Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order

[Shaina]

I owe £1800 in council tax arrears but I'm up to date with my current years council tax.

While on benefits, bristow & sutor would take £21 from my benefit towards this. Now I am working in a permanent job, I am still only able to afford £30 per month towards the arrears but bristow and sutor consider this too low and they have now written to my employer to put an attachment of earnings in place which I cannot afford.

 

Initially, I was trying to make payments to the Council as overpayments on my council tax but my council refused to put these over payments towards my council tax arrears and instead they just went towards my current year's bill. After that I spoke to Bristow & Sutor and told them what I could afford to pay which they said was unacceptab;e (I have paid them anyway) but now I have received an attachement of earnings order which I cannot afford. I've been to the CAB and received a signed copy of my income/expenditure and I've sent it to both the council and bailiffs a number of times but they claim to not have received it or to not care. I've begged the council to take back this debt but they say the can't and I've also called Bristow and Sutor who refuse to discuss this any further.

 

Is there any way I can get this into a court room? I dispute the fact that I owe all of it but I do owe about £1400. I am willing to pay it but can only currently afford £40 per month. I need help - please help me - my outgoings are the bare minimum. I have Gas/Electricity meters, I have a pay a you go mobile that I never use to make calls. I've pared back my expenses as much as possible and now don't know what to do. No leeway on my mortgage owing to a suspended possession order so please please help

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

I'll move your thread to the local authorities forum and hope the guys will be able to help you. I'll leave a short term redirect here.

 

My best, HB

[Shaina]

Where is it reposted?

[ss002d6252]

Is there any way I can get this into a court room?

 

No - once a liability is order is granted the decision on which method of recovery to use is the council's choice and the courts have no say in the matter (unless the council go for bankruptcy/charging order or committal).

[Shaina]

The fact that I was not notified of a hearing will make no difference?

[ss002d6252]

Not unless you can prove you didn't receive the court summons - the summons would have been posted to the last known address. Providing the council have done this and have not received the mail returned undelivered then the service is deemed to have been made correctly.