Where do I stand ( Council Tax)

Bluraybunny

Bluraybunny

Bluraybunny

Associate
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
1,622
Location
oxfordshire
I moved into a new rental flat early November 2009.

When I moved in the letting agents informed my they would contact all the utility providers that I was now the occupent including the council.

This was clearly done as I have been recieving bills from my electric supplier etc.

However Last week it occured to me that I have recieved nothing regarding council tax ( infact no communication written or verbal from the council since the start of my tenency ).

I have opened my post today, to find a letter from the council stating I was due to attend magistrates court on the 25th Feb regarding outstanding council tax, however this has been rescheduled till April due to a court administration error.

Now I live on my own and I have a locked post box ( so the bill/reminders etc ) haven't gone elsewhere ( unless the post man cant read flat numbers ).

Where do I stand on this one ? I shall be contacting the CAB on Monday :mad:
 
ring them up and explain exactly what has happened. if you can't afford the whole bill at once, that shouldn't be a problem. just arrange to pay by instalments. i've had to do this quite a few times in the past. :p

i'm guessing they've whacked on extra for court costs. ask them politely to remove the costs from your account. if they refuse, i guess CAB will be able to help.
 
um sorry to burst your bubble but your the one who is ment to contact the providors to arrange services and bills not your landlord/agency. If you get took too court you will have too appologise and mention it was a misunderstanding and you were under the impression the landlord/agency were going to sort out the bills for you and just arrange a monthly direct debit for it.
 
Probably just a standard letter.

Just call up your council and ask them to DD your bank account each month, best way to pay council tax. Explain to them that you moved in to the flat in November etc.

Since it's just you, you'll get a 25% discount for living on your own

Don't shout at them regarding the court summons :)



Call them up, it won't go to court
 
Tricky one as you should have got a reminder and a final reminder before a summons... but at the same time you should have done something when you noticed the money wasn't going out.

Speak to the CAB by all means but make sure you've got the funds and be aware that you will have been charged an additional £43 (depending on the council) for court costs.

Either way you will need to pay it. If you can then pay it before going to court. I'm not saying the council are right for going about it this way if you've not had any other contact from them but if it ends up in court you'll have a CCJ against you and, at worst, you face a prison sentence.
 
bledd. said:
Probably just a standard letter.

Just call up your council and ask them to DD your bank account each month, best way to pay council tax. Explain to them that you moved in to the flat in November etc.

Since it's just you, you'll get a 25% discount for living on your own

Don't shout at them regarding the court summons :)



Call them up, it won't go to court
Click to expand...

My recommendation too. It won't hurt too give them a call that you received a letter about your council tax 25% discount as bledd said for living on your own! ;)
 
Cheers all :D. I fully appreciate I should have got my arse in gear and checked !

I'll email them and not ring, so I now have full records of what was agreed :)
 
You do not need to attend court, it's merely a formality. The magistrates will grant the council an order that confirms your liability for the outstanding amount.

You'll have an amount for court costs, here it's £80, added to your bill and you can come to an arrangement to pay the amount you owe - you can spread the payments over a few months if you want.
 
Phone them up asap, dont let them tell you it will goto court and they will just increase your DD by like £10 a month. This is all fine and dandy until the CCJ affects other things in your life.

They act like a CCJ isnt a very big deal.
 
Bluraybunny said:
Cheers all :D. I fully appreciate I should have got my arse in gear and checked !

I'll email them and not ring, so I now have full records of what was agreed :)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't do this if I were you.

I emailed Birmingham City Council about a change of circumstances. Took them two months to reply.

I hate Council Tax, BCC can't even set up a direct debit which results in me getting court summons when THEY can't take the money because they're thick.

I even rang them telling them that they hadn't been taking money from my account, they just told me 'Yeh it's showing in our account!'

Then I get red letters, threats and demands.

When I eventually sort something out with them, I'm told to ring back a week later to start the next phase and get told that there is absolutely no record of the previous conversation.

Scum.
 
I'm into my free ( not really ) 2 months before the new billing cycle and with any luck i'll never be getting ripped off by council tax ever again. when i pay property tax, at least i know that i'll get some good services for it.
 
i recieved one of these recently explained that i'd never recived any of the origional letters and they just charged me the tax for the period due and took off the baliff/charges they'd applied for me not paying it..

just tell em you'd not recived any of the origonal letters. Also do you have anything in writing from the letting agency that said they'd do all of this for you. they may take that into consideration, seeing as it wasn't done??
 
Skully said:
I emailed Birmingham City Council about a change of circumstances. Took them two months to replyhem that they hadn't been taking money from my account, they just told me 'Yeh it's showing in our account!'Scum.
Click to expand...

I know it is going back a bit but this happened when I was in Brum. Had been on housing benefit and found work and moved to Leicester. Wrote to inform them but they kept sending me cheques (in the days before payments straight into an account). They sent me these cheques for about two months, despite me writing to them two further times saying 'i do not believe this is my money, i am working full-time etc, please let me know ways I should repay' and I never got a reply.

Sent my mum to Zimbabwe on the proceeds as a retirement present.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom