Council Tax

[derek9770]

I owe money to the local council for the current year's Community Charge/Council Tax. I cannot afford to pay and the local council say that they can apply to the court for an order to make me pay but that at the same time, I can apply to the court for time to pay. What I am concerned about is that if I request this, will the council automatically apply to bailiffs to collect the money or will this only be if I do not pay the amount the court say? I am in the process of applying for an IVA and have been advised that the council debt could be or partly be written off. However, I am scared about what might happen before this is granted as I understand it can take up to 2 months and at the moment the council are only allowing 28 days

[rowanwitch]

Most important, keep them informed, by post Not phone send them an income and outgoings statement as evidence of why you can't pay the debt. Keep copies as proof. At least then if it goes to court they can't say you just ignored the situation.

[Peter Pedant]

.I am sorry you have got into this mess.

I am in the process of applying for an IVA and have been advised that the council debt could be or partly be written off.

so you have clearly sought advice. - I think you should ring them. CT CAN be written off, BUT it is a technical area. Rowan's advice is good. Also think of Citizen's Advice - they are very good on debt.

[andy-hughes]

Rowan is quite correct.

Councils don't want to waste valuable resources chasing debts, they much prefer negotiations with payers.

Write and state unequivocally that yiy are aware of the debt, and you fully intend to pay it.

Advise them you are working out an affordable payment plan, and will confirm when it is in place, and ask them to confirm that this is acceptable.

That will move you off the 'can't pay / won't pay' list, which leads to unpleasantness, and onto the 'will pay / is going to pay' list, which leads to cooperation.

Good luck.

[derek9770]

thank you all for your help

[derek9770]

thank you rowanwitch. I have done as you have said. The Council want the money - which I don't have and are only prepared to allow a month for me to pay nearly £2000. They have said I can let it go to a court summons and then apply to the court for more time to pay. I am just worried that bailiffs will be set into the equation. I genuinely appreciate your assistance

[Canary42]

In addition to Andy's post, I would suggest that you make a down payment of what you can afford, and confirm that you are working on a plan to pay the rest. The Court would then be very unsympathetic with the Council so it should discourage them (the Council) from taking that route.

[rowanwitch]

If you have other debts, work out the total you owe (A), and the total you have each month to pay off the money you owe.(B) Work out the pro rata amount so if you owe a total of £4000 the council tax is 50% of your debt, so if you have £50 per month available you should pay them £25 per month. It's how National debtline work. They are really helpful and also have some very useful letter templates you can adapt and print out.
The Council will be intransigent as they seem to be under instructions to take a hard line. They are not allowed to place anyone in hardship though and even if it goes to court that will apply.

[derek9770]

thank you Canary42. I have done something similar to that. I have made a down payment of a third of the amount outstanding - I just don't have any more money to pay anymore. It's just a question of whether the IVA will be granted before the Council decide to take further action. The intermediary between the IVA practitioner and I has already spoken to the council to confirm what is going on so they know I am taking a proactive response. Thank you once again for your input though, it is much appreciated

[Canary42]

With such a significant down payment I think the Council are bloody unreasonable taking such a hard line. Some JobsWorth Bureaucrat no doubt.

[New Judge]

There are a number stages in the process the Council must undertake:

- First of all, the Council must obtain a "Liability Order" from the court. This instructs the debtor to pay.

- In the event of non-payment the Council must return to court and ask for a "Warrant of Control". This allows them to instruct bailiffs to secure payment and, if necessary, to seize control of goods to offset the payment (hence a "Warrant of Control.").

- If this fails to recover the sum, the Council must return to court. They will then seek the committal to prison of the debtor (who has now become "the defendant" in adversarial proceedings) for non-payment. The court must undertake a "means enquiry", looking into the debtor's means. When this has been completed, the court has to decide whether they find that either "wilful refusal to pay" (WR) or "culpable neglect" (CN) has been exhibited by the defendant.

"Wilful Refusal" is self-explanatory - the defendant had the means to pay but simply refused. "Culpable Neglect" means the defendant had the means to pay, but decided to spend his funds on something else and so is now unable to pay.

If the court finds either WR or CN they will be asked to make an order committing the defendant to prison. The period of imprisonment depends on the sum owed and the reasons the court found for non-payment.

In the first instance the court is likely to impose a suspended committal, ordering payment to be made (either in one go, or by instalments) as they think fit. In the event of failure to comply with that order, the suspended committal is likely to be enacted. It is important to be aware that, unlike committal for non-payment of fines (where the debt is written off by the time served in custody), in the event of committal to prison for non-payment of Council Tax, the debt remains outstanding on the release of the defendant.

In the event they find that the defendant does not have the means to pay, they have the power to remit (i.e. write off) some or all of the amount outstanding.

These arrangements apply to England only. In Wales there has been no powers to commit to prison for non-payment since 2019 (though the other provisions - liability orders and warrants of control - are available to the court). I've no idea what happens in Scotland.

[derek9770]

Thank you New Judge