Alex M Adamson chasing old [2001) CTAX debt

[1plus2]

Hi i received a letter from Alex M Adamson (A M A) about council tax arrears from 2000/1.

 

Now this has to do with x wife who at that time turns out she had not been paying the council tax which i did not know about.

 

I phoned her and asked her about this letter and she told me that this was correct and she had been dealing with it but she now is been made bankrupt and according to her this council tax is being paid for due to this bankruptcy.

 

We had split up over money issues and basically debts but i gave her the house because i would not make the kids homeless but the understanding was all the debts were being paid off and they were or so i thought, i had to go and sign documents etc etc etc giving her the house and the debts being paid off when she remortgaged the house which was fine but now it turns out she had not told me about this council tax debt not being paid.

 

So now A M A has for some reason now got me as in debt with this council tax from 2000/1 even tho the x wife assures me this is being paid under this bankruptcy thing she had done.

So just wanting any info anyone can give me on what are my options and will i be liable for this even tho it's meant to be getting paid now i am being told in this letter that they will end up freezing my bank account, wages arrestment sheriff oficers etc etc etc if i do not pay this.

 

Now i am on DLA and ESA and i cannot work now due to health reasons so they cannot do a wages arrestment since i do not work but they probably can do the freezing my bank account and take my benefits money ?

 

The thing that is strange to me before i received this letter (which i think is down to what i am going to say here or something to do with this bankruptcy) i had been paying this bedroom tax and i was told i could get a discretionary housing payment so i applied and indeed i got one and the council told me i would get a refund of what i had paid but if there was any outstanding debt owed to the council in my name they would take whatever from the money due.

 

I thought well i have been in a council house 6 years and have never missed any payments regarding the council so i waited for the money to be refunded and it duly was refunded so that was the last of it or so i thought.

 

But now i am wondering why did the council not take the money i was due from them and put it towards this so called council debt ? i can only think this is because this had been passed on to A M A in 2000/1 or whenever.

 

So if anyone can give me any advice on this matter it would be greatly appreciated thx in advance

 

PS I live in Scotland

[ericsbrother]

How long have you been divorced and did you have a judicial separation before that? If you have been legally apart for more than 5 years the debt is nothing to do with you.

[1plus2]

Unfortunately i am not divorced as of yet but we have been separated more than 5 years

[citizenB]

Were you registered as living at the property at the time the Council tax was levied ?

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I take it you were living at the address at the time the Sheriff Officers are saying you are due the Council Tax for.

 

If so, Council Tax debts normally have Joint and Several Liability which covers circumstances where more than one individual is liable for a debt. Each party is held jointly liable for the full debt, and creditors may seek recovery of all or part of the debt from each or all of the joint debtors.

 

What I'm not sure about is whether they can still chase you for the debt after your ex has said they are Bankrupt (Serquestrated).

Community charge or council tax arrears before the sequestration are treated like any other debt with the local authority becoming one of the creditors. The local authority is not able to use its debt enforcement powers after a sequestration.

 

You say you received a 'letter' what exactly did they say in it, was it a 'charge for payment of money'.

[1plus2]

Were you registered as living at the property at the time the Council tax was levied ?

 

If that means was i living there in 2000/1 then yes i think i was but as i say i was unaware of this council tax not being paid

[1plus2]

Hi,

 

I take it you were living at the address at the time the Sheriff Officers are saying you are due the Council Tax for.

 

If so, Council Tax debts normally have Joint and Several Liability which covers circumstances where more than one individual is liable for a debt. Each party is held jointly liable for the full debt, and creditors may seek recovery of all or part of the debt from each or all of the joint debtors.

 

What I'm not sure about is whether they can still chase you for the debt after your ex has said they are Bankrupt (Serquestrated).

Community charge or council tax arrears before the sequestration are treated like any other debt with the local authority becoming one of the creditors. The local authority is not able to use its debt enforcement powers after a sequestration.

 

You say you received a 'letter' what exactly did they say in it, was it a 'charge for payment of money'.

 

The letter says WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL -Arrears of council tax

 

Debt Advice and Guidance

 

Balance £xxxx.xxx

 

We note the that the above debt remains outstanding. In view of this level of outstanding debt we would recommend that in order to avoid further action you consider taking advantage of the information and guidance available on the following sites.

 

Money Advice Scotland

 

 

WEST LOTHIAN SCOTLAND

 

 

In the meantime we would strongly recommend that you contact ourselves to discuss your circumstances and set up a regular payment arrangement .We have listed the various payment options we provide on the reverse of this letter and they include a secure online facility at or via Post Office/Paypoint outlets and at any of the offices listed.

 

 

 

Payment can also be made directly to a dedicated account using the following details and with your reference number ---------(----/-)

 

Then there is an account number and sort code for Alex M Adamson then it says

 

Please note that failure to provide the correct reference number may result in a delay in allocation or non-allocation of funds to your account and that this may result in further action being taken.

 

Please Note :- Do not send CASH by post

 

Yours faithfully Alex M Adamson LLP

 

Then on the reverse of letter there are options to set up payments via sort codes and account numbers and various other stuff about payment by cheque or postal order and Alex M Adamson call centre hours times.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

Thanks for that, I've removed the amount due.

 

It looks like they can hold you liable for the total debt, people often think that if a debt is in joint names then each joint owner is only liable for 50% of the debt – that is incorrect. Joint owners of debt are jointly and severally liable, that means each joint owner is liable for the full amount of the debt.

 

Regarding trying to pay this back, there are only certain Benefits they can touch and even then the amount they can take is very small.

