Walker Love Council Tax Bank Arrestment

[gordieglqasg]

Hi All

 

Long time since I have been on here......

 

i have an agreement to pay walker love 200.00 pm to pay off council tax arrears.

I thought all was going well, however it appears I may have missed a payment back in december.

 

I have had no communication from them until recently I received a letter from my bank advising of an arrestment of my account (over 400.00).

 

I then received a 'mandate' from WL asking me to sign to say they can have the money.....

 

Whilst i agree I may owe them the money, I am not sure how they came to the figure they have.

 

My questions are:

 

- if i sign this mandate allowing release of the funds, does this automatically allow them to arrest and release funds in the future, i.e. is it an ongoing agreement?

 

- Do I have to release the funds.... or can I negotiate to have the arrestment lifted?

 

I am also loathe to call them because of 1 their attitude and also the fact it is a 084 number costing at least 7p a minute.

 

Any help, advice guidance appreciated.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

There are strict rules about how much the Sheriff's can take from your Bank Account, there is a minimum balance protected for you still to use in your account (£494.01 from 6 April 2016). If you have more than one bank account with the same bank the protected amount of £494.01 applies to all the accounts together. If you have more than one account but they are all in different banks the protected amount of £494.01 applies to each account separately.

 

You should check carefully who you have your accounts with as some banks with separate names are in the same banking group. This could mean that the separate accounts may be treated as being with the same bank. The protected amount will be applied only once in that situation.

 

Regarding the amount they say you are due, when you break an agreement, the Sheriff's will get another 'Charge for Payment' adding a further £98.00 to your arrears.

You can write to them asking for a breakdown of the charges.

 

If you don’t sign the mandate the council can raise a ‘furthcoming action’. This would order the bank to release the funds that have been frozen. If the council does not raise a ‘furthcoming action’ and you do not agree to release any money arrested, it will automatically be released to the creditor after 14 weeks.

[gordieglqasg]

Thanks Maroon. Very helpful.

 

Do you know if I sign to release just now - I accept I owe them the money - does this allow them to do it every month without a mandate? or does the mandate only work for one instance?

 

Thanks again

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

Have they said that once the arrears are paid, the £400 odd notes, they are happy for you to continue on a payment plan and are you up to date with this years Council Tax.

[IdaInFife]

Thanks Maroon. Very helpful.

 

Do you know if I sign to release just now - I accept I owe them the money - does this allow them to do it every month without a mandate? or does the mandate only work for one instance?

 

Thanks again

 

Just for this time only