Hi, Sorry if this post comes off as part seeking advice and part rant but I've turned green and turned Hulk with letter I got this morning. I'm in receipt of Housing Benefit, JSA and Council Tax exemption, but I got a letter back in August saying under ConDems new Eugenics program I need to pay some Council Tax and was sent a bill for £19pcm. I honestly couldn't afford to even pay that, so I marched off to my benefit office in Harringay to ask for advice - they made me fill in a 'Discretionary Payment Award' form. I got it all stamped having shown the evidence and forms needed. Form is stamped 26th October 2013. I phoned in early December to see where my claim was at, having heard nothing, and they said it was still being processed and to wait another few weeks. As of beginning of February 2014 I'd heard nothing, so I phoned again - still being processed. Then last week I get a letter for Court Summons for non payment of Council Tax. I owe a mighty £95 - but they've added £125 for 'Court Summons Fee' - (which to my understanding involves someone near a photocopier printing off a letter and licking a stamp). I once again marched off to Harringay Benefits Office full of self-righteous indignation only to be told it's MY Fault I didn't pay Council Tax even though I received no further demands or letters, phone calls or anything - so wrongly assumed my claim for relief was in hand and let sleeping dogs lie... My question, and my rant, is what can I do about the Court Summons Fee? I accept I owe the outstanding CTX and am happy to pay it as well as I can - a couple of pounds a week, but how does this fee help anyone? I'm living on food banks and grace - luckily I have a reasonably strong mind but I can imagine this sort of bullcrap could easily push a desperate person over the edge and for what? It will cost Harringay council a helluva lot more than £95 to take me to court, instruct bailiffs, have more personnel sat at more typewriters to post letters, etc. .. What's the damn point? Ideological? for the sake of it? I'm at a loss.

The following story is proof if any is needed that Judges will not tolerate debtors threatening bailiffs with violence. The story was featured in the news yesterday. The link to the story is here and a 'word copy' of the article is below: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/crime/man-who-threatened-bailiff-with-knife-avoids-jail-to-look-after-elderly-mother-1-5883008 A 45-year-old man who threatened a bailiff with a knife after he came round to collect an unpaid £800 council tax bill has avoided a jail sentence. Philip Devenport, of Marlow Road, Towcester, was found guilty after a trial at Northampton Magistrates’ Court of a public order offence. The court heard the bailiff called at Devenport’s home address on 6th September last year. Devenport swore at the bailiff and shut the door in his face. The bailiff then knocked on the door again and Devenport opened the door with a knife in his hand. The bailiff then went back to his car to complete a report of the incident and, a short while later, Devenport then walked past and threatened him again. Ron Mineards, defending, said the offence was clearly aggravated by the fact it was against a bailiff and involved him being threatened with a knife. The district judge presiding over the case said he “could not think of many more serious examples of a public order offence” but decided not to send Devenport to jail as he was the full-time carer for his elderly mother. Devenport was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He must compete a 10-day course, pay costs of £620, victim surcharge of £80 and compensation to the bailiff of £85.

Okay so this is a bit messy! Basically (after 3 years) a baliff company send me their breakdown - my payments their charges - they show I did pay them all of my debt AND charges of over £400!!! However, council still asks for the money and even has set up a commital hearing!!! But I try to explain it quickly: Basically I owe the council a sum of £4019 for council tax 10/11, 11/12, 12/13. I was shocked when I found out the sum! I had one bailiff company coming to me in 10/11 and the same in 11/12. I used to pay them a lot of money - after paying them all together over 2400£ I stopped as the more I paid the more I owed! They never provided me with a breakdown nor did the council help me out in this case. I got into debt for 11-12 and 12-13 , because I was to say at least confused about what is happening with my payments! However I did try to set up a payment plan for 12/13 with a new bailiff company who called me horrible names. I was devasted when I found out that I have 2 commital hearings and that I owe the council over £4000 (well now I know I only owe them max 2000£! but they do not seem to know). My partner however said something cannot be right and so we called the council so they can send us their breakdown of what I owe them and what I pay. My partner saw then that I made almost no payments according to their papers, however had proof of paying them at least 400£ in 2012/13 which did not show. So I emailed them and they said these payments were calculated in my 2010/11 payments simply because they are the oldest outstanding debts. Fair enough .But that would mean I paid £0 in 3 years! impossible! Thank God I also asked them to ask the bailiff company to send me a breakdown of their charges as they never did and was surprised to see that this time I did receive one! And what did I see there?!!! I paid MY FULL DEBT for 2010/11 and crazy charges of £400!!! So my question is: WHY DO THE COUNCIL DOES NOT KNOW THAT?!?!?! They must know because Phoenix has the breakdown as they have send it to me! Plus how can I get those charges back? They charged me stuff like: 250£ van costs and the again 50£ van costs and never picked anything up! and other crazy charges!! The biggest problem is that because of their mistakes I owe the council for 11/12 and 12/13 because at one point I stopped paying as my debt was growing the more I paid whch was ridicioulous! I was advised to write the CEO of the council - which I will do and I have attached the breakdown and evidenve of my payments. But I will be still left with a courts hearing and bailiffs on my neck for this year. So I want him to call all actions off and let me pay my debt off to the council withing 10months with monthly direct debit payments. I think I am quite reasonable here?! They made a fool out of me, messed up my finances, let me miss days of work, stress etc! DO you think he will accpet my offer and cancel my hearing and call of the bailiffs from 2012/2013? Please help me guys! I feel totally confused - but as well happy to be able to proof that I do not owe a penny for 2010/11! Cant undertsand why they still ask me for it and want me to go to court.... So I do own them 2000£ instead of 4000! Which is quite a difference....

