Council Tax Help

[tezza1234]

as a family we do get full council tax credit, we are still required to pay £26 per month toward it,

 

 

i usually pay monthly on the 1st of each month £26,

 

 

there has been once or twice when it has been late and i have received reminders,

which were paid at the first possible instance,

 

 

Decembers installment has not currently been paid and

i have just received a

'Council Tax Loss Of Instalments' letter'

which tells me i have to pay the full remaining amount £52 by December 15th,

 

 

i only got this letter today and its December 12th.

 

if i can't pay the £52 by or on monday,

which i probably can't,

then what is the next step the council will take,

 

 

is it straight to court, how long will that take,

 

 

what if i get a hearing but pay the £52 before the hearing date

would i then be viable for any other costs,

 

 

how long have i got to find the £52 before it becomes more than that.

 

Thanks

[ss002d6252]

The final notice is issued for the 3rd default from payment of the instalment dates/amounts.

 

The final notice will allow 7 days to pay in full, after this period the council can issue the summons.

 

Some council's will hold off on issuing the summons if the account is brought up to date before the summons is issued and give you a second chance but it's up to each council.

 

If you cannot pay before the summons then any costs will be added and these become recoverable so if they aren't paid then the council can ask for the liability order just for the costs.

[tezza1234]

The final notice is issued for the 3rd default from payment of the instalment dates/amounts.

 

The final notice will allow 7 days to pay in full, after this period the council can issue the summons.

 

Some council's will hold off on issuing the summons if the account is brought up to date before the summons is issued and give you a second chance but it's up to each council.

 

If you cannot pay before the summons then any costs will be added and these become recoverable so if they aren't paid then the council can ask for the liability order just for the costs.

 

Hi, thanks for the response,

 

 

just to clarify, this letter is dated 8th December and

says payment needs to be made by 15th (7 days) but

i only received in the post today, the 12th :/

 

Also are you saying that if a summons is issued for say 3-4 weeks and i pay before then, i am still liable,

and they will go to court for the summons costs,

can these costs be argued in any way,

 

 

Also the council tax period runs until march 31st 2015,

how can i get a court appearance for £52 when their is still 4 months on current years left.

[ploddertom]

 

Also the council tax period runs until march 31st 2015, how can i get a court appearance for £52 when their is still 4 months on current years left.

 

 

 

Council Tax is due in full on April 1 each year. As a dispensation Councils allow instalment plans but if breached the total outstanding becomes payable immediately - that is why the letter says you have lost the right to pay by instalments.

[dx100uk]

have you told them the matter will be resolved by XX date?

 

 

its a rubber stamp Liability order adding £50ish

 

 

is this the 'water' element of you CTAX

the rest being met by the CTAX benefit?

 

 

dx

[tezza1234]

Hi,

we are entitle to full ctax benefit but

 

 

as of last year we have to pay a % toward it,

 

 

last year it was £13 per month and

this year it is £26 per month,

 

 

No i have had no vocal contact with them as yet,

 

 

My concern is, this 7 days is up on monday, so they could, in theory issue a summons on Tuesday, That has to be wrong,

 

 

The questions i have are if i get a summons id assume it would be for 2-3 weeks time,

 

 

if i pay the £52 before then

can i not challenge the charges part of the summons in court on the ground of, the council has not incured £50+ worth of actual money

+ ive read something on here about paying over 12 months and not 10,

this has never been explained to me by the council.

 

 

If i had 2-3 weeks i could get the £ and pay it,

but i think its crazy to possibly issue a summons on tuesday baring in mind this was only in my post box on friday

[dx100uk]

go talk to them

no good keeping them in the dark.

 

 

strictly speaking you don't get a summons as such

they simply get the LO rubber stamped.

 

 

dx

[ploddertom]

Get in touch with your local Councillor(s) tomorrow & hopefully they can intervene for you first thing Monday.

[tezza1234]

have you told them the matter will be resolved by XX date?

 

 

its a rubber stamp Liability order adding £50ish

 

 

is this the 'water' element of you CTAX

the rest being met by the CTAX benefit?

 

 

dx

 

Also, sorry, but what do you mean by 'water element'

[dx100uk]

how do you pay for your water bill?

if you don't pay one

that's probably what this

 

 

might even say so on the council tax bill?

 

 

dx

[outlawla]

 

My concern is, this 7 days is up on monday, so they could, in theory issue a summons on Tuesday, That has to be wrong,

 

 

The questions i have are if i get a summons id assume it would be for 2-3 weeks time,

 

 

if i pay the £52 before then

can i not challenge the charges part of the summons in court on the ground of, the council has not incured £50+ worth of actual money

 

Normally, once the summons has been issued the authority add those costs to the outstanding amount which must be included in the payment to stop them making the application to the Magistrates' court for a liability order.

 

You can only guarantee avoiding the costs if you were to pay the outstanding liability (£52) before the summons is served (which may be Tuesday).

 

Because you are on reduced payment the council may have a policy (depending on the authority) that agrees to waive the cost, if for example you sign up for direct debit or other arrangement.

 

The question of whether you could challenge the costs after receiving a summons even if they're paid before the court hearing is interesting.

 

A response from Reigate and Banstead Borough Council suggests that you could.

 

All summonsed cases have to be dealt with at the Court Hearing even if the Council wishes to apply for some cases to be reported as paid, adjourned sine die, withdrawn etc

 

Also Torfaen Council.

 

The cost of the hearing attendance is included as this is clearly part of the summons process, at the hearing we have to provide details of the accounts that were issued with a summons on the initial complaint list and those that have been withdrawn . We also supply evidence of why the summonses were initially issued. Therefore, the court hearing is in relation to all of the summonses issued and then we ask for the reduced number of cases as liability order.

 

 

Leicestershire & Rutland Court service recognise that the costs are open to challenge:

 

The Council has calculated the cost of issuing a summons and reviews this annually. The Council approaches the Court service annually along with some other local authorities whom use the Leicestershire & Rutland Court service. Officers provide evidence to court officials and substantiate the level of cost being applied for. The court officials consider whether the level of cost is reasonable, asks any questions or asks for further information and approves the summons cost level for that year; with the proviso that it is open to challenge against those whom we proceed.