Rec'd summary warrant from Sherrif's Office over Council Tax non-payment

[physicsgraduate]

I owe them £500 or they are going shaft me basically.

 

What is the minimum I can get away with paying them is my question?

 

Anything I can do to stall the process/annoy them?

 

What if I left the city?

 

I'm really not into paying this, for reasons which I better not get into. For a clue please refer to the recent news from Ecuador and consider the following points-

 

Availability

Right to imbibe

Quality over Quantity

 

Oh and digging the roads up every 6 months. Etc...

[sequenci]

They can try and take money from your wages, bank account or potentially from your assets (although this is rare).

 

You could apply for time to pay - the form you need is called DSA 2. The miniumum would be based upon what's realistically affordable from your budget although typically a time to pay needs to be cleared within a couple of years. Have you other debts? If so you could consider a DAS (Debt Arrangement Scheme).

 

This is useful: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/scotland/factsheet.php?page=03_recovery_of_council_tax

[physicsgraduate]

Thanks I'll look into that. Yipee more paper work!

 

Do you know, the sherrif's office who are taking this action against me, I worked for them once for 2 days. I walked out because I hated it. and the way they spoke to people on the phone.

 

Now I'm on the other side.

 

Actually I was thinking about skipping the county. How far would that get me?

 

I'm against paying this same as the poll tax, which I also didn't pay. Not enough mass disobedience this time on account of it appearing marginally fairer on paper, and in the wake of the poll tax. Still amounts to the same thing if you happen to live alone though..

 

My tactic of just ignoring the standard letters they send out worked brilliantly with thesis, who now have to explain to a judge why it took them >6 years to take me to court, if that should ever happen. This is different though..

 

I owe you guys a donation sometime, it will be did when and if I have the means.

[physicsgraduate]

This is a headache I really could do with without right now. I'm about to go onto some new enterprise allowance scheme to start up my own business and I need money to kick that off, business cards, starting up my own website, contract for a mobile phone etc..

 

I really can't be bothered filling out some form, I was thinking about offering them £20 per month for now, to be reviewed in 6 months pending circumstances. Do you think they'll buy that?

[janis6670]

Council tax is generally considered to be a PRIORITY debt. I would be making the effort to get it paid before Sherriff Officers bring the big guns out

[physicsgraduate]

I heard I don't have to pay it back at anything higher than £2 per week, I can manage that I reckon. Is that true? I think I can possibly ignore it for a while longer, they have limited powers and plenty more with bigger debts for them to go after.

[maroondevo52]

I think I can possibly ignore it for a while longer, they have limited powers.

 

Once a summary warrant has been issued, and you do not make arrangements to pay your council tax arrears, the council will obtain a charge for payment. Once the charge for payment has expired, normally after 14 days, sheriff officers have powers to get the money from you by: arresting your earnings, freezing your bank accounts and taking money from your bank accounts.

 

Once a charge for payment has been issued you can apply for time to pay which will allow you to make a repayment plan. It will also prevent Sheriff officers taking the action listed above.

[kirstyo]

In my experience of dealing with sheriff officers for council tax, which unfortunatley has been a lot they are usually not too bad negotiating payment plans but you must stick to them if a summary warrant has been issued, if you dont they will arrest your wages. mine were arrested after two weeks missed payments even although i called and explained that i had done my back in and could not physically get out to pay it. Each company is different I guess but that is my experience

[maroondevo52]

I totally agree kirstyo, I find they can come to an arrangement if you stick to your payments though they are swift to act if you dont.

[kirstyo]

Totally, I had my wages arrested twice both times very quickly after missing a payment

[maroondevo52]

I just missed a payment and they hit me with another 'charge' adding another £90 notes, bandits !!!

[kirstyo]

they really are bandits arent they? i dread to think the amount of charges i have paid them over the last few years and if i have to send them proof one more time that i am now a full time student and no longer live at the address they are chasing me for i swear to god im going to go to their office and give them what for

[maroondevo52]

I'm in their office in Edinburgh once a month making payments

Edited November 3, 2013 by maroondevo52

[kirstyo]

fortunatley for stirling park i no longer live in their area, or i would be going to see them almost every month. although the last letter they sent was from a local address now that i think of it. I have a payment card for mine but my issue is more with the council refusing to apply my student discount no matter how many times i send them the proof they say i havent sent it or i have sent it for a previous year etc

[physicsgraduate]

I just received the next inevitable scary letter, this one is talking about charges for payment and arresting funds. I really can't be bothered filling out forms etc.. and thought if I offered them £10 per month for 6 months with a review thereafter pending circumstances. I'm about to go onto some new enterprise scheme to start up my own business and need funds to put into that. Do you think they will buy that?

 

OTOH I'm being told by friends that they owe thousands and have been chased by them for years and nothing has happened. If I call them it might trigger off procedures that will end up causing me more problems than if I just ignore it.

 

Let's say I contact them and make a payment of £10 anyway regardless, is that like to halt any further developments such as arrested funds?

[maroondevo52]

If you can't be bothered filling out forms ect I'm not sure why we are bothering to offer you any advice.

It's all If's, But's and maybe's, you will do what you will do.

 

If you worked for the Sheriff Officers you should have a clue what they will accept, one minute your going to offer them £20 a month now it's a £10, who were the Sheriff Officers you worked for.

 

As for them having limited powers, I can tell you for a fact they have in the past arrested my Bank Account and I was days away from being serquestrated.

 

You now have 14 days before the Sheriffs can use diligence to recover any moneys due.

