The local council were informed that we were moving out of the property and a forwarding address was given. We moved out on the 9/4/12. On the 10/5/12 I contacted the council because I had not received a bill for the final payment. They said they were dealing with it and have our forwarding address. I have just received a council tax statement from Aberdeen City Council and I am annoyed to say the least. They have asked us to pay £65 which is the right amount, but they have also added 198.48 as a statutory penalty because of late payment. The problem with this is that we have never received a letter from the council telling us how much we owe them from the last address. All we have had is the letter with the statutory penalty. I know councils are all powerful when it comes to getting the money you supposedly owe them, but it is their incompetence that’s has caused this. What can I do?

Here is something i have found Statute Barred Debt - Scotland In Scotland the law relating to the time period that a debt can no longer be pursued in the courts is different from the rest of the UK. Here is a brief guide on how you use the law to deal with creditors chasing you for old debts. What is a statute barred debt? Statute barred debts are debts which cannot be legally enforced. The Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Section 6 limits the timescale which a creditor can take legal action to recover their money to 5 years, provided the following conditions are met:- • There are no outstanding decrees against you, AND • No payments have been made towards the debt for the last 5 years, AND • No written communications with the creditors have taken place acknowledging the debt. Please not if the debt is in joint names then the above also applies to the joint party. If these conditions are met then you cannot be taken to court by the creditors. This does not clear the debt so it may appear on your credit file as outstanding. How to handle debt collectors and creditors You now believe your debt to be statute barred so what is the next step? How can you stop the debt collectors from ringing you at all hours? How can you stop their letters? This 3 stage action plan should stop them. 1. Find out if there are any decrees made against you. To do this you should contact the three credit reference agencies and check your credit file. 2. Obtain any information the company has on you through the Data Protection Act 1988 using this template letter. When writing to any finance company about a debt which you suspect is time barred never sign the letter. 3. Use this sample letter to write to the creditor stating that under Section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 applies to the debt and it is now time barred. Note: If the above has not worked and you are still receiving calls from debt collectors or finance companies looking for money then contact your local council's trading standards department and they'll help. Important Keep copies of all letters and send them by recorded delivery. Why do I say that you should never sign any letters? Well, some people think that there are a few unscrupulous finance and debt collection companies that have in the past used the signature attached to letters to forged letters from debtors acknowledging the debt! I don't have any proof of this but I am just let you know so you can make up your own mind. When writing to any debt collection company, make sure you head the letter up, "I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any other company or organisation that you claim to be representing."

Unfortunately there is a beak clause in our contract, this did not seem a problem at the time as the owner made it clear she did not want to sell the property. Unluckily for us her circumstances have changed and she now has to sell. We wouldn’t mind buying the property. But Aberdeen house prices are ridiculously high due to the oil industry. Yes the AT6 is the Scottish equivalent to the section 21

I just need a bit of info on what I can’t and can do. We have been living in our property for two and a half years. We signed an extension short term assured tenancy on the 14/11/2012 for another twelve months. We had a very cold email from our letting agents giving us notice to quit on the 13/3/2012 giving us 60 days notice, which comes in to effect on the 13/5/2012. This ironically is a Sunday and they are not open then. The relevant documents including the AT6 came by post two days later. We have found a place to move to, but the dates overlap by two weeks and it was difficult finding the deposit let a lone two sets of rent, all be it only two weeks worth on one. What I need to know is can we leave our current property early without having to pay up to the 13th of May. The letting agents seem to be very vague and have not given us an answer. On one phone call the lady said I don’t really deal with this sort of thing, but I will get my college to contact you and let you know. That was last week and I still haven’t been given a answer.