Hello, I am new to this forum and this is my first post. So Hello Everyone! I am a student and I have been living in a 1 bedroom flat for a year and a half. I am now moving out but my landlord wants proofs that I paid all the required bills before releasing my deposit. I have the electricity,gas,internet and water bill receipts. Since I am a full time university student, I have not been paying the council tax and did not inform the council I was living there. I never received a letter from the council requesting tax payments during this period. Is it too late to inform the council that I have been living there? Will I be penalised for not informing them although I am exempt from paying the council tax? Thank you Vinni

Hi, I have recently been (unfairly) dismissed and among many issues in regards to this employer, I have one issue, which I am not quite sure how to deal with. The contract states “if the company does not provide you with any work during the notice period, you will not be entitled to access any premises of the Company but you shall continue to receive your full remuneration and other benefits there under. Instead of crediting my bank account as usual, the company sent me a cheque for the week’s notice payment based on the Net Pay – an amount that would be correct if they had deducted tax and NI contribution. However, as this payment is not included on my payslips or the P45, I am left to suspect that the company pocketed the taxable portion and paid me the Net Pay equivalent. In hope to clarify this situation I wrote many emails and they replied to all of them but without being clear as to why the sum is based on the Net Pay. When I have asked them to provide me with details on how much exactly they have deducted for tax or NI contributions, they’ve simply ignored that part of the question. The company’s latest explanation is as follows: “The Company has paid you that sum equivalent to the net value of one week's wages as damages for you not being permitted to work out your notice period, this is not subject to tax and national insurance.” It seems that no matter what way I approach the question they deliberately do not tell me the details of why this is based on the Net Pay. Neither have they given me holiday pay that was accumulated for the week. Anyone has any advice on this? I thank you in advance for any help or advice you can give me.

I wonder if someone can help me. I am currently the co-owner as tenants-in-common, of a 3-bedroom house. I have the smaller share, though still a good chunk. It is mortgage free. Neither of us live there and it was being used for holiday-lets but this is no longer the case, as, among other reasons, it needs some updating. The problem is that my co-owner, a relative, is impossible to work with as a partner. He’s had complete control of the accounts from the beginning and refuses to let me see them. I know that the property had a considerable amount of income when it was being used as a holiday let, (mostly through an agent, so there is paperwork) but I have no idea what has happened to this money. He keeps demanding payment towards utility bills and for remedial works to the adjoining barn (which was supposed to have been funded by the aforementioned lettings income) but as he refuses to say what he’s done with the profits, I am unwilling to hand over any of my own money. I know I am entitled to complete disclosure but he is deliberately keeping the accounts from me. He says they are none of my business since I pay nothing towards utilities. Some time ago he started working on renovating the adjoining barn. I had explicitly asked to be consulted beforehand and kept informed of any costs and developments along the way but he ignored this request completely and went ahead anyway, so I had no chance to agree or disagree to anything. I also insisted that we meet to put together a declaration of interests but he refused this also. He now wants to buy my share but is offering what I see as an unfair sum. He is demanding payment for his labour and now states that he has spent nearly £20k of his own money and wants this back. I have told him that I am unhappy to pay for his labour as this was never agreed, but that I will pay my share of the costs as long as he can prove that he has paid for them out of his own pocket. He has sent me lots of receipts and invoices but no incomings (I know the house was being rented out for some time and we are talking over £20k in holiday let income) so I still do not know whether he has paid anything out of his own pocket. He is in fact refusing to show me any incomings or proof of whether it was declared to the tax office, which I strongly suspect it was not. He has bombarded me with various letters and threats, stating that I have shown no interest in the property (not true, but made very difficult by his constant lack of communication, refusal to answer questions, etc) and that I must sell him my share and at his price. He has contacted a solicitor who has also sent me a letter and threatened me with court action for forcing a sale. He states that his business interests have increased since he has spent his own money on the place. I would sell my share to him but I want a lot more than he is offering. I suggested that we get three estate agents to provide valuations for the property and go from there, which he did do, but the figures that came back I feel are all rather low and he has taken their absolute bottom valuations and given me the average. I would be happier to place the house on the open market at their top valuations and go from there but he does not want this to happen. He wants my share. I know that now is not a great time to sell but he is trying to bully me into selling to him. The main question I have is whether he has a legal leg to stand on as such. As far as I am aware, if we did not put together a declaration of interests, as I suggested, then our stakes do not alter and it would take a lot for him to prove otherwise. Things have become very nasty and he is behaving as if he owns the place. He has even gone so far as to threaten that he will call the police on me if I go there. I'd be grateful for any informed thoughts.