[physicsgraduate]

Jesus I'll do what I have to do! I seem to spend my whole existence filling out bleeding forms, so NO I don't really wish to get into that, not least because it would involve me having to work out my finances to the last detail, which is about as much fun as three hours on a bus playing sudoku.

 

I said £20 before because I thought that was the least I could get away with, however if you scroll back you might see that I mentioned I'd heard I only have to pay it back at £2 per week, which works out roughly as £10 per month. I don't know for sure though which is why I am here asking.

 

I also only worked for them for 1.5 days, after walking out because 1. I hated the job and had a better one lined up anyway and 2. I hated the people I was working with/for and what they were doing.

 

The reason I am trying to put off dealing with this as long as possible is because (a) I don't have the money to deal with, (b) I need my income for starting up a business at the moment and most importantly © I don't agree that I should have to pay this at all because I feel that the local council are not spending the money wisely, and are in fact using to take away my human rights and cause me no end of problems. They actually probably owe me money in compensation for the problems they have caused me, but that's another debate altogether which I don't wish to get into.

 

I am trying to ascertain whether or not I could get away with ignoring them, because I know plenty of people who have done so and don't seem to have had their assets freezed. They just seem to get letters and visits from them, and they say they are not in or speaking to CAB about it and nothing happens, so far. I know someone who has owed them several thousand over the past few years and got away with it.

 

My other option that I am considering is skipping the county, because to be perfectly honest I find Edinburgh too expensive, noisy and the people in general are quite up themselves.

 

Does that make everything clear enough for you?

[maroondevo52]

If they don't have any of your Bank Account details ect then you might get away with ignoring them, I don't know.

I'm afraid if you want to deal with this and re pay the amount due, it would include filling in forms.

I can only give you advice going on how they have acted against me in the past and in fact currently.

 

As for skipping the country for 500 notes, I'm not sure about that one.

[physicsgraduate]

Skipping the county,not the country, although that is another option.

 

I think they have been taking it off my JSA in the past, but my benefits have changed so much and I worked for a bit this summer that it keeps resetting everything. I think they have the power to probably freeze my JSA, but I don't know how they would go about that, whether or not in practise it is much harder for them to do.

 

Tommy Sheridan made it harder for them to rob your house anyway.

 

I haven't told them my bank account details, however I have paid some of the council tax in the past through my VISA debit so presumably they could find out from the council. Whether or not the council are at liberty to disclose such information though I donot know.

 

I'm happy to give them £10 per month, I can spare that, but I don't to contact them only for them to reject my offer and then that opens up the doors for them to exercise greater powers, whereas otherwise if I just ignore them they might just not do anything, like Thesis servicing. I've been getting the same letters/emails from them for the past 4-6 years and that's all they do.

 

I remember the way they used to talk to/about people in the office. They are not nice people.

 

I have also had some dealings with other debt collectors for other things, after i realised that they are just trying to intimidate you into paying. A small debt I owed THR££, one which I absolutely donot owe them (internet dongle thing apparently went over my allowance, only I didn't and can prove it). Had two collectors on my tail, first one I wrote back and explained what happened and they apologised and sent it back to the company. Some time later I receive a letter from another one, who I phoned up and let's just say i was not as polite this time. Never heard about it again.

[janis6670]

totally agree with Maroondevo. I also was days away from sequestration. Have also had bank account and wages arrested.You really should try to come to some arrangement

[physicsgraduate]

I will likely do that janis, just to be on the safe side.

[maroondevo52]

Oh the 'county'

 

Thought skipping the country was a tad extreme, I honestly don't know what your best plan of action is, ignoring them seems favorite, saying that I ignored them for 5 or 6 years and look where that got me.

 

Don't get me wrong, I can't stand Sheriff Officers as much as the next person but know what they can do, the only good thing they have ever done for me was getting my Bank charges back form the Banks a few years ago.

[kirstyo]

If you are in Edinburgh then it will be different sheriff officers than I dealt with in ayrshire but my experience is that they will always make you up your offer slightly saying that is the very least they can accept for example i offered 10 pound a month and they upped it to 18 saying this was the least they could possibly accept to avoid wages arrestment, of course i knew they would do that and was quite comfortable with 18 pounds a month.

 

They will not go away at this stage believe me, they will follow through and arrest any income you have. People are possibly able to ignore them at an earlier stage but this has already been to court and a summary warrant granted so there is no chance of it going away. If they are threatening a wages arrest then you need to come to an arrangement with them now to stop this from happening, there is no way to stop it once it has started believe me i tried everything to get out of mine.

 

Like i say offer them slightly less that you want to pay then agree to their slightly higher counter offer and as long as you stick to the payments you will be fine. They arrested my wages for less than 500 quid so dont think they wont do it because of the amount because they will and it will cost you more in charges etc also your boss is actually allowed to charge you every time they make the payment on your account, mine never did thankfully but he showed me all the paper work that showed he could if he wanted to.

[physicsgraduate]

Been paying this up at £10 per month for the past few months, now they just sent me a letter. The council have passed on my council tax for this year and now they want another grand on top and are asking me to agree to pay more.

 

I was getting round to dealing with this. I'm on working tax credits so don't know how the council tax reduction works. I looked on their website and it says you can now apply for 100% reduction? I guess since I am on WTC the assumption is that I am earning, but I don't know how much I will make, probably not that much.

 

How do I deal with this? I guess if i write back and offer something or say I can still only afford £10 per month then they may not like it but will be unlikely to take court action if I am already paying something.

 

If I offer them then I am basically accepting liability for this further amount, when I should be challenging it. Is it too late to challenge it with the council?

[kirstyo]

Does it say what the extra amount is for?