Hello all, Firstly thank you to all of you for your invaluable help on here. Just a bit of background .. . I have an ongoing dispute involving my local council, MP and bailiff company.. . I have been reading here your very helpful posts to other people over the last couple of months and will in the fullness of time put the full details of my story on here, as it will highlight the lies and deceipt of a big bailiff firm, which I know many others have suffered at the hands of and the subsequent reduction of some very large and 'fraudulent fees' charged by said bailiff firm, however because of the possibility of further legal action would like to avoid specifics. this bailiff firm claimed recently to have levied upon a vehicle for council tax, and subsequently charged levy fees and attendance to remove fees against that vehicle. I questioned the vehicle upon which they levied as our own vehicle is on a hire purchase agreement and was given a registration number that not only isn't ours, but according to the DVLA doesn't even exist. However I would like to know from someone more knowledgable than me on here please how much basis of truth there is in the following statement from the bailiff company in question: 'I must take this opportunity to clarify your misunderstanding regarding legislation surrounding the seizure of a vehicle which has been obtained on Hire Purchase; you may not be aware we are entitled to seize goods where there is an element of ownership of the debtor. With goods on finance there is a point in time when ownership of the asset passes to the debtor or that it maybe that the finance company are prepared to waive their interest as long as any outstanding balance is settled from the sale proceeds. Either way we are entitled to pursue assets if there is potential ownership by the debtor' 'Please be advised that whilst the act of levying by our bailiff was correct, in this case I have removed the Levy and associated fees from your file, total £184.50 in an effort to resolve your complaint' Your thoughts are welcomed, as this goes against my understanding briefing paper/ stnadard notes SN04103 of the commons library on 'The current regulations of bailiffs' specifically the following part: 3.4 Limits on a bailiff’s powers to seize goods A bailiff cannot seize goods belonging to anyone other than the person named on the distress warrant. For example, the bailiff cannot take goods which belong to the defendant's partner. A bailiff cannot seize goods subject to a hire purchase or rental agreement (however, goods on credit sale can be seized because they are deemed to belong to the debtor). Any goods which the bailiff takes must be likely to fetch money at auction. Bailiffs will not remove goods if they think that they will not fetch enough to pay something towards the warrant after the cost of removing and selling them at auction has been paid. By law, bailiffs cannot generally take:  items or books which the defendant needs for his job or business, such as tradesman's tools or other equipment necessary for personal use in employment or business (however, a bailiff acting for Poll Tax, Council Tax, VAT and Tax may be able to do so);  essential household items which the defendant and his family need (such as clothing or bedding);9  items which are leased, rented or are on hire purchase agreements; or  goods which may have already been seized by bailiffs acting under another warrant By law, bailiffs also cannot take:  cars which are bought on hire purchase; or  equipment which does not belong to a business (for example, office furniture, machinery and vehicles which may be leased)10 Many thanks for your help in advance.. . and I hope that very soon I can post the full details of this case once all parties involved have seen sense. Aggreived!

