Summons for your Commital to Prision **Account back with Council**

[ctjk1234]

Hello

 

I have CT outstanding Debt of nearly 2k

 

I have been paying What i can When i can , and now i am receving CT Benifit so going forward i should be in a better Postion

 

I havent been able to pay anything in the last few months

 

Its made up

 

Of £400 last years , and the rest from the year before i have tried to clear what i can when i can

 

I have been thro Bailiffs been round and 4-5 times , and now it looks like the debt has been passed back to the CT office

 

This is the First i have heard about

 

I recived a letter today

 

The last line says

 

"I will be Left with no Alternative but to issue a summons for your committal to prison"

 

I have 2 kids and i am very concered there is a pink form attachted to offer payment

 

what is my next move , i cant pay the balance myself and Partner are currently employed

 

We got into this mess by trying not claim benifit and work tho last year when our bussines got into trouble,

 

Any advice welcome

 

How much shall we offer , if they dont like our offer is that it court and prison .

 

Help Please!!!!

[i hate bailiffs]

Who sent the letter?

 

You will not go to prison if you can not afford to pay

prison is only if you can pay but refuse to

[unclebulgaria67]

You must contact the council and ask to arrange a meeting with someone to discuss this. The council need to know what your situation is and you should put something in writing to take with you. If the council refuse to arrange any meeting, make a note of the persons name telling you this and record the date/time. In my area the council have a few centres where you can sort out these type of issues, without booking any meeting or in advance by booking a meeting, if this is required. I hope this is the same where you live.

 

I think the council have made a mistake in sending their letter, as if you are making paying then I doubt that Magistrates would consider any commital to prison, which is only used if you refused to pay.

 

You need to know what liability orders exist and have details sent to you in writing as to how the council have applied the payments. Perhaps they have used these for one years CT only i.e the current year and not touched last years outstanding amount.

[ctjk1234]

The letter is from the council

 

Ill enclose it with my details removed Cheers

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41915[/ATTACH]

[ctjk1234]

You must contact the council and ask to arrange a meeting with someone to discuss this. The council need to know what your situation is and you should put something in writing to take with you. If the council refuse to arrange any meeting, make a note of the persons name telling you this and record the date/time. In my area the council have a few centres where you can sort out these type of issues, without booking any meeting or in advance by booking a meeting, if this is required. I hope this is the same where you live.

 

I think the council have made a mistake in sending their letter, as if you are making paying then I doubt that Magistrates would consider any commital to prison, which is only used if you refused to pay.

 

You need to know what liability orders exist and have details sent to you in writing as to how the council have applied the payments. Perhaps they have used these for one years CT only i.e the current year and not touched last years outstanding amount.

 

 

Thanks ,

 

I have the libitly details this has been going for about a year

 

There were 3

 

1) Cleared

2) This years CT which is current at around 500 > Was 1200

3) and the year before for which ids the full years

4) which working i was paying 40 a week online , but as of november ive been out of work

[i hate bailiffs]

if it went to court the judge could remit all or part of the debt so could go in your favor

 

If your situation is bad at the moment pay them what you can £1 per month if needed

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks ,

 

I have the libitly details this has been going for about a year

 

There were 3

 

1) Cleared

2) This years CT which is current at around 500 > Was 1200

3) and the year before for which ids the full years

4) which working i was paying 40 a week online , but as of november ive been out of work

 

You must contact the council to find out what the problem is. They obviously think you are not making any payments towards one of the liability order periods. You need to make sure the council know the situation and you need to find out what the council are up to. It may be that you will have to make affordable repayments towards previous years outstanding and can pay an amount from any current benefits you receive.

[ctjk1234]

Thanks

 

I havent paid anything for a few months , as ive not been able to as i getting benifits now it reduced the total of this years CT i would say this year to clear Outstanding CT i have paid in the region of 600-800

 

Now been on JSA Since December its been a few montsh since anything was paid

 

What the chance of going to prison , how far off this are we?

[tomtubby]

I hate bailiffs.

 

I am sorry to be critical but offering to pay arrears of £2,000 council tax at £1 per month will not be looked at kindly by the courts!!

 

Council tax and Magistrate Court Fines are debts that in very rare cases can lead to a period of imprisonment. They are therefore considered as "priority debts". Therefore, they take priority over credit card debts, telephone bills, SKY TV and much more.

 

It is always the case that if you cannot afford to pay council tax that you MUST write a lettter to the council outlining your circumstances and at the same time, outlining an "affordable" repayment proposal. In this particular case, it would appear that no payments at all have been made since last November.

 

In order to suceed in seeking commital proceedings the LA would need to PROVE either WILFUL REFUSAL or CULPABLE NEGLECT.