Hi I'm a landlord with single tenant in a property. Just received first letter of collection from Equita Baliff even though I have told council I'm not liable, tenant is. As usual the incompetent council is making this mess. What are my rights if the Baliff turns up. I have till date not had any other notices or evn final demands for payment. Debt is for this tax year as well. Can someone suggest how I can stop this bloddy mess since they are driving me insane and I would not know what to do if collectors turned up, even though I'm 100% not liable. Many thanks for any advise.

hi today i got a court summons from the dvla to appear on 20/1/12back in july i bought a car and the seller was supposed to send off v5 but after two weeks i heard nothing so rang the dvla to check, they hadnt had it so told me to fill in form and send off which i did. they finally i got logbook on 27th july but as i didnt get paid till the saturday i taxed it on the monday 1st august. on the 5th it was clamped claiming i had no tax but the tax was on display and it has the date on the disc to prove when i bought it. after many phone calls to dvla and clamping people they released it but dvla in poole tried charging me for the pleasure so after many phone calls to them i faxed disc over as they said, i did this 4 times because they didnt recieve it.now after 2 months of nothing i get court summons right before xmas just what i need lolso if anyone can tell me how to go about this it would be very much appreciated thanks

Hi everyone, Really hoping you can all be of help. This is the first time anything like this has happened and the first time I am posting something. Here's how the situation unfolded today. We had made an agreement with the council to pay some remaining £700 of council tax in monthly installments. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about it and was tardy with some payment. We didn't receive any letters or communications saying I had been late or anything. Then out of no where, a man dressed in black, a motorcycle helmet and a balaclava showed up at our door. He didn't speak, or even remove the visor covering his face. He simply shoved a letter at us. We were so frightened by the situation that we ended up calling the police because we thought it could have been some [problem]. After we realized that we were late in our council tax payment, we phoned the council and paid off in FULL the remaining money owing to us. So now we are clear of any overdue funds. Once we were made of the situation, we tried to fix it. So we've paid the council tax in full today (Thursday Dec 8) but after phoning the bailiff to tell him of this he said, too bad he is coming to visit us again to get his money. He is asking for some £250 and said he will keep coming back until he gets it. We spoke to the council about it and they said they will try to reverse the bailiff but it would take up to 10 days and it might not even happen. A few questions -- because we never got any letters from the bailiff or anyone before, how much are we legally entitled to pay in his fees? Do we need to pay any since we paid off the council tax in full once we were made of the situation? Can he keep coming back again and again? We're just not sure what to do.... should we just pay him off and get it over with? So many questions and not sure what to do! Thanks so much everyone in advance.

Hi everyone, long time lurker here. I have a question and I'd be grateful for any advice. The scenario is: two sisters, Sally and Jane (not their real names and their words are spoken by an actor). They have inherited a property, and own it as Tenants in Common, with Sally owning the greater share. Sally has offered to buy Jane's share and Jane is fine with that - all good so far. However, Jane wants to, kindly, give (not sell - give) her share to a half-sister, Mary, (who was not a beneficiary of the Will) as Jane already has a home of her own and Mary has not. Would it be better for Jane to transfer her share of the property to Mary before Sally buys it (and then for Sally to buy it from Mary) or for the sale to go through, and for Jane to then give Mary the money. We are wondering if there are any tax implications, or anything else we may not have thought of. Any advice or experience much appreciated.

Hi I have an old Jeep which was SORN in 2009. Didnt realise that was suppost to renew every year so when I now go to sorn it it says there is a gap in the taxing since 2009 and I may receive a fine. I am in the process of sorting the Jeep out to sell and as I was going through paperwork to obtain new number plates realised that the log book is registered to my old address:| So what do I do and in what order? What fines should I expect to receive any advise would be appreciated!!

The Office of Tax Simplification intends to abolish this relief from April 2013, so that minerals loyalties would no longer be treated as 50% income and 50% capital gains, but as 100% income, meaning larger tax bills. Speak to your accountant !! Lex

I live in a Council property and am starting a business. I want to avoid opening paying business rates and planning permission issues so I'm using another address ie one of these Virtual Office packages that offer a Mailbox and mail forwarding service. I'm prohibited from using my Council home as a base for business and face eviction if they think I'm running a business from there. Will using a Virtual Office be sufficient to avoid complications?