Hi Folks, I moved to Edinburgh whilst looking for work. I'm on IB-JSA and applied for Housing and Council Tax Benefit. I have been awarded both but not the Second Adult Rebate that I specifically applied for. I share the flat with another person who is in Full-Time edcuation and there is no-one else. As far as I'm concerned, to quote the Council's website: "The highest amount is 100 per cent of the council tax due on the property. To qualify for this you must be a full-time student and the person who has to pay the council tax and all your second adults must be receiving ... Income-based Job Seekers Allowance." Now, I have been awarded a Council Tax reduction, although it doesn't say on the document what is the percentage and why this much (and why Second Adult Rebated wasn't awarded). I have calculated that the reduction is circa 41%. Even though, first - according to what the Council writes itself, I can legally claim 100% reduction, second I simply can't afford to pay £200 in November, and then £205 in December, as they ask for. With the rent, gas/electricity, and (reduced) Council Tax), I'd literally have nothing left. In fact, I'll have to sell things to buy food! Any suggestions how should I persue the Council to award me the Second Adult Rebate which I'm legally entitled to?

Hello All I regulary visit these forums for advice and have always been able to find answers to any issues I have had, however I am having difficulty in getting a clear understanding of my current options. I currently have an outstanding Council Tax debt which is now in the hands of Ross & Roberts Ltd. I, like many others, am long term unemployed (18 months) and although I was claiming council tax benefit until March, upon receiving what I thought was a solid offer of employment I closed my claim. That position fell through and after months of continually trying to find employment I found that my council tax debt was spiralling out of control. In July a liability order was made by my local Magistrates Court and has now since been sent to the bailiffs. I had a visit from the bailiff (I did not answer the door or have any communication with him) on Friday 11th October @ 7.45am. He posted through a 'First Notice' and left. This morning (although the form has been dated from yesterday) I was visited again, and again did not have any communication with him. He posted through a Form 7 - Notice of Seizure and Inventory of Goods listing my vehicle (big thanks to whichever neighbour told him it was mine). There are a few issues that I require clarification on: 1. The total outstanding (handwritten) on the 'First Notice' was £293 higher than the amount sent to the bailiff in June. I believe this is not the first time this bailiff has inflated the costs and whilst I acknowledge it is happening a lot I would like to know what my options are here. 2. I have not had any letters or visits that would constitute a 'Second Visit'. It has gone straight from First Visit -> Notice of Seizure. Is this allowed? 3. There is a handwritten note on the Notice of Seizure that says the following: [Details of Car] Registered Keeper - TBC Viechle will be siezed clamped + removed unless contact made. [sic] Is the clamping allowed? The car is parked on a private car parking space (owned by the property but not attached). 4. Does the Form 7 constitute a Levy? or is there a seperate notice for this? The Form 7 is signed by the bailiff but not signed by me. It is important to note that I have written provisional letters to both the bailiff and the council requesting for the debt to be returned and have requested that the bailiff provide a full breakdown of charges. Any help or advice that you can give will be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks

Local Authorities are a law to themselves and this is especially true when you consider the way Magistrates' Courts are exploited by councils for rubber stamping thousands of liability orders in a process which typically takes up less than an hour of courtroom time. It's usual for councils to be awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds costs in respect of each court application. Unlike typical hearings where Judges determine the level (if any); councils tell the Justices Clerk in advance how much Magistrates should award. This is what happens in reality but wonder if what they do is in accordance with the law. The Magistrates Courts' Act 1980 provides at section 64, the power to award costs. If anyone can confirm; the question is, will the above be the relevant legislation applying to costs, Magistrates award local authorities in respect of Liability Order applications. This would presumably include summons costs that councils offer householders the option to pay, in exchange for halting the court action. Regulation 34(2) is the relevant part of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, making provision for application to the Magistrates' court. Regulation 34 goes on to exclude a couple of sections of the Magistrates' court Act, but neither of these are in connection with section 64 (costs). If section 64 of the 1980 Act is the relevant law for which Council Tax costs must conform, there are some irregularities which would seem to question the legality of the summons charge councils force us to pay. Anyone throw some light on this?

