down the route of the courts, even then the courts will only make a person pay what they can reasonably afford. All utilities, countil tax, mortgage etc., should come first before any other debts that you may owe.

I was unemployed earlier this year and applied to my local council for benefit, no problem, then I got another job told them about it as soon as I started the job, now some 6 months later I get my new bill for the rest of year 3 months at £95 pm month more than I was paying before. They won't let me pay this extra £285 over the next year even though it was their fault as I informed them when I started worked again. Just goes to show how useless a lot of the councils are.

SD

can't see why you dont phone them

its not like a DCA, they are there to help you

might not look like it sometimes on here, but most of em are quite nice as long as you talk to them and tell them what is going on rather than stonewalling all the time.

have you actually paid anything since your last post or have you played head in sand again?

dx

can't see why you dont phone them

its not like a DCA, they are there to help you

might not look like it sometimes on here, but most of em are quite nice as long as you talk to them and tell them what is going on rather than stonewalling all the time.

 

have you actually paid anything since your last post or have you played head in sand again?

 

dx

last time I spoke to them (admittedly in 2007) i had a very bad experience as the person i spoke to on the phone was condescending/judgemental and stated that unless i pay the WHOLE outstanding amount over the phone, they would not be able to help me. they advised me to write in to them if i wished to consider other payment options - which i did back then.

since my last post, i have not paid anything towards this debt as i cant afford to at the present moment in time.

i have decided to, as advised, write them a letter enclosing a copy of the letter they sent me to confirm the amount owed and then set up some sort of payment plan.

thanks to all your advice/support - will keep you updated