My son has recently completed his HND studies and has gone on to study at Sussex Uni as part of a continious process. My local council (Crawley) has so far refused to allow the Students discount for the period between June - Sept (The summer recess) as they say he changed courses and was not therefore in continous full time education. Looking at the "The Council Tax (Discount Disregards) Order 1992 3. A person is to be regarded as undertaking a full time course of education on a particular day if— (a)on the day he is enrolled for the purpose of attending such a course with a prescribed educational establishment within Part I of Schedule 2 to this Order, and (b)the day falls within the relevant period for that course." It therefore appears that under the terms of the law Student discount is only available at a daily rate when attending the couse. This can not possibly be correct, can any one give me direction as to why Students are not liable to council tax during the holiday periods and is it correct that my local council levy Tax as a result of the course title changing during a period of continious education. Any advise much appreicated Neil

After working for a business for several years a friend of mine told me that i was required to be given payslips by my boss, this i was always unsure of so i questioned my boss as to why i never had payslips to which she stated that she didnt have too, i felt quite intimidated by my boss and even though I knew she was lying, I didn't want to question her back as she would make my life a living hell. After working under her for several years, i left a couple of months ago as the relationship with my boss could not go on any longer due to certain reasons. On leaving i decided to go self employed and around about the same time i found out i was pregnant. As a result i requested my payslips and P45 from my ex boss through a 3rd person as i couldnt get in touch with my boss. Several weeks later i was informed through this 3rd person that my payslips and P45 had been sent through to an ex boyfirends address, an address i hadn't lived at for nearly 3 years and my boss knew this as she used to pick me up from my home address. I am now in a situation and i dont know what to do as i require my payslips as part of my maternity pay. Any advice would be great.

We are going to send a petition to No.10 to stop the government taxing us to park at work.10 Million people park at work every day. Our aim is to get 1 Million signatures to stop the tax. we are hosting the petition at the facebook page: ''Petition Parking Tax''. There is huge resistance against the tax. Do you think the Government are wrong to Tax us to park at work? It's now evident that a number of local authorities are actively examining introducing the charge in an attempt to raise funds. About 10 million people drive to work every day and many, particularly those in remote areas without public transport, will be dismayed that they could now have to pay to park. I am definately against this and have started a petition for lobbying to No.10. Please feel free to comment and if you wish to read further or sign the petition please visit the Facebook page. Thanks for your support

I want to cancel my forthcoming flight ticket that I booked through a travel agency (traveloworld). The agency have claimed that I am not due any refund whatsoever. I challenged them on the tax element of my booking which I thought I would be able to claim back as taxes are only payable when a ticket is used but they refuse to pay this back. I spoke to Virgin (I am flying with them) and Virgin said that they would refund the tax back to the Travel Agent to pass it back to me. Clearly the agent wants to pocket this amount. What are my legal rights on fligh ticket taxes?

Short story: A friend of mine used my car while in SORN. He was insured but the car was untaxed for about three months. Police stopped him and issued a red notification slip ("this vehicle has been seen on the road...etc...you risk up to 1000...etc). He also signed something, but he did not read it. After that I immediately taxed the car. Questions: What should I expect now? Is there something I can do? The police suggested him to backdate the tax but at the DVLA told me that this was not possible. Thanks in advance.

Hi all I always pay my council tax online - usually a few days later than the due dates, but I'm certainly up-to-date up to September. I only paid October's installment on 13th October (due date 5th), however, a summons arrived that very day, issued on 6th Oct - ONE DAY after the due date!! Naturally, I'm gutted, as I know Croydon Council has acted 'lawfully', as they had already sent me a final reminder earlier in the year (they only send 1 final reminder, the next thing is the summons) when I was a few days late. I feel they've been waiting for me to take a wrong step before pouncing on me with their full might. Having been in a similar situation before (due to another 'honest' mistake, I know that once you're nailed, you're totally cornered, as Croydon Council just would not budge, or show any hint of humanity what so ever, they're after the £107 'authority costs' that every summons brings - what a way to treat good, regular customers!! I'd like to know if anybody else has been in the same situation, and would love to hear any successful appeal outcomes. Thanks for reading, colourblind

Your comments are appreciated. It's now evident that a number of local authorities are actively examining introducing a ‘’parking at work tax’’ in an attempt to raise funds. About 10 million people drive to work every day and many, particularly those in remote areas without public transport, will be dismayed that they could now have to pay to park. We are going to send a petition to No.10 to stop the government taxing us to park at work. Our aim is to get 1 Million signatures to stop the tax. We are hosting the petition at an official Facebook page''Petition Parking Tax''. There is huge resistance against the tax. Please feel free to comment and if you wish to read further or sign the petition please visit the Facebook page. Thanks so much.