Hey Guys,

I must first say this forum is great and there is a wealth of infomation on here which i have found very useful. I have recently been served a Final Notice for business Rates i owe to the Council. Let me tell you some of the background concernig this.

I aquired a business premises on lease from a Landlord around 2007 time. Due to the Landlord giving me the premises with the scope to sell i was suprised a couple of months of setting up and operation when the Council visitor informed me that the premises should only be used as a Warehouse not for Retail! Went back to the Landlord and found out that this was the case so had to close the business down!

Now because i had the occupied the premises for a couple of months i owed a few months Business Rates on it. At the time though the Council didn't even know i had abandoned the premises and was sending reminders etc to the premises which were not being forwarded to me at the address i was staying. After about 1 year later or so i received a final notice from the Council finally at the address i was staying. Needless to say i telephoned them up and informed them that this was the very first letter i had ever seen and that they possibly couldn't expect me to pay the amount in full at this time. They decided to put my account on hold because of this and give me time to gather payment and made an admittance that they were in the wrong concerning following policy as far as communication was concerned. They also realised that i would find it difficult to pay because of my current circumstance of having to close the business down. After holding the account for about another year and some discussion with a Council representative i was advised i might be liable for hardship releif which i applied for but was not granted. The account was still on hold.

During the time thereafter up until now i lost my job (another casulty of the financial crises). I am now claiming a basic benefit on the state to help to see me through whilst i am looking for a job. I currently live with my parents and do not have any assests of my own. Within the last few weeks i have received another Final Notice from the Council for my busines rates. I again have telephoned them up and now have been given one month longer to sort this out before i have to call them next week. They fully well realise i cannot pay and know my circumstances. For me it doesnt really make sense for them to serve a Court Summons and then a Liabilty Order. The state knows i am unemployed and cannot pay but it seems the Council doesnt!

Regardless i am going to have to telephone them next week concerning my circumstances, whats the best course of action for me take here guys going forwards? Should i just let them serve the summons etc and attend court? Whats the worst that could happen considering my circumstances? I wouldnt mind paying a reduced amount per month but after indicating that and the amount to the Council representative early this month i was told it wouldn't be enough.

Thanks for listening!

What is the amount they are claiming is owed and for how many months ?

Hi thanks for the reply, its £2,000 for a charge period of 5 months.

Jeez, that one hell of a lot for business rates for a couple of months, was it a large warehouse ? Is this with the small business rate relief ?

You will need the date you moved in and the date you moved out plus the annual bus rate to check that sum yourself.

Most claims are turned down at the first instance, you only have to look in the benefits section to see that, so seek an appeal. If you're not sure of the figures and why, you can send the council a Subject Access Request which carries a maximum fee of £10 (so send the max) and you will get back everything the council has on you. You can be specific and enforce the really important things by naming them specifically, you can also ask for the transcript of any phone calls you made to them as well.

Don't give in too easily, councils are very sneaky and don't give a damn about circumstances and long as they get their beer money. They are also renown for staff not being up to speed on things so if you feel that you are not getting justice then write by recorded to the 'Head of Finance' and put it to him.

You must receive a responce for the sar within 12 days and receive the by another 30 days after that by law.

A

I would also like to add that the council might have said the amount you offered isn't enough, but they certainly won't turn it away (if it's in cash then they legally cannot turn it away). If you can pay anything it might be a good idea to do so, even if it's only a small amount, because at least this way you can show that you've been trying to pay it off which will look better than not paying it off at all.

Jeez, that one hell of a lot for business rates for a couple of months, was it a large warehouse ? Is this with the small business rate relief ?

 

You will need the date you moved in and the date you moved out plus the annual bus rate to check that sum yourself.

 

Most claims are turned down at the first instance, you only have to look in the benefits section to see that, so seek an appeal. If you're not sure of the figures and why, you can send the council a Subject Access Request which carries a maximum fee of £10 (so send the max) and you will get back everything the council has on you. You can be specific and enforce the really important things by naming them specifically, you can also ask for the transcript of any phone calls you made to them as well.

 

Don't give in too easily, councils are very sneaky and don't give a damn about circumstances and long as they get their beer money. They are also renown for staff not being up to speed on things so if you feel that you are not getting justice then write by recorded to the 'Head of Finance' and put it to him.

 

You must receive a responce for the sar within 12 days and receive the by another 30 days after that by law.

 

A

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes it was a pretty large warehouse well it was to me i am not sure about the definition of large and small but to me it seems pretty big! What is small business rates releif? Am i able to get this even if i only occupied the premises for a few months.

I have the recorded dates on paper here from the Council concerning when i moved and moved out. Where can i find the annual business rate from?

When you say most claims are turned down are you referring to my claim for relief as i mentioned? That happaned a was a while ago so am i able to still appeal and also the reason that i was told it was turned down was because it did not serve the interest and purpose of the general public to grant me releif as, and this is the example the Council representive gave me. Because i didn't have any public employees working for me this is one of the considerations that would have taken for this aspect weather it was in public interest or not.

Should i send the SAR after i have appeal? Some more guidence on this would be great!!!! And do not worry i do not plan on giving up by no means.