Polltax

[Inkey]

Hello all.

I think I already know the answer to this question but here goes anyway:

I received a reminder to pay my council tax. It said that I needed to pay within 7 days or lose the right to pay by instalments, and if I fail to pay in a further 7 days than legal action will be taken against me, and I will have to pay further costs.

I got this missive (date of issue) 23/04/09

Unfortunately my father has just died and I haven’t been in my flat to deal with things like this. I realise this is not the government’s responsibility, to find out where I am and hand deliver the letter. But I missed those deadlines.

I heard no more from the Tower Hamlets. But I paid the full amount on 20/05/09. So late.

I thought that would be it.

But I have since got a letter dated 22/05/09, saying that although I have paid the original amount, I owed a further £75. Which as a summons has been issued, this amount has been levied on my account. And I must pay this before 13th June to avoid further action.

So my question ... is this fair?

I think the answer is probably going to be yes.

I paid £796.90.

I live in a smallish one bedroom flat.

By myself.

And I earn much less than £16,000.

Does that mean they owe me money?

And they have a year’s money so surely they will make extra on the interest.

Is there any way to argue out of this fine?

And is it boorish to mention the unfair bank fines?

I had to borrow deeply to pay the almost £800 I have paid. And I feel sick that I now have to find another £75.

Thanks for reading any help would be most appreciated,

Thanks
x

[Stinky]

Hey Inkey,

I sympathise with your situation.

The short answer is yes, you do have to pay the charge for the issue of the summons. Legally the council has carried out it's duty in issuing you a reminder and are within their rights to issue a summons at any time after the 7 days if it hasn't been paid at the time they issue it. The law says that the council can levy a charge for "reasonable costs" in the issuing of a summons. It could be argued that £75 is unreasonable as if, for instance, the council sent out 800 summonses then that means that the council are collectively charging £60'000 in summons charges. And there's obviously no way it costs the council that much to get 800 letters stamped by the court and sent out. The only way you could challenge this, however, is by going before the magistrates on the hearing date and arguing the point. So if you ever find yourself in this position again, then pay the council tax without the costs then go before the magistrate on the hearing date and try and get the magistrate to rule that the costs are unreasonable.

The council tax officers, however, can discretionally remove the costs if they see fit to, so if you wrote a really good letter about the death of your father, maybe backing it up with a photocopy of the death certificate, then it may be read by a sympathetic officer and they may credit your account with the costs (sympathetic officers do exist, I promise, you just have to be lucky with who you get).

Also, for future reference, if you get a summons again, the council love direct debit payers so a lot of councils will be willing to negotiate monthly repayment if you offer to pay by direct debit.

Yes, the councils will earn interest if you pay the whole amount for the year in advance. This isn't the reason they do it though... the main reason is that the higher the collection rate is by the end of the financial year then the lower the council will be able to keep the tax increase in the following year, so it helps the collection rate at the same time as acting as a deterrent for missing payments or paying late in the future.

Hope you've found this info useful!