Hi I am new to this and im looking for some advice to help my mum. Unfortunately my mums bank account has been frozen by Charles Anderson Glasgow sheriff officers! As i am aware she had a payment scheme with them but fell behind and her last payment was late.Not that I am making excuses but we have just lost my gran and my mum has not been herself lately. They have taken £1700 that was in her account. This was money that my gran left to her!!! After speaking to the company they said that there was nothing that can be done to resolve this she was default on her payment scheme but surely there is something ??? My mum is not working at the moment and is receiving benefits. She has been advised to sign the mandate so that the money can be taken but she will not sign this. The bank have said there is nothing they can do the money is in her account and they can take it! Can someone please advise if there is anything we can do she has nothing to live on and that money was all she had left. please help (A worried daughter)

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help with a few questions! A few days ago I had a letter posted through the door from Ross and Roberts bailiffs. I phoned the bailiff and he told me it was for unpaid council tax from my previous address (I must have missed payments without realising), some of which dated from after I had already left the house and moved to my new address. I told the bailiff that I would not pay without speaking to the council first, so the next day I called the council and they told me I can appeal in writing. They said they didn't have a record of my new address until about 6 months after I had actually moved they had kept billing me and sent all the bills and a litigation order to my old address and I had never received them, the first I knew of the debt was the bailiff’s letter. They told me I could appeal by explaining the situation in writing and sending copies of my old and new housing contracts to show the date I moved, and then they would consider reducing the bill and recalling the bailiffs. I was planning to write to the bailiffs to say I am dealing directly with the council in the hope they stop chasing me, as well as sending the appeal letter to the council. Is there any specific information or wording I need to include in either letter for them to be effective? And If I do this, and pay the council directly for the part of the bill I actually owe after appealing, will I still have to pay the bailiff fees, or will they leave me alone then??

Hello, we all have a separate contract with the landlord. The council tax says that he is liable to pay however, one of the clauses in the contract is : "You must pay for all electricity, gas and phone bills, water charges and Council Tax relating to the property that apply during the period of the tenancy." I would like to know if this clause overrides what the Council said. Initially, my landlord kinda tried to get me to pay the tax for the next year as well (I am only living there as a non-student for 12 months). I am not a student. I live with two students. One of them stopped being a student and moved out messing up with the discount one receives from the Council since he stopped being a student. I do not want to pay the council tax and if I have to pay, I don't want to pay an extra 200 pounds.

My Council Tax debt was passed to Swift (Merthyr Tydfil) for collection mid April 2013. I contacted the Council and advised them I could pay the whole outstanding amount on or around 5th May 2013. They advised I had to deal direct with Swift. Received a letter from Swift, giving me 7 days in which to pay, prior to bailiff attending. I rang Swift who said they could only hold the account for 7 days after which time I would have to contact the bailiff and additional charges would apply. I was still unable to pay for another 12 days. A bailiff attended around 1st May. As far as I am aware, no one knocked as I was in all day, but they left a letter which incurred £22 bailiff charges. On 3rd May I paid the whole Council Tax bill direct to the Council via their website (not the £22 bailiff costs) online. About 10 days later I received a nice letter from Swift thanking me for my recent payment (even though I payed it directly to the Council), but that there was still £22 outstanding on my account with Swift. Rightly or wrongly, I ignored it as I recall reading somewhere that bailiff costs cannot be enforced through the original distress warrant as the warrant only covers the council tax debt and court costs. I assumed that would be the end of the matter. A Bailiff attended on 1st June to collect the £22. He stated he had come to collect the £22 owed in bailiff fees. I advised him the Council Tax debt had been paid and that the warrant did not cover bailiff fees. To which he replied, "We have contacted the Council and they have advised us to contact you directly for our fees" He replied "If you don't pay now, I will leave another letter, with charges of £16.50 and return to remove goods to cover the debt" I said " I didn't think the warrant allowed you to do that" He said "I'm not going to argue with you, we can remove goods to collect the outstanding fees" I closed the door. Can someone point me in the right direction as to where I stand please.

Cut a long story short I had an interview under caution as I was being accused of claiming benefits I was not entitled to namely Council Tax. I was off work for 6 months and on ESA benefits & council tax, but went back to work on a part-time restricted hours basis. DWP said I was entitled to the benefits as my hours were low - but I stopped claiming ESA. I was then made unfairly redundant and received no pay from my employer for 5 months and claimed JSA as I was unemployed. I told the Council Fraud squad this, and they accepted it was not fraud, but wanted all the money back + 30% which I paid in instalments. But they included the 5 month JSA period, They never supplied me a breakdown of how they arrived at the figure which was a whopping £2,350.00 - when I questioned this figure and found they had overcharged me by £234.00 + the £70 for the 30% overcharge they said: " You were working as a teacher and claiming JSA and STARRING IN A FILM!!!' - What the hell? When I asked them where they got this info from I got no response, I kept writing to them, they sent me a letter 3 months later saying" "You have taken too long to query this and we will not reinvestigate" Followed by "You have 14 days to pay in full or a summons will be sent and you will have to pay an extra £100 + a WHOLE YEAR'S COUNCIL TAX UP FRONT' in a magistrates' court DO I HAVE A CASE IN COURT? I'm very good at maths - and they actually owe me £70 due to the fine being disproportionate. If it goes to court surely they have to evidence their accusation yes? If anyone has any good advice - I would appreciate it!

