council tax debt scotland

[dan3]

i have received a summary warrant from Walker love well 5 actually ,

three amounting to just over £300 ,

£30 for missed payment this year and

£267 for the water rates part when i was unemployed ,

it is the first two i am most concerned with .

 

The first has a warrant date of 27/07/10 for £776.66

the second a warrant date of 01/08/11 for £678.78 ,

 

 

i did not take over the tenancy until May 2012 ,

my late wife was the sole tenancy signature until her death and mt signing a new agreement .

 

 

When i signed the agreement i was not told about this debt and it came out the blue in 2014 ,

no mention of it before this ,

 

 

can they transfer a warrant in to my name when it must have been served under my late wife,s name ? ,

 

 

if they cant is it legal to charge me using these warrants ? , and finally , how do i deal with WL , thank you in advance

[ploddertom]

Hi - welcome to CAG. As your problem is specific to Scotland I have moved it to the Dealing with debt in Scotland Forum & also asked someone who knows about this to look in.

[dan3]

thank you

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

As far as I know, couples living together will both be liable, even if there is only one name on the bill. This applies whether the couple is married, cohabiting or in a civil partnership.

 

Were you living at the address on the dates mentioned on the warrants.

[dan3]

yes i was

[dan3]

I was wondering about the name on the original warrants , but thank you , so any advice on Dealing with WL ? they seem to be pretty aggressive going by what i have read

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

In many cases one person alone will be liable for the council tax in respect of a house. But where two or more people are joint owners or joint tenants they will be jointly liable for the council tax regardless of whether the bill is sent to them in their joint names or just to one of them. Where a liable person is living in the dwelling with their husband, wife or civil partner then generally both are jointly liable for the council tax bill. This also applies to individuals living together as civil partners or as a married couple.

 

I've never dealt with WL myself, but do know they do go for wages arrestment ect, you can apply to the courts for a time to pay order.

 

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

 

Once a summary warrant has been issued, and you do not make arrangements to pay your council tax arrears, the council will obtain a charge for payment. Once the charge for payment has expired, normally after 14 days, sheriff officers have powers to get the money from you by: arresting your earnings, freezing your bank accounts and taking money from your bank accounts.

 

As the Sheriff Officers already have a Summary Warrant, This type of procedure bypasses the normal court process. In effect councils are not obliged to go the long and complex route through the Sheriff Court to achieve Judgment. Basically the councils apply for a form which the court will automatically provide. The Summary Warrant is a virtually automatic path to enforcement.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Scott.