Thanks for the reply. So if the property in question is registered with HMRC as my "main residence" then surely I should qualify? Thanks Gary

Hi, I'm a single expat (this is starting like a lonely hearts advert! ) but, I still own a house in the UK which I rent out. Currently it's empty and I've been paying council tax. I applied for the single person discount but it was denied on the basis that I was a landlord. However, I assume this is normally done on the basis that you are getting single person discount on the property you live in elsewhere. In this case that does not apply to me because I live abroad and am not getting single person discount on any other UK property. The property in question will be nominated as my main home for capital gains if I sell it and was my last residence in the UK. Do I have a case for disputing the denial of single person discount with the tribunal? I've email the council several times disputing their original decision and they have not replied. The council in question is Brighton.

Not sure what's going on with formatting. This wasn't how it was when I posted it.

I’ve had a builder refurbishing a rental property for over a year now. The original work was estimated to be around 4 months. Work has virtually ground to a halt since end of August. The property has been empty for six months and counting so I have lost over half a year’s rent. I have finally lost patience with the builder and obtained a quote from another builder who assures me he can finish the property before Christmas (at quite a lot more expense than the original quote). The problem I now have is that I paid the first builder up front for most of the work. He said he needed it for materials and to pay subcontractors plus I trusted him because he did work for me at other properties which went OK – big mistake. he underquoted the work, spent all the money on subcontractors and has now run out of money and is trying to finish it himself – at a snail’s pace – presumably because he is taking other paid work on to make end meets because this job isn’t paying anymore. I have fixed price quotes and invoices for work that has not been completed that I can prove I have paid for but unfortunately there were no completion dates or timescales on the quotes. If I kick him off site do I have a leg to stand on legally in getting my money back for the work he has not completed? Presumably he could argue he was going to do it, I just never gave him a chance and kicked him off site. Is there a legal concept of a reasonable timescale for completing work that I could argue in trying to claim my money back?

Full payment including warrant cost arrived from EJ in my bank account today. Almost six months to the day when my flight was diverted. Claim marked as paid. £191 paid for an £85 rail fare in the end. A small victory for the little guy

Judgement is for £191 payable immediately. EJ emailed me today saying payment has been issued so we'll see. I suspect they will send the lower amount not including the warrant.

So now my warrant has been issued is there any way I can check status (apart from phoning the court)? How do I know when a bailiff has been appointed? Will the bailiff contact me directly? How can I find out if/when they have visited EJ? I notice there is space for my contact number on the warrant request form N323 but it's blank. It was generated online and I wasn't given the chance to enter it. So I suppose any communication will be by post.

Done

Not a peep form EJ since my last email so I guess it's time to issue a warrant?

OK, I just sent the following to their customer service and the CEO emails. We'll see what happens: "Please find attached details of county court judgment issued against EasyJet on 17th August. Please arrange full payment to bank details below with immediate effect. Failure to pay this amount in full within 7 days from the date of this email will result in further enforcement costs."

OK so just came off the phone to CCBC (after their email response I waited 8 days for completely failed to answer my question) and they are saying that the judgment being issued on 17th August is the last stage. There is no action on the court to enter a judgement so the ball is in my court to enforce the judgement. So I assume the next action is to issue a warrant? Or should I write to EJ first - for what good it will do?

I emailed CCBC last Thursday and got an automated reply stating they reply within 5-10 working days. So I'm expecting a response sometime between tomorrow and next Thursday. Nothing on MCOL in the meantime.

Good for you. I've heard nothing from EJ or the courts since 17th August

Interesting. Both my payments cleared the balance and were done well over a week before they took the direct debit. In fact the payments were showing online. I wonder if that's just Capital One?

Yes the minimum payment was on the last statement but I cleared the balance about 2 weeks before the minimum payment was taken. Seems they calculated it from the last statement and didn't take into account payments made since the last statement.

I just zeroed the balance on my RBS MasterCard and MBNA MasterCard by transferring the balance to my BarclayCard Visa (0% till Aug 17). However, both of them still went ahead and took the minimum payment by direct debit. Both cards are now in credit by £46 and £23 respectively. Are they allow to do this and can I get the credit back without using the cards to buy something?

Thanks, that what I thought. Any idea how long that takes. About a month or so?

I don't think I have a judgment yet. All I have is a request for judgement which is the online form I filled out: N225 Request for judgment and reply to admission (specified amount) (04.14). Nothing on MCOL since then. Surely that does not count as the actual judgment? I thought the court was then supposed to review it and issue a judgement but that bit doesn't appear to have happened yet. So my question is: am I still waiting for the court to do something and if so how long should I give them before chasing it up? To be honest I'm completely confused as to the status of this claim now. The claim history on MCOL as of today is as follows: You submitted a claim on 05/07/2016 at 10:27:25 Your claim was issued on 06/07/2016 EasyJet Plc filed an acknowledgment of service on 26/07/2016 at 08:02:04 You submitted a judgment against EasyJet Plc on 16/08/2016 at 11:42:43 Your judgment against EasyJet Plc was issued on 17/08/2016 at 19:20:25

Which means what exactly? The only option I can see on MCOL is to request a warrant. Is that the next step?

Nothing since the judgement was issued on 17th August from either EJ or the court service. What's the typical turn around time for the court? 28 days? I'm guessing things are slow as it was issued in August.

I emailed the council to explain the situation. They have withdrawn the summons and I have paid up to end of September. If a new tenant moves in before then I have to apply for a refund. So we'll see how it goes but, for now, it seems to be resolved. thanks for the advice all.

Right but if by the time the hearing comes there is a new tenant in there then am I still liable for a full year? The property was only empty for 4 months. That cannot be correct surely?

No I didn't contact them yet. The summons arrived about a week after the bill (post is slow here). I have sent them an email. The tenant should be in before the hearing so surely the amount being demanded will be incorrect by then?

Well it says summons in large letters on the top. But it does say I do not need to attend unless I dispute liability. I don't dispute liability for the property just the fact that it's a full year they are asking for.

I had a tenant move out of a BTL in April in order to renovate the property. In June I got a council tax bill for a full year. Since the property will be re-let after the renovation (finished in a couple of weeks). I decided to hold off paying until I got a new tenant and knew the exact dates the property was empty so I could apply for a revised bill. Now I have got a summons asking for the full amount plus costs. Can they do this so quickly? Seems a bit overzealous to me? I will probably have a new tenant in there by the time the hearing comes up. What happens then. The amount due will not longer be valid. Or is this just scare tactics by the council? Council is Brighton by the way. Also I am an expat - non UK resident. They have sent the summons to my overseas address. Does that make it invalid?