Hi, I have a council tax debt that I am currently paying off to Alex M Adamson. I believed I had a good deal with them, and was steadily paying my debt off each month. Come April, something went wrong with my payment however. For some reason the money was not taken off my account, and it took me 9 days (exactly) before I realized this. At this point, I immediately paid the amount that was due that month. Two days later, I received an earnings arrestment schedule. Granted, this was sent the day before I made my payment. I contact Alex M Adamson, and explained the issue to them - that the late payment was a mistake, and that it has already been paid. They understood, and agree that no earnings arrestment will be made, and I will be allowed to pay off my debt at the pace i'm currently doing. Fast forward to this month, last week. Me and my flatmate have gotten our hands on some extra money, and decide to pay the remaining amount off, roughly £300. Just to be sure of the exact amount I contact Alex M Adamson again to doublecheck the exact debt, and i'm told that my balance is over £400. Infact, the exact amount is £114 more then I expected. They explain that this is the charge for making an earnings arrestment (£57), and as there is two of us on the debt it's a total of £114. Now my questions: 1. As no earnings arrestment was made, can they actually charge me this amount? 2. Can they really give me an earnings arrestment for being a few days late, without giving me any kind of reminder or notice beforehand? 3. Considering that me and my flatmate are otherwize considered to be "one person" and jointly responsible for the debt, can they really charge us both like this? I have a few friends who share a house between 5 of them, if they were in this situation that would be almost £300 for being a few days late! 4. Lastly, on the earnings arrestment schedule that me and my flatmate originally received the amount says current balance +£57 fee. We each recieved a copy of this. If we are jointly responsible, and this fee still stands, shouldn't the paperwork we recieved say the total amount? I attempted to discuss this with Alex M Adamson directly, but they simply said "This is the amount you have to pay. I can't do anything else for you". I could not get any answers to my questions from them. Do I have anything on my side here, or do I just have to pay up the £114 extra and curse myself for having entered a number wrong or something when I tried to make the payment last month?

Hi A friend of mine is a single mum with three young children who has suddenly started receiving bailiff visits. It turns out this is to recover an unpaid debt of £82 in respect of council tax to Solihull Borough Council. What happened was that she originally received a bill for £1010. She set up a direct debit but something went wrong and it hadn't been paying out. The council wrote several times, but she works long hours in a job that won't let her take time out to make calls, and one thing led to another and she got a summons last August. She tried calling the council and eventually took time off to go and see them. At this point she had also been trying to get forms from the council for income support and housing benefit, but they'd not sent them out. The lady she spoke to said they'd put a hold on proceedings while benefits were being processed. Subsequently, the bill was reduced to £404. A payment plan was agreed at £82 per month. She paid the first instalment over the phone, followed by several others on direct debit. All went fine until she suddenly received a letter left by a bailiff demanding substantially more, and saying this was in conjunction with unpaid council tax. When she contacted the council, they stated the March payment had not been received. For whatever reason, the direct debit had failed but since nobody had notified her, she didn't know. The council say they acted in accordance with their process and - get this - because the account had previously gone to summons back in August, when the last payment failed they sent it straight to the Bailiff. She received no Liability Order (since the process was suspended immediately after receiving the summons), and no 14 day notice warning her about the bailiff. The council will not take the debt back. I am aware of several things, namely: * She comes under the classification of "Vulnerable Household" as far as the bailiff guidelines are concerned (I know this is just voluntary and not enforceable * No 14 day notice was received * No Liability Order appears to have been issued * No attempt was made to deduct the amount through Attachment of Benefits (even though the procedure on Solihull's own site says this will take place first). I am also unsure about how legitimate it is to go from a summons which was issued on a different amount, pre benefit deduction, to then assume that allows the process to be resumed at the Distress point so long after. Notwithstanding the unreasonable nature of the Council's actions. Before I send off a letter to the above effect, can someone please advise? The debt is now £284 after three bailiff visits (she knows not to let them in, and the car is parked elsewhere) and she feels trapped in the house. Please advise. Grateful for all advice. Weirdbeard

