Council Tax Summons and Charges!

[the.5th.musketeer]

Any advice very welcome. Like many others I try and keep up to date with my council tax but fell foul of missing some payments this year by the date they weere due. However, I never missed dates by very much and it only happened a couple of months. Anyhow as at the end of November I was ahead of my payments so I only owed the final installment for this year. I should have paid that in January but my Mum was ill and I visited her at same time that last payment was due in Jan. Tbh I totally forgot about it. When I logged on line at start of this week to pay I saw I had been awarded 'Costs' of £136!!

 

I contacted the council and dealt with a very un-pleasantlittle upstart. After pointing out I had now cleared all I owed and asked for an explaination of said charges all I was told was they had only been added in last 48hrs and I had to pay them there and then.

 

I pointed out that I had recieved no communication since October from the Council so could they explain what these charges were for? I was advised they are for owing us council tax. After going away to check I was told a summons was 'in the' post, Charges are just that charges and was I going to pay now or what?

 

Again I asked for an explaination and breakdown of charges and was told 'they are just charges' you have to pay. For the umpteenth time I pointed out I owed nothin and was then told 'you cant escape em' and if you dont pay now the court will let us send in the bayliffs. When I pointed out they never needed to go to cout as I was upto date I was told 'It dont work like that' and charges are no different to owed tax!

 

Subsequently I have been told that in actual fact the 'charges' they would never break down are made up of three elements - cost of summons, cost of liability order and councils costs.

 

If that is so are they not comitting fraud by demanding money that is not due before any summons hearing? Additionally are they allowed to get a liability order when I am up to date with what is owed upto April 2013? I have heard some councils dont persue liability orders if no tax is owing by date of the hearing? Can anything be done about these costs?

[outlawla]

Do you mind naming your council?

 

Do you know the proportion of the three elements, i.e., summons, liability order and councils costs?

 

£3 is paid to the Magistrates' court per liability order application (at summons stage), so council costs are effectively £133. Not reasonable in my opinion, especially considering there may well be 1,000's of these rubber stamped at the same court hearing.

 

.....I pointed out that I had recieved no communication since October from the Council so could they explain what these charges were for? I was advised they are for owing us council tax. After going away to check I was told a summons was 'in the' post, Charges are just that charges and was I going to pay now or what?......

 

This seems odd, why are they sending a summons after the alleged court hearing that you knew nothing about?

[Guest]

some brief cab info www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/d_council_tax_arrears.pdf

have you had the required reminders/final notice?

if not in arrears then they should not really pursue an LO?

Edited February 9, 2013 by Ford

[Guest]

if the hearing goes ahead, could go to it if can. you could be surprised. that would put a spanner in their works. instead of a 'rubber stamp' they'll have to actually conduct a proper hearing.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Ford

[Feebee_71]

It sounds as if they have picked up a trick from the bailiff company's they work so closely with and have pre-loaded the charges to your account. Depending on which council it is they may have contracted their customer fronting services to a company called Capita who, in turn, own bailiff companys including Equita - and you see how their training methods could be 'we say you owe it so you must do and there's nothing we can do!'

 

If I were you I'd wait for the letter to arrive and see exactly what it says - it's either going to be that you're behind with your CT payments and have until xx date to bring it up to date or they'll apply for a liability order with costs of £XX or it will be that as you didn't keep up with the payment they have already applied for, and been granted, a liability order against you hence the added costs.

 

Until you get the letter there isn't much you can do but, if it's the first one, you could turn up at the court and show them proof that your account has been cleared; if it's the second one then that's more difficult and those more experienced than I will be able to advise but I think if the court date was before you cleared the account you'll end up ha ing to pay.

 

Feebee_71

[Feebee_71]

Also meant to say, some councils (mine included) have a policy whereby they send out reminder letters after the first missed/late payment and perhaps after a second episode of lake payment but don't send out further reminders and simply go for recovery action (applying for the liability order) which allow them to add costs and start enforcement action. My council also jump quickly if its the last couple of payments that are late!!

 

Feebee_71

[ss002d6252]

some councils (mine included) have a policy whereby they send out reminder letters after the first missed/late payment and perhaps after a second episode of lake payment but don't send out further reminders and simply go for recovery action (applying for the liability order) which allow them to add costs and start enforcement action.

 

That's not policy, that's legislation.