pdbmn 10 #1 Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) don't know what to do about literally £000's arrears in council tax, 20% of which is charges accrued for non payment i'm on a low income though earn too much to claim any benefit, have been threatened with an arrest warrant , even though i made a payment last month to try to show some willingness to pay something (Even though it's left me short) i can't possibly afford to pay the arrears, and i won't be able to earn anything or pay rent if i'm in jail, i'm not sure what on earth i'm supposed to do Edited June 23, 2017 by pdbmn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Cyclone 10 #2 Posted June 23, 2017 Make an offer to pay what you can afford in addition to ongoing CT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
pdbmn 10 #3 Posted June 23, 2017 i effectively did this, by paying £30 more than my regular monthly payment , and i didn't attend a court hearing because i had made this payment , but i still have been told that a warrant had been issued Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
rudds1 102 #4 Posted June 23, 2017 You should have attended court and made arrangement to pay there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
pdbmn 10 #5 Posted June 23, 2017 i didn't go because i had made a payment, and thought they might have taken that into account (i set up a standing order) . correspondence i received, and a recorded message while waiting to speak to someone to confirm that the payment had been received, stated that there was no need to attend court if an arrangement was in place . i made an arrangment, it wasn't necessarily an 'agreement' with them , but they received something nonetheless, can they still seriously issue a warrant or are they scaremongering ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ez8004 10 #6 Posted June 24, 2017 i didn't go because i had made a payment, and thought they might have taken that into account (i set up a standing order) . correspondence i received, and a recorded message while waiting to speak to someone to confirm that the payment had been received, stated that there was no need to attend court if an arrangement was in place . i made an arrangment, it wasn't necessarily an 'agreement' with them , but they received something nonetheless, can they still seriously issue a warrant or are they scaremongering ? The council does not scaremonger. They are not a private company trying to fleece you. They are simply getting what is due and doing so in a very specific process. To put it bluntly you need to engage with the council to sort this out now. Stop trying to make excuses. This needs to be resolved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
andyofborg 11 #7 Posted June 24, 2017 i didn't go because i had made a payment, and thought they might have taken that into account (i set up a standing order) . correspondence i received, and a recorded message while waiting to speak to someone to confirm that the payment had been received, stated that there was no need to attend court if an arrangement was in place . i made an arrangment, it wasn't necessarily an 'agreement' with them , but they received something nonetheless, can they still seriously issue a warrant or are they scaremongering ? while it's good that you have made a payment, that's not an arrangement. as others have said, you need to engage with the council first thing on monday and sort this out. while i wouldn't suggest you contact these people the information on this page might help focus your thoughts. https://www.payplan.com/advice/types-of-debt/council-tax-debt/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
pdbmn 10 #8 Posted June 24, 2017 thanks for the link to the info on Payplan though why is it suggested to not use them ? i'm not so much trying to 'make excuses' as to point out that 20% of the debt is made up of charges, sometimes more than once in a year for relatively small individual amounts (of CT, not the charge itself) It's easy for people who are possibly earning very good money and have plenty of property equity, savings and no debt, to be quite clinical about what needs to be done , i already set up my standing order consituting a monthly payment plus about £20 or £30 extra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
andyofborg 11 #9 Posted June 24, 2017 thanks for the link to the info on Payplan though why is it suggested to not use them ? i'm not so much trying to 'make excuses' as to point out that 20% of the debt is made up of charges, sometimes more than once in a year for relatively small individual amounts (of CT, not the charge itself) It's easy for people who are possibly earning very good money and have plenty of property equity, savings and no debt, to be quite clinical about what needs to be done , i already set up my standing order consituting a monthly payment plus about £20 or £30 extra it's up to you if you use them or not but i know nothing about them and was pointing out the information not their services. I haven't checked but I imagine they charge a fee for something which you can do yourself or with a bit of help from CAB or similar for nothing. simply overpaying, while good, doesn't really advance your case very much, especially as you don't seem to have told the council what you have done and why you have done it. unless the council agree that the amount you are paying is sufficient to clear the debt in an acceptable time then you haven't done anything to halt or delay the enforcement action. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
pdbmn 10 #10 Posted June 24, 2017 i'll never realistically be able to clear the debt, though by paying something extra does show some willingness to deal with it , and show that i'm not simply 'refusing' to pay , my financial circumstances are terrible and it's not like i've just got a huge bank balance and could pay it off right now if i could Would the council and the magistrates just assume that i had, unless i can prove otherwise ? ps Payplan don't charge a fee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
nowt2pctoday 10 #11 Posted June 24, 2017 don't know what to do about literally £000's arrears in council tax, 20% of which is charges accrued for non payment i'm on a low income though earn too much to claim any benefit, have been threatened with an arrest warrant , even though i made a payment last month to try to show some willingness to pay something (Even though it's left me short) i can't possibly afford to pay the arrears, and i won't be able to earn anything or pay rent if i'm in jail, i'm not sure what on earth i'm supposed to do you should have not let it get that far? you have obviously been sticking your head in the sand, why didnt you go to court at least then you would have got something sorted instead of the "i cant be bothered to go" attitude and by chucking them a few extra quid you think it will go away?? thats whats wrong today some peple just think things will just go if they bleat enough, man up and pay whats due go without for a while, its your fault nobody elses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Hairyloon 10 #12 Posted June 24, 2017 Have you applied for Council Tax benefit (or whatever it is called nowadays)? If not, then do so and ask to backdate it as far as you can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...