Basically I completed a claim form in July 2010 stating my earnings as £722 nett pay As requested I enclosed my last two payslips which showed £626 nett pay (BR tax had been applied). Benefits office calculated benefit on the amounts on the payslips, which I was unaware of until I recently received a copy of all paperwork. I did not understand the award letter so assumed the calculations to be correct and made rent and CTax payment amounts as shown. Following award letters I treated the same- paying what I was told I had to pay. After a benefit review in Dec 2012 I was told I owed over £2,600 housing benefit and over £880 in CTax benefit. Bearing in mind my income in July 2010 was £722 nett and only reached the sum of £785 nett in Dec 2012 after a 3% payrise, I wondered how this huge amount of "overpayment" could have happened! It is only now, after failed appeals and requesting a tribunal hearing that I understand how these amounts came about, that they used the payslip figures rather than the declared figure on the form. I know this now as I have copies of original claim etc. I have been told that I should have spotted their error from the very first award letter which states "weekly income". I understood the "weekly income" to be an amount that can be taken into account for benefit purposes and not literally my "weekly income". I also hope to argue the "Notify us of any changes in CIRCUMSTANCES" statement at the bottom of letters as my circumstances had not changed - I was still only working two days a week and living in the same council flat. WHY don't they say "Changes in Income and/or circumstances"???? I am fully aware NOW that as my income increased, either because of a miniscule pay increase or annual budget tax code allowances being increased, I should have informed the benefits office. Is there anyone out there think I have a chance of winning my appeal? or can advise me of how to present my case at the tribunal?? Please?? Jan

I received a letter from Rossendales bailiffs yesterday t say they're coming to my house in 24 hours t levy goods for an old council tax bill. Ive received no other letters from them and was unaware i owed the money. They are saying i owe them over £600 but when i rang the council the bill is only £280. Ive asked the council if i can deal direct with them but they said i have t take it up with the bailiffs. Ive rang the bailiff t set up a payment plan but he said they're unable to do that as he is a removal bailiff and its his job to levy goods. I will have sufficient funds t pay the £280 on the 15th and i'm wondering if i pay the council direct and not the bailiffs will the council tax bill get paid or will it go to Rossendales? I understand i will still owe Rossendales money if the council receives it but surely they wont be able to gain lawful access as i wont owe them for council tax?

Hi all, I have been in the wrong council tax band, for many years and it has now been corrected. Whilst being in the wrong band, I received ,summons and liability orders, for which I now know were for the wrong amounts. Can the council, still claim that they were right in doing this, as I did owe an amount, but not the amount I actually did owe due to being on the wrong band. After the banding was amended, it cleared all the arrears that I owed at present, and all other years. I would appreciate any help, regarding this. Thanks.

Please help, In a mixture of getting annoyed with the council not providing me with a proper bill and sticking my head in the sand due to starting a very stressful job I got behind with my council tax. Until the end of August I lived with my ex who was uneployed, and I was a student. At the end of August he moved out and I started a full time job. In October I received a bill with my exes name on it even though he had moved out and had informed them of this. I phoned the council and asked for a new bill, with a breakdown. They just sent me the same bill again. This happened a few times, and eventually my ex and I went to speak to them in person and they did reduce the bill a little but still did not include a breakdown, and the bill still had his name on it. Then, without hearing about a court date, or receiving any sort of summons I received a letter telling me that the court would be sending Bailiffs to collect goods to the value of the debt. I earned less than £13000 last year, does this count as I was a student for part of the year? Should I be paying council tax at all? I want to send the council a letter, I have worked out that I can afford to give them about £20 a month. I have started drafting a letter but am really struggling. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing in regard to my council tax for the year 2012/2013. Please can I have a breakdown of this bill? I have requested this several times by phone and in person and have not yet received a copy. My total income last year before tax was less than £13000. I thought that this would qualify me for a 100% council tax reduction as it is classed as a 'low income'. I have no savings and my car is worth less than £1000. I don't own anything valuable that I can sell to cover costs. I have had a letter from the courts, and visits from Bailiffs. However I did not receive a letter informing me that the matter was going to court, nor did I ever receive an accurate bill. The Bailiffs themselves have not been following the code of conduct. They appear to have added £300 in charges to the amount set by the courts, which they have refused to give me a breakdown of. On the occasion that I spoke to them they had gained entry to the secure building by posing as a delivery driver so that they could get to my front door. They are now sending threatening letters telling me that they will force entry to my flat, which is illegal as they have not completed a levy. Due to these circumstances I refuse to deal with this company and will only deal with yourselves direct. I can only afford £20 a month and have included a list of my income and expenditure. Please accept the included £20 as the first payment towards this. signed 'a very annoyed and upset council tax payer' Just to note, I haven't allowed the Bailiff into my home. When they tricked their way in I only opened the door slightly as I was very unwell. I told the person that the amount was under question and I wouldn't be paying. I then fainted. Luckily I fainted forward and that closed the door, otherwise my things would probably have vanished. Thank you for reading this and for any advice you can give me.

