To think this is an attempt to cheat me but I don't know how or why

[elderflowerlemonade]

I am in trouble, and I really need help which is largely the reason I am asking on here.

It is a little bit complicated but essentially I received notification in autumn 2012 that some council tax on a property I own hadn't been paid, and this had gone to the bailiffs - I paid it.

Then in August 2013 I got the shock of my life when the bailiffs turned up again and said I still owed money. I paid it. These two amounts equalled nearly one and a half thousand pounds in total - one was £700 one was six hundred and something. I know that'll have bailiffs fees as well. I asked if that was it - was told yes.

Another letter in February 2014 and I rang up and honestly just kept getting passed from pillar to post - council said ring the bailiffs, bailiffs said ring the council. This kept going on until April 2014 when they turned up and I paid them £800 otherwise they would have clamped DHs car.

I've just had ANOTHER letter saying I owe money - HOW?

I think - I just don't know what to think. Haven't been resident in this property for over 2 years now. Can anybody help?

Just for the record ...there is a period of time an empty property is exempt from council tax (6 month) and then there was a period of time if you can show it is being refurbished you might get a 10% discount
BUT the rules have changed -councils can make their own rules.
When my Uncle died we were still sorting out his estate after the 6 months we were told the council tax on an empty property was going to be 150%....(that was in England). Also if someone is in a care home you don't pay CT but if you bought a house from someone in that situation you would have no exemption because it had been empty for more than the 6 months - even before you owned it.

Here in Scotland we are refurbishing a property and it is not going to plan it has been empty for more than a year. So we have to pay 200% council tax -yes double what we would pay if we could live there. Whrn they changed the rules they gave us 3 months notice for the change from a 10% discount - after much complaining I got another 3 months on 90%. As soon as possible (when it has a kitchen and bathroom - currently uninhabitable so we can't do this) DP is going to move in ...and I will live here - and we will get a 25% discount on both...(And as a holiday home (you stay in 28 days a year or something) you still get a hefty discount )
And they get it wrong ...when it went up to the 200% looking at their figures it all added up but was more than I was expecting (I pay monthly) - they apparently had issued the bill a few days before my monthly payment had been paid and hadn't included the previous months at all - so I would have overpaid by almost £400 on the year ...and they admitted they wouldn't have known. Also they sent me a reminder letter when I was late paying once - dated 6 days after the due date and I received it 4 days after that - so late I thought I must have forgotten to pay ...checked and it had left my account a day late -phoned them up and they said it was all automatically generated, they had received my payment but they couldn't stop the reminder - and I would get another but to ignore it ...still don't get that! (And if you phone them up they have an automated system so it is impossible to speak to anyone - you get different recorded general information messages then it ends the call - I have phoned the main switchboard before now screaming - after 4 or 5 attempts to actually speak to someone ...they told me to press the 'bereaved' option - as you do get to speak to someone then )

Did the bailiffs give you copies of the court papers? It might be worth going to the court (in person) and explaining everything to them, and get them to check and confirm all the details, with dates and amounts etc.

You could be the victim of an elaborate scam.

They're legit enforcement agents.

Not sure how they've added up the demand notice you've pictured but it suggests there are other bills.

You need to check with the council what period you've been charged for and what money they have received. Did you personally notify the council that you had moved and sold the property and provide a forwarding address? That's the only way you can be sure you will receive any outstanding bills.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for your advice and I have asked MN to pull this due to a privacy concern.

Thanks again.

I know this is going to get pulled, but just to agree with the point that all councils are different in the way they handle empty houses.

Ours (NW) used to give you a total of six months free, now you get one month free, full amount charged for the first year and then 150% after that. I think because councils are short of money, they are less likely to give generous rebates on empty properties now.

It wasn't empty.

Before you go, I just wanted to add that the council usually has a company administrate their council tax. In our neck of the woods it is called Liberata. They are totally useless and unless you go in and demand an interview with them you might just be chasing your tail with them. I would gather up all paper work you have on the property and council tax, what you've paid etc and go in and get an interview to sort it out once and for all before the next bailiff visit. Also might be worth contacting the bailiffs to ask why you've had 3 visits and get paperwork from them regarding the original complaint from the company used by the council to administrate council taxes.

Quite clearly the OP has been handing money over because, whoever has been in that property probably shouldn't have been.

It wasn't empty, she didn't live in it and she had no tenants. She is parting with money so it's not looked into to much

?

I parted with money because bailiffs actually don't take 'let me call the council and talk about this politely' as an answer.

It's not what I have experienced. However you kept paying up and seem to ignore every telling you whoever lived there needs to pay. But your house didn't have a tenant (as far as you know) wasn't empty, but you weren't there.

Simple answer is to tell the council who was living there and show proof that they agreed to pay the tax.

But they were billing me for the period I lived there - sorry for the bold but I now understand where the misunderstandings have come from.

The impression seems to be that I didn't pay when I did live there and I did and I've now 'paid' several times over.

OK, so, for the whole period you owned the house, find the council tax bills, the bank statements showing how much you paid each month when you lived there, the previous balif demands, proof of those payments, and proof you sold the property.

Then rock up at the council offices ( or make an appointment) and get them to explain.

That's going to be the difficult part but I will certainly go to the council.

I think you can get bank statements going back at least 6 years and possibly up to 12 under the data protection act - it's called a subject action request? The council will probably be able to supply details of payments to your account, but this won't help if payments have been accidentally lost. Might cost a small fee (about £10) but it sounds like it will be worth it.

How long did you live there and how much was the annual council tax bill? Ours is about £700 per year but we live in a very cheap house.

I would get the bank statements, find out how much I have paid, and find out how much I should have paid (how long did you live there/own the property and how much was the council tax - your council will be able to tell you this).

Then you have proof of what you have paid, proof of what you owed and then should know if you owe any more.

Thanks Work

Did you have a rebate (for single occupancy) that was revoked when the 'we' you mentioned moved in? Could it be connected to/around that date?

To have bailiffs surely it has gone to court - did you not get any letters about it at all? Did they send them to the old address?