Council tax harrassment on money not owed.

[RMS]

I have two questions, which I will ask after a brief explanation. I sold a house in London on the 18th of Feb last year and notified the council that there were new owners, and to bill the new occupier. I received a bill for the current tax year about two months ago. I wrote to them explaining again and asked them to confirm that it had been actioned. No reply, but another bill turned up this week.

 

1) What is the best way to nip this in the bud and can I threaten them with some legal recourse for harassment, when it is clearly marked on the Land Registry that it was sold on that date.

 

2) Whilst I did own the house in 2013, whilst doing it up for sale after a long rental period, I wrote to them and asked for a month's discount due to the month it was empty, plus the single person's discount and this obviously happened later, the fact that I was not the occupier/owner for the full year. Some how, they managed to take me to court without issuing a LBA and there was no summons from the county court, I certainly would have attended and put my quite strong case forward.

 

The first I knew was just after we sold the house in Feb 2014, was a bailiff's demand, the county court ones, but I think they were called HCEO but the names keep changing and I know bailiffs has been replaced, but hopefully you understand what I mean. Shortly afterwards I had my stroke, spent two months in hospital and never got around to dealing with it. The bailiffs gave up, as I don't have a car at the moment, I'm well off territory living in the Midlands and I don't leave doors or windows open. It was also interesting that the court case was something like August 2013 but the bailiffs didn't write to me until Feb 2014, so probably any time limit on going back to the court had expired.

 

I don't want to keep sending letters, and find they've managed to take me to court without an LBA or summons again, how can I make sure this doesn't happen. The only good thing, is that they can only put a charge on the actual property not other property owned by the individual (i.e. my home) also because I am still recovering, I am not in employment or on benefits, just doing a few cash in hand jobs ad hoc which doesn't even take me anywhere near my tax allowance, so they can't do an attachment of earnings.

[i hate bailiffs]

Firstly they will not be HCEO just a plain bailiff

Start a formal complaint to the council in writing in the view to take things to the obudsmun

 

The only defence against the council and courts is if you do not owe the money