Newbie here, hope someone can help Without realising I missed the May 2012 Council Tax monthly payment. I was made redundant about then, so was a stressful time. Next thing I know there's a Summary Warrant on 1 August and Scott & Co phoning me to pay them. Not sure how there can be a warrant against me without my defending myself? I told Scott & Co that I wasn't happy paying the surcharge (I would have paid off the Council Tax in Feb not Jan 2013), but proposed making an immediate payment to cover the missed month and the remaining 5 payments by monthly Standing Order. They agreed and sent me a letter saying they agreed to my proposal. I telephoned them again a few days later and they again agreed to the total 6 payments, and I confirmed the arrangement in a letter to them. The 6 payments meant I would pay the Council Tax, but not the surcharge. I set up the Standing Order and forgot about it. Then out of the blue, on 20 March 2013 they sent a letter saying 'despite our previous reminder' (there was no reminder) ... 'your repayment remains in arrears. Your repayment programme has now been cancelled ...' Can they make an agreement, which pays off the Council Tax, and then once the agreement has been completed come back and cancel it and demand the surcharge? Sent them a letter on 27 March pointing this out to them, and on the same date got a Charge from them, where they have added 'other outlays ...' of £93.70, which is a lot to add to a disputed £133. Can they increase the amount owed just like that? Should I argue it out with them, complain to the Council, Financial Ombudsman - or just pay up before they keep adding more? Any advice would be useful.

If a residential dwelling has been re-banded to a lower (less expensive) Council Tax band, how is the refund for past payments of Council Tax calculated where occupants received some Council Tax Benefit (varying periodically according to occasional changes in circumstances over the years) and they paid the balance due: Are the occupants entitled to full refund of the difference between the bands regardless of Council Tax Benefit payments, or would the Council Tax Benefit that has been paid be deducted from the refund due? Will a banding change to a lower band make the residents liable for over-payment of Council Tax Benefit even though obviously the wrong original banding was not their fault? If the Council is months late in implementing the confirmed determined change in banding and has delayed issuing new bills and providing a refund, do the occupants have to continuing paying Council Tax bills based on the confirmed wrong and higher band meanwhile or are occupants entitled to a correct bill from the point the Council knows the banding is wrong?

Hello all, A friend recommended I post my situation on here, basically A few months ago I received a letter out of the blue, stating I owe just shy of £1000 pound in council tax bills for somewhere I lived when I just turned 18 with 2 other friends(at the time) - the thing is they are trying to make me liable for all of the debt, something which I couldn't pay off myself, I simply don't earn enough and they know this, I send them my accounts every 3 months, at the minute working for myself I earn less than 72 pound a week and that comes in every few months or so. I have tried explaining I will pay what I am liable for I even sent the council tax two letters and a payment plan and I haven't received any correspondence back from the Council and now I have a letter from Rossendales saying see you Monday with the van pretty much, any help please? Or at least where I can proceed forward? Any help really appreciated, no matter what happens I will not be bullied by them.

A a current thread highlights Harrow Borough Council, apparently allowing its bailiff contractor, Newlyn, to charge a £235 fee for a single attendance in connection with Council Tax enforcement. Harrow council caused controversy when it called for its bailiff contractor to hand back 8% of its fees collected from householders who owed money to the council. Is this why Newlyns are having to inflate their fees to the point of extortion? Coincidentally, a Freedom of Information request has been submitted to Harrow which might throw light on why the council allows its bailiff contractor to impose these levels of charges.