They can go for a Bank Account Arrestment, if they have your account details, if they don't then there's not a lot they can do.

 

I've never dealt with Alex M Adamson so I'm not sure how actively they will persue this.

 

You can either leave it for a bit and see if they take it further, the only problem with that is there will be added charges if they do take it further.

 

I'd get in touch with them and explain your circumstances regarding what benefits your on ect, I wouldn't mention any Bank Accounts.

You should be able to get some sort of affordable repayment arrangement set up.

[1plus2]

Appreciate the prompt reply maroon what sticks in my craw is that this debt is being dealt with through this bankruptcy or so i have been told, also i don't really want to get in touch with them as i reckon they will just hassle me and with my health issues and mental state nowadays this will just make me worse.

Already on all sorts of medications due to ill health and depression this will just make me worse.

 

Regarding the bank arrestment what are the chances of them getting the account details and will they freeze everything and if they do what happens to the stuff that needs paying which i do online all the time.

 

As i said they might have got my details through a bedroom tax refund and the council will see what bank the cheque was presented to ? also i take it the council would pass this onto A M A.

 

Also as i said the council had said if any debts were outstanding in my name they would with hold any monies due too them why did they not take the refund from the bedroom tax i was due back ? thx again for the replies.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I know where your coming from regarding the stress ect they can cause when you get in touch.

You could always just wait and see if they contact you again.

 

Regarding the Bank Arrestment, there are strict rules about how this can be done and there is a minimum amount protected for you still to use in your account (£460.06 from 6 April 2013). If you have several bank accounts with the same bank the protected amount of £460.06 applies to all the accounts together. If you have several accounts but they are all in different banks the protected amount of £460.06 applies to each account separately. You might need to check carefully who you have your accounts with as some banks with separate names are in the same banking group. This could mean that the accounts may be treated as being with the same bank.

 

If your account was to be arrested, they cannot just be given the money that is owed straight away. You have to agree to it being paid out to the creditor but, if you don’t agree, after 3 months, the money will be paid out automatically.

 

I'm not sure how the council do not have any outstanding debts against your name.

 

If you decide to sit it out let us know how things are going if they get back in touch or not.

 

There's always someone willing to give you help with things.

 

Regards,

 

Scott.

[IdaInFife]

If a person becomes bankrupt then the So's can chase the other person for it in full as they are likey to get nothing or very little from the BK, depending on the circs.

[1plus2]

Hi,

 

I know where your coming from regarding the stress ect they can cause when you get in touch.

You could always just wait and see if they contact you again.

 

Regarding the Bank Arrestment, there are strict rules about how this can be done and there is a minimum amount protected for you still to use in your account (£460.06 from 6 April 2013). If you have several bank accounts with the same bank the protected amount of £460.06 applies to all the accounts together. If you have several accounts but they are all in different banks the protected amount of £460.06 applies to each account separately. You might need to check carefully who you have your accounts with as some banks with separate names are in the same banking group. This could mean that the accounts may be treated as being with the same bank.

 

If your account was to be arrested, they cannot just be given the money that is owed straight away. You have to agree to it being paid out to the creditor but, if you don’t agree, after 3 months, the money will be paid out automatically.

 

I'm not sure how the council do not have any outstanding debts against your name.

 

If you decide to sit it out let us know how things are going if they get back in touch or not.

 

There's always someone willing to give you help with things.

 

Regards,

 

Scott.

 

Yeah m8 the council not having outstanding debts in my name is a strange one but do the council relinquish those debts when they pass the debts on to Alex m Adamson ?

[1plus2]

If a person becomes bankrupt then the So's can chase the other person for it in full as they are likey to get nothing or very little from the BK, depending on the circs.

 

Thx for the answer Ida if this went to court what chances would i have if i said this debt is being paid by my ex wife albeit thru the bankruptcy route,worse case scenario is i could go bankrupt as well i spose but i really do not want to go down that route if at all possible.

[1plus2]

Update got another letter from A M A

 

Despite repeated requests for settlement ( i have only had 1 letter in my name at my new address) the above balance of arrears of council tax remains outstanding'

In the absence of any proposals to settle the balance being made no later than 5 days from the date of issue of this demand we will recommend to our clients that they instruct enforcement to proceed in terms of the authority provided by the summary warrant granted against you including

 

Arrestment of funds

 

Arrestment of funds due to you by another party

 

Earnings Arrestment

 

Attachment and Auction of non essential assets (including those within your dwelling house)

 

Then it goes on to give added monies will be added for third party arrestment and for attachment and auction.

 

So 2 letters in basically 2 weeks so looks like they will try and pursue this all the way or so the letter states so don't know if i should just let them do there worst as i cannot be doing with any of this to be honest.

[IdaInFife]

Thx for the answer Ida if this went to court what chances would i have if i said this debt is being paid by my ex wife albeit thru the bankruptcy route,worse case scenario is i could go bankrupt as well i spose but i really do not want to go down that route if at all possible.

 

You would have no chance - they want paid and they think that would be quicker and get more from you.

 

Have you received a letter headed "Charge for payment" ?

 

Have you made any offer of payment?

[IdaInFife]

If you approach the council they may arrange to have a regular payment deducted from your benefits which would be a minimal amount and would get them off your back

[1plus2]

You would have no chance - they want paid and they think that would be quicker and get more from you.

 

Have you received a letter headed "Charge for payment" ?

 

Have you made any offer of payment?

 

No ida i have not been in touch with anyone regarding any offer for payment.

 

Went to my local advice shop and they suggested if things were getting too much that bankruptcy would be an option for me.