Attatchment of earnings order

[curlyjim]

Hi everyone.

This is my first time on any sort of forum so please do forgive any mistakes that i may make. Briefly my problem is this. I have an attatchment of earnings order for council tax (Not a result of any court action) I had issues with the council in respect of them not allowing the 25% single living allowance and the fact that they were going to charge me full council tax for one room in a hostel for the homeless when i only had a part time job. All of this got resolved eventually and they sent out the correct bills. I now have a full time job and my own flat, but i am only on the minimum wage and basically i had a struggle keeping up with the £80 a month bill with everything else i had to pay out. What has happened with the AOE order is that they have lumped all the bills together and are now taking £200 a month out of my wage. This has happened three months in a row now and it is destroying me. Last months rent didn't get paid, the gas and electric hasn't been paid because I am going deeper and deeper into the red at the bank. All my other bills are mounting up and I could be threatened with eviction. I have no money for food and am relying on friends to get a little shopping in for me. I have visited the council with all my statements and wage slips and begged them to reduce the payments to something more manageable but they have point blank refused and I am at my wits end. Can anyone suggest how I can get help with this?

[Rooster-UK]

Hi CurlyJim.

 

I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to your problem, personally.

I think that you might be better in the Debt and Bailiffs forum. There are a lot of users there that are well versed in all aspects of debt.

I am sure that you will soon get the advice that you need.

 

Good luck with your claim, and don't worry, the cavalry is coming.

 

I will get this post transferred to the Debt and Bailiffs forum, for you.

 

Regards, Rooster.

[stan5131]

just bumping this thread for you. Can someone please help here?

[sequenci]

how many attachments have they running at the same time?

 

can you PM how much you earn per month if poss.

 

Under regulation 41(2) of the Council Tax (Administration & enforcement) Regulations 1992, your local authority has the power to discharge the order at any time using it's own initiative, but it would difficult to persuade them.

 

Contact the local government ombudsman (0845 602 1983) and see if they can assist with any advice.

 

did you take down an income/expenditure form when you last visited them?

 

you need to show they are causing you actual and real hardship.

[cheddar]

When you say you have begged them to reduce the payments have you ever made a formal claim for council tax benefit? and are you now getting the Single Person Discount?

 

If you seem to be struggling with all your bills maybe a call to the CCCS - is in order?

[curlyjim]

Hi Folks.

Thanks very much for the help and advice thus far, i do appreciate it.

Sequenci: In answer to your questions I have 3 bills on this attatchment. One from August to December 2005 while I was at the hostel. December 2005 to April 2006 when I moved to my present address and this years tax bill (which at the time of the attatchment was only 1 month behind) To make matters worse, they have trawled back to 2001 and are claiming that I owe them £500 from that year. I have explained to them that I was off work for eight months of that year and eventually ended up having the house repossessed in November 2001. I have no records, they all went with the house and i am not accepting what they are telling me at face value. I believe that i need to go to my doctor and the benefits agency to obtain any records that they have for that year before I hand over a penny. They intend to claim this money back by way of another attatchment when this present one ends. I take home approximately £800 a month but since the attatchment, this has dropped to around the £600 mark, and despite me taking in my wage slips and bank statements, they refuse to reduce the payments which is financially crippling me and leaving me with no money for the basics, like food, rent etc. I think the ombudsman sounds like a good idea and thanks for the number.

I hope this sheds a little more light on the problem. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

[curlyjim]

Hi Cheddar. I have tried to claim CT benefit and tax credits but to no avail, i don't qualify, and yes I eventually did get the allowance reinstated. Apparently it doesn't automatically transfer to a new address with you, you have to reclaim it (but they don't tell you that do they!)

[stan5131]

This is just terrible. I hate to read stories where people cant even afford the basics like rent and food because of debt. As Cheddar said, call CCCS. Keep us posted.

[sequenci]

In answer to your questions I have 3 bills on this attatchment.

 

are there 1 or 2 attachments in place at the moment?

[payingonlyencouragesthem]

Forgive me if this sounds a bit trite but is there any possibility whatsoever of you going self-employed? It's the surest way to get these monkeys off your back completely as AOE's then cannot legally be applied.

[curlyjim]

Hello.

Unfortunately that isn't an option at the moment. I'm limited by a lack of transport, but it would be nice to get these 'monkeys' (how polite) off my back.