cant believe he council!! CTAX

[itsamomentintime]

i bought a property in Jan 2005 andrang the council to say it was empty - i was told that i did not have to pay council tax on it for 12 months, and at a rate of 50% after this

 

imagine my delight at recieving a council tax bill for £1800 in Oct 2006. i visited the council to point out their mistake, and they said they would amend the amount to about £300. today i have recieved a demand from Equita asking for £2019

 

what can i do? can the bailiffs enter my property, like they are threatening to?

[rogerebaker]

i bought a property in Jan 2005 andrang the council to say it was empty - i was told that i did not have to pay council tax on it for 12 months, and at a rate of 50% after this

 

imagine my delight at recieving a council tax bill for £1800 in Oct 2006. i visited the council to point out their mistake, and they said they would amend the amount to about £300. today i have recieved a demand from Equita asking for £2019

 

what can i do? can the bailiffs enter my property, like they are threatening to?

 

Put it in writting and send a copy to Equita.

 

There is loads of information on the forums about what bailiffs can and cant do. Have a good look around and you will find them.

 

In simple terms under no circumstances let them into your house. They cannot force entry without an order from court which they cannot get without you knowing about it.

 

If you let them in then the rules change and they can subsequently make an entry lawfully.

[Billyhunt]

Can you give a little more detail as to why the house has been empty as there are different rules/charges for different reasons regarding council tax. For example, being in the armed forces, or because major repairs are needed, or because someone is a student etc. Depending on the reason, the council will treat and charge differently. You may be able to go back to the council and correct the charge if you fall into an appropriate catagory and they have cocked it up.

[itsamomentintime]

i bought a property in Jan 2005 and told the council that it was empty - they told me that i do not have to pay council tax on the property for a year if it is empty, and then the rate after a year is 50%.

 

so imagine my delight when i recieved a council tax bill for £1900 a few months back. i went to the council who agreed that the mount is incorrect, and they will send me a revised bill of about £400.

 

i have not recieved this bill, but i did recieve a bailiffs letter from Equita Certificated Bailiffs yesterday explaining that they will be visiting my house to remove goods to be sold at auction to cover the debt.

 

this situation has caused me no end of stress and i am so angry i want to sue the council - have they committed an offence by not giving me the opportunity to pay the debt of £400, before passing the matter onto the bailiffs?

 

also, are the bailiffs committing an offence by demanding that i repay a debt that doesnt exist?

[ivorbiggun]

The Council should have issued a summons in the local Magistrates Court for non-payment. After that the Magistrates normally hear a block of cases and issue a judgement. After this the Council can send in the bailiffs. Have you received these from the Magistrates Court?

 

If not I'd get onto the Council pronto. Best to do everything in writing and maybe pay the Council Tax that is owed. Do a search for bailiffs powers as you don't have to answer the door or let them in despite what they might say.

[itsamomentintime]

been to the council, red faced robot said the debt is £240, not £1900

 

i asked why i have not recieved a bill from the council, and why they passed a non-existent debt to the bailiffs

 

'does not compute' reply

 

i told them that if i have to visit them again over this (that would be the 4th time i would have had to see them), i will be charging them for my time