Council Tax Summons For Inquiry Into Conduct And Means On 9th April

[RichardJ1970]

Thanks for the info Ploddertom and Matt. Scary as they are, i want to know the worst possible outcomes so i can prepare for them if and when they happen.

 

Speaking of the worst possible outcomes, if i am sentenced to 90 days in prison, will i be taken straight to prison from the court? Also, if i get a custodial sentence, can the court also award a charging order/ force me to go bankrupt on top of the custodial sentence?

 

I think i would rather go to prison than be forced to sell my flat or declared bankrupt so heres a really stupid question. Can i choose to go to prison rather than be forced to sell my flat/be declared bankrupt?

[Old Cogger]

They do not send you to prison, cheaper to send you to Australia - any offers, queue both sides please.

[matt v atos]

magistrates could send you to prison. Usually though, they will make an order postponing the warrant

[RichardJ1970]

Cheers Mike. Im of Scots Irish descent so Oz would burn me to a frazzle. Do they do the Canary Islands?

 

Thanks Matt, i need to look into if I'll be taken straight to prison if the worst comes to the worst so i can get a set of keys cut for my neighbour to look in on my flat once in a while while im gone- get my affairs in order so to speak. I'm not fatalistic, will do all i can to get myself out of my trouble.

Edited March 24, 2013 by RichardJ1970

[caro]

Just take things one at a time and concentrate on dealing with the things that are within your control, so when the time comes they will see that you are taking steps to put things right. As long as you prove that you are willing to pay, I can see no earthly reason why any judge would think it worth wasting taxpayers money to keep you in prison, which would probably cost more than you actually owe, and are so overcrowded that they can scarcely accommodate real criminals.

[Old Cogger]

Prison is a very last step it seems, although it has been said a double wammy is you still have to pay ?

 

mind you the politicians should be in there for making such rules and forceing the people to have to abide by them, and people let them get away with it.

[RichardJ1970]

Cheers Caro, will do. Got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow and will focus on that first.

[matt v atos]

Keep us updated Richard if you can good advice from Caro,

Edited March 25, 2013 by matt v atos

[RichardJ1970]

Hi all, after going to the council offices, it turns out that although I will owe around £1200 (have to go through some paperwork/ hear back from solicitor to confirm dates) out of the £4256.64 i am being taken to court for, the remainder was being charged after i moved out of my old flat- i suppose the new owners didnt registewr for CT- and although i owe £1811 on my new flat, subject to an appeal for backdating of single person discount that i put in today, this amount remains at the liability order stage and i will have to deal with baillifs rather than a commital hearing. I understand from reading stuff on CAG that if i make payments online to the council, they have to accept payment so maybe i can avoid dealing with the bailiffs altogether. Can anyone advise on this?

 

Big sigh of relief! I will still have to deal with the monies owed on the previous property, I need to get conformation of when i sold my last flat (completion date) and also when i moved into the flat i am in now. I have left a message for the solicitor that dealt with the sale of the last flat and the purchase of the one im in now- will phone again tomorrow or go in person to the office if i dont hear anything back from her.

 

I have a contact no. for the Senior Council Tax Officer (Special Debt) who it turns out wrote to me on the 14th Jan 2013- i got a copy of this. Tomorrow when i have the dates sorted, i will contact him to resolve this misunderstanding and arrange to pay the monies owed on my old flat by installments and try to get the court date cancelled. While I certainly owe them money and am responsible for that, the Council billed me at two different properties for the same period!

 

Thanks everyone for the help and support you have given me, i'll let you know how i get on with the Senior Council Tax Officer tomorrow.

 

Richard

[revshelp]

Hi, sounds like positive news. Once the arrears have been passed to a bailiff for collection, they add there own charges and are on contract/commission with the council, so the council will mostly refer you back to the bailiff if you try to make an agreement or payment. But if you paying online or set-up a standing order then they can't reject the payment and will credit that against the outstanding debts. One thing to note is that as the 2013-14 year is starting soon depending how their cash allocation works on their computer, any monies you pay maybe placed against the current years charge and not the arrears.

 

As a person who suffers with depression, you may be classed as vulnerable according to the councils 'Fair Debt Collection Policy' and so they shouldn't really be instructing a bailiff in the first instance.

 

As well as applying for the 25% 'Single Person's Discount' you should also consider applying for 'Council Tax Benefit'/'Council Tax Reduction Scheme' to cover part of the other 75% of the bill - this is means tested on income and savings so it will depend on your individual circumstances.