My partner built up a lot of outstanding CT in 2011 and had a visit from a man from Bristow and Sutor and agreed to make monthly payments of £65. They sent her a DD mandate which she gave to the bank and payments were took every month no problem. about a month after the last payment went a letter was posted while she was out they had visited to remove goods or take payment of £200. it seems the DD Mandate they gave us was a month short. Then we had a visit from them, I said she wouldn't be paying and we had wrote to their office, the bailiff shouted loudly trampled her flowerbed and said they would be returning with a locksmith, they posted a letter giving us a few hours to come up with the money or they would be forcing entry citing Khazanchi & Another v Faircharm Investments and McLeod v Butterwick March 1998. they didn't return. I got my partner to pay the outstanding CT to the council via their online facility and informed them this cleared all outstanding as far as the council are concerned but they refuse to instruct B&S to back off who still they still think they are entilited to £140 (late fee, for visit i know exactly but whatever it is it cant be right shes already paid for two visits they made no collection of goods so my understanding is we shouldn't have to pay. the only reason there was a delay in the last payment is because they made a mistake, thankyou for any help.

Hi, I have found a nice house that I'd like to rent. The landlord is going abroad for a year and has asked me to pay the council tax and bills directly to him. I understand that this is not commonly done and have a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me answer: 1. I suspect that the landlord has not received permission from his mortgage lender to rent out the house and that that's the reason for not wanting to allow me to pay the council tax in my name. If that is the case, how would this affect my rights as tenants? In other words, if he is not allowed to rent out will my tenancy agreement with him be valid should problems arise between him and his lender? 2. In the event of a fire or a break-in, will our contents insurance be valid if the overall building insurance isn't valid because the landlords failed to obtain permission from their lender? 3. Can I be listed on the electoral roll if I'm not registered as an occupant at the address (e.g., through paying council tax in my name)? Would a lease agreement be sufficient for this purpose? Does the electoral roll office and council sync their data? I was ready to sign the agreement but I now feel nervous about the implications of this. The landlord seems very nice and honest, but I would also understand if he is trying to avoid getting permission since it might increase his mortgage. The question is how it affects my rights as a tenant and whether it's risky for me to go along with this arrangement... Thanks for any insight or advice you might have!

If this post serves no other purpose, it may at least include some useful links It seems Local Authorities, for their own advantage, are selectively implementing the law under the 1992 Council Tax regulations. Council's recovery policies reveal how they're circumventing regulations and using the threat of a Liability Order as bargaining power to negotiate take-up of Direct Debit. After recovery action has commenced, it seems council tax payers who agree terms laid down by their respective councils are having recovery action reversed. Concessions differ from one authority to another but include: i) Summons and costs being withdrawn, ii) Reinstatement of instalments, and, iii) The Authority agreeing NOT to apply for a liability order Generally, the condition is that the account holder switches to Direct Debit – the council's preferred payment method. West Lindsey District Council, for example state: The London Borough of Hillingdon offer this: Rutland County Council this: Wandsworth Borough Council Eastbourne Borough Council..... North East Lincolnshire, Ashford Borough, South Kesteven and Rother District Council, all offer some variation on a theme of this... There is of course an ulterior motive for this generosity in that the authorities secure more Direct Debit payers through their deals. However, it must be questioned whether or not it is lawful. The penalties, or court costs charged to the individual are based (or should be) on how many orders are applied for by the council. There are therefore far greater implications for the alleged debtor than simply whether or not a concession is given for the take-up of Direct Debit. Because of these concessions, the total costs are being split between fewer account payers, thus (theoretically) larger penalties are being charged to householders as a direct consequence of councils campaigning for a greater take-up of Direct Debit. As well as the added imposed burden this has on the rate payer, unless a specific clause in the legislation provides for the council to apply regulations discretionally, then the authority will almost certainly be breaching the Council Tax regulations. All councils have to adhere to set procedures laid down in statute whilst obtaining liability orders for council tax arrears through the court. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations state under regulation 34 exactly what steps the authority must take. These regulations are devised so meticulously that invariably when a householder appeals an unfavourable action, councils simply state their hands are tied and play their "procedures are laid down in statute” card. Interestingly though, if the authority is able to benefit by bending the rules (securing additional Direct Debit payers in this instance), it seems they view the law as optional. So to summarise, these penalties or court costs are being made higher because fewer householders are paying them as a direct consequence of our council's campaign for greater take-up of Direct Debit (the council's preferred payment method). And, unless a specific clause in the legislation provides for the council to apply regulations discretionally then the authority will almost certainly be breaking the law.