Theres been a bit of a hiccup this month. I've just received a letter, claiming a payment is late and now i have to pay the rest of it before 22nd of october plus £51 for a court hearing. Totalling up to approx, £650. Normally my gf pays this and as its been a busy month we've just totally forgot to do so, now i'm a normal person i usually pay all my bills on time etc, i dont have a criminal record so why do they have to take me to court? All it takes is one quick phone call to ask why i havn't paid this? Now ive paid last months and im going to attempt to call them on monday morning while im work, but this is usually hard as i never have time and the opening times are ridiculous. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is it easy to sort out? Have i actually lost my right to pay monthly or could i just setup a direct debit and this would be fine? Expecting someone to pay £650 up front is crazy.
The council in my area (North Somerset) will send out 2 warning letters instructing that you are in arrears before finally removing your right to pay monthly. Warning letters or no, if you have failed to pay them within instructed timescale then they have the right to remove your option to pay monthly. You can either pay it all off at once, or you should also be able to phone them and setup a direct debit for the remainder of the year, preventing the requirement of a single large chunk of money to be going out, in addition to not facing court/extra fees. Make the time to give them a ring Monday AM and get things put to bed.
Yeah it's happened to me before, don't worry. Just call them at some stage before the court hearing and agree a monthly direct debit amount if you can't afford the full settlement figure.
The three different councils I've dealt with all gave 2 warning letters per year before calling for all the money to be paid. Sure this is the first one you missed? They can't call you up to ask why you haven't paid as there is probably thousands of people who miss payments etc. Automated process will just generate the letter.
Ha, no they want me to pay the remainder of this tax year, The amount being the above. I had one at the begining of the year as i wasnt sure of the payment date etc, it might be because of this also. Yea thanks for the advice ill attempt to setup a direct debit on monday morning. Makes me a little bit relieved tbh, shouldve seen my face when i got this haha
The council cannot remove your right to pay monthly if you miss one council tax payment Regardless of whatever letter they send you.... you can still pay monthly Its a game you see....
This. Also the court fee is so they can legally agree what action will be taken if you miss another payment. You don't need to go, but you will have to pay the money.
It's just scare tactics. If you want to make a stand, reply by letter and tell them you find they are abusing their position, causing undue stress, and that you will not deal with them personally, you will see them in court. Additionally tell them it was an oversight that it was not paid, you were in a position to pay that months council tax and you had every intention of paying it. When it gets to court the judge should find in your favour, you will not need to pay court fees, and the council should get abuse from the judge for being far too heavy handed. Either that or phone them and say you'll pay the month that's outstanding, move back to direct debits, and they can shove their court fees.