[i hate bailiffs]

Thanks

 

I havent paid anything for a few months , as ive not been able to as i getting benifits now it reduced the total of this years CT i would say this year to clear Outstanding CT i have paid in the region of 600-800

 

Now been on JSA Since December its been a few montsh since anything was paid

 

What the chance of going to prison , how far off this are we?

 

Prison is if you refuse to pay

there is options pay them a amount each week/month that you can afford

 

If you have lots of other debts going bankrupt may be a option as council tax arrears can be included (not the current year)

 

prison wont happen if you are in financial hardship

 

prison is foe wont pay not cant pay

[i hate bailiffs]

I hate bailiffs.

 

I am sorry to be critical but offering to pay arrears of £2,000 council tax at £1 per month will not be looked at kindly by the courts!!

.

 

You are right however no blood in a stone and if that is what it takes

[ctjk1234]

Thanks Tom ,

 

What i was trying to get a Drift for here is process timescales if any of you know

 

I have Recived the letter today which i enclosed.

 

Dated the 21st of feb

 

It Has attachet to it a Pre Comital request for Infomation

 

This ask name etc if you have a Job , What benifits you get and how much you offer to pay a month

 

So what i am Trying to Understand is .

 

I have today Completed the Form offering to pay £50 a month around 12% of our Monthly benifit

 

I will return this to the CT office tommorow

 

However this mean it take nearly 4 years to Clear the Debt ,

 

What i am trying to Understand

 

Is if the refuse what happens next ?

Is 4 years to long ?

do i have anything i should do ?

 

James

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41918[/ATTACH]

[tomtubby]

I am probabably one of the biggest critics of local authorities and in particular their handing of Liability Orders but in this case, the council have acted correctly.

 

They have "threatended" commital proceedings and the letter had the desired effect. You contacted this site for help !!!

 

Although you are receiving benefits, that in itself does NOT mean that you cannot pay arrears of council tax. As an example, just read the story of the mother of 11 children who is having a large house purpose built for her. "Apparently" her daughter has a pony, the mother paid for a flying lesson for the boyfriend.

 

Also, there are many people who are on benefits who have a very expensive car that could be sold and money raised to pay towards the debt. Unless the debtor WRITES to the council they have NO IDEA whether you have any means in which to pay. Likewise, there are many people who are on benefits and sell personal items on auctions sites such as ebay to give them a little extra money.

 

The council have therefore sent you a letter asking you to complete a "Means Form". Personaly, I would think that the council will now take the contents into consideration and will DEFER any further action and allow you to pay at the rate outlined by you of £50 per month. If so, please try not to default. If you know that a payment cannot me made.......contact the council.

[ctjk1234]

Thanks Tom , My goal was while the debt was with Bailfis to get it back to the CT office , as that was a nightmere as they had a walking Possesion on my Goods in the House which did not cover the Value of the Debt and our car which would not cover the vaule ether ,so i hope now i can move on and get an agreement with the CT office , I will return the form and HOPE and PRAY they Accept it !

 

Cheers

[tomtubby]

I am keeping fingers and toes crossed!!

 

Please post back with the response from the council.

[ploddertom]

Before you send your offer off are you sure that you can sustain a pyment of £50 per month. Have you done a proper I&E, if not there is a decent one here http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/quickfs.asp . Are you sure you claiming & receiving all Benefits you are entitled to, might be worth asking if the Council or local CAB have a Welfare Rights Adviser who can help.

[ctjk1234]

Thanks ,

 

£50 is ok , as i want to get this clear , IF the CT refuse to Accept it , do i have any recourse?

[ploddertom]

Thanks ,

 

£50 is ok , as i want to get this clear , IF the CT refuse to Accept it , do i have any recourse?

 

My view is to start paying it regardless of what they say. If you can then split your p[ayments into weekly ones and pay them £10 each time - every Thursday for example. You may do this by online banking, Council website or automated phone. Paying weekly quickly builds a pyment history and whether they like it or not they would find it hard to take any further action. By all means write to them but start paying first.

[ctjk1234]

Ok i will start Paying £25 Every two Weeks , when benifits are Recived , i will return the form with a letter and see how we get on

[ctjk1234]

Just Wanted to say thanks to everybody on here. Started paying my 25 Every two weeks , got a letter from the CT office Accepting the payment offer.

 

Looks like a years Nightmere and Bailiffs Visit have to come to end , happy days

 

Thanks and good luck

[ploddertom]

Good to hear that. I will amend your thread title to suit.

[renegadeimp]

Congratulations Please make sure to stick to the plan, and if you have ANY issues with the repayments, PLEASE inform the council in good time, so they know to expect a lesser amount for 1-2 weeks.

[brassnecked]

good result

[tomtubby]

It is good to see that the advice that you received on the forum has lead to a sensible payment plan being accepted. It is also pleasing to hear back from posters with the outcome.

 

Well done to everyone......