Backdated Council Tax Arrears - scotland - help

[anniemac65]

Hi,

 

Having suffered with severe depression bordering on BiPolar for the past 5 years i've hidden my head in the sand regarding my Council Tax until now.

 

I have to be honest & say that i've totally ignored all letters & requests for payment so my bill is now around £5,000, which i'm totally embarrassed to admit to.

 

In those 5yrs i've lived alone with my 21yr old daughter who has either been a student or unemployed in that time

but as i said i ignored all correspondence & didn't apply for the single adult discount so question 1 is this..

..can i ask for the discount to be backdated?

 

You can obviously guess that i have been sent another Request for payment from Sherrif's Officers

but i would like to get this sorted before things get any worse & also before it sets my mental health back to where it was.

 

So my 2nd question,

 

can i deal with my local council instead of the Sherrif's Officers?

 

Reading this back i can't believe how stupid i've been

but I recognise that i have to deal with it now

 

but have no idea where to start

 

so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[renegadeimp]

Hi there annie. Im guessing you live in scotland right? I'll pop a note to an admin and get them to move your post to the scotland subforums and see if we can get our resident scottish admin to pop in.

[anniemac65]

Yes i do & thank you

[dx100uk]

ok

I've put you in the bailiff forum

as its better here

the Scottish lot [inc me]

 

will pick it up...

 

can I begin a few questions.

 

have you medical evidence of your condition

 

i'm toying with you being vunerable [as such]

 

and p'haps [knowing my council well]

 

it might be better to go into the local office and talk direct to them

 

or get them to help direct you to get the benefits sorted quickly.

 

and put a hold on things

 

normally I find most Scottish council tax staff very good once they know the issues involved.

 

dx

[anniemac65]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

 

My doctor & psychiatrist could provide any medical evidence that would be required.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

Have you received a summary warrant, you mention another request for payment from the Sheriff Officers, was this a Charge for Payment.

[anniemac65]

I've received a summary warrant last wee & today a charge for payment. I've had them before but nothing came of them.

[maroondevo52]

I wouldn't be fooled into thinking nothing will happen again, like you say this is something you want to get sorted.

When the charge for payment has expired, normally after 14 days, sheriff officers have powers to recover the money due, like arresting earnings, freezing bank accounts ect.

 

Once a charge for payment has been issued you can apply for time to pay which will allow you to make a repayment plan. It will also prevent Sheriff officers taking any further action.

There's a link here regarding this...............

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?185249-Have-you-received-a-charge-for-payment-arrestment-summary-warrant

 

As dx has suggested would be worth your while getting in touch with the Council regarding any discounts you should have been due ect, I'm not too clued up on what you can claim or cant.

 

As you have received the Charge for Payment it's usually the Sheriff Officers you have to deal with regarding paying back arrears but have a word with your council, hopefully they will let you know the score regarding any discounts you may get.

[anniemac65]

Yes i definitely want to get this sorted, i can't hide from it any longer.

 

Thank you all for your help, i will contact the council in the morning & at least make a start on getting this matter cleared

[dx100uk]

are you near your council office

 

sorry to ask pers questions but which council please

 

dx

[maroondevo52]

Yes i definitely want to get this sorted, i can't hide from it any longer.

 

i will contact the council in the morning & at least make a start on getting this matter cleared

 

Let us know how you get on, I don't know your situation regarding employment or Benefits ect so are not sure if you'd be due the full Council Tax or not.

 

You will get things sorted, might take a wee while but better late than never, It'll be good if the Council help you out, good luck with that.

[anniemac65]

Yeah my council office is only a 5 minute drive.....it's north lanarkshire council

[anniemac65]

I work full-time but as my daughter was still in education & then unemployment i should've applied for the single adult discount.

I will certainly let you know how things turn out

[anniemac65]

Thank you for the link to the 'time to pay' form......can i ask a question regarding this form? How will i know which court to send the form to?

[maroondevo52]

can i ask a question regarding this form? How will i know which court to send the form to?

 

Hi,

 

The court should be on your Charge for Payment, I take it will be your Local one.

 

I forgot to mention yesterday that when you do not act on a Charge for Payment after some time the Sheriff Officers can apply for another one and this costs you almost £100 in fee's ect that gets added to your arrears, out of order I know but that's how they work.

 

If the Sheriff Officers are not aware of who employs you I would not be in any rush to tell them.

 

Are you sure the amount they are asking for is the true amount your due, if not you can get a full breakdown of all charges and fees ect applied to your bill from the council, don't think they charge you for this.

[anniemac65]

I'm not sure at all as i don't have the original bills, i only have the correspondence from the Sherrif's Officers, so i will ask for the breakdown.

 

I don't know if they know who i work for, i presume they will be able to find out though so i want to try & get a payment plan in place before it goes that far.