to ask if you are still paying your council tax, utilities, rent, mortgage etc or been forced to stop them?

[boringrobot]

Just that really.

Everyone is in the same boat and they courts wouldn't be able to prosecute everyone for non-payment, especially if they can't pay because they have lost their jobs and have no money.

I will probably pay but will be late as my wages will be much less.

Some families have not paid (bills) and got away with it

I don't think anyone's "getting away" with not paying.

I have deferred some utilities for a month so I won't incur a late paying fee and landlords cannot start eviction proceedings in the next 3 months. Those bills will all have to be paid when I return to work. Most families will be in a fuck ton of debt after this.

Bluepeace I was in the north of England and this was some years ago. They changed it during my time there and everyone was up in arms about it. We were told it became matched. My pension is dire unfortunately. Certainly not the generous one I envisioned when I went into the public sector.

@Willyoujustbequiet I can't speak for your pension, but I would say if that's the case it's very unusual and unfortunate as most LGPS schemes are still defined benefit with higher employer contributions. The only time I had a matched scheme is in a council spun out service so essentially private pension, but those who were tuped still had the 14% contributions which was a sore point for many. There have been big changes to the schemes and lots of strikes a few years ago, but the LGPS scheme as a whole certainly hasn't become matched.

Paying my rent in full tomorrow when we have the correct funds (due today, I’m sure they can wait a day). No income at all, having to borrow money from family

Just applied for council tax reduction, everyone else in the same boat should do the same. We have no income whatsoever at the moment so will be interesting to see how much they expect us to pay

Gas & Electric was overpaid last month anyway so we’re in credit (Octopus)

Severn Trent can wait

We made a claim for UC top up anyway over 2 months ago now. We obviously now need the full amount. Impossible to get through to on the phone now the virus has hit. It’s really not as simple as it sounds!

@Megan2018 I’m on mat leave (SMP only now and that stops soon) and DH’s job looks unstable and he doesn’t qualify for Furlough unfortunately. We have a BTL and can’t get new tenants in lockdown. So we are looking to minimise our cash expenditure for now. We have savings but not enough.

If your BTL is empty it is worth contacting your local council or housing agencies in your area to see if they will take it off your hands. They may pay less depending on the type of property. They are having to house a lot of people right now.

If you're struggling with gas/electricity you can give your energy company a call and put a temporary hold on your payments. This means you will build up arrears but instead of just 'not paying' you have made an agreement with the company. My DP is fielding a lot of these calls!

Luckly im still working and bills are still getting paid.

Our two free council tax months are at the end as well.

If you are with Severn Trent water you can go on a twelve month plan to pay water rates and Scottish power have things in place if you are struggling to pay the direct debit but you need to call them

I have no financial issues at present so am still paying everything.

My biggest issue is that my car needs an MOT and I don’t know when I can literally get out the house to get it done. DH doesn’t drive so it has to be me. I don’t get an extension because the date when it could get it done started last Sunday.

@horrorofmany I’m not interested in selling it, it’s my pension! It has a very high yield and as soon as I am getting paid (from July as I have nearly 8 weeks paid holiday before return to work in Sept) I can afford for it to be empty even if DH loses job- it’s just a temporary glitch as I’m the main earner in our household by a huge amount and currently not earning. The income from it was paying for me to take the full year mat leave.

I have got an interested tenant though who has just cleared referencing this morning and paid a holding deposit (house was advertised for 24hrs before lockdown), so when the lockdown restrictions are lifted they can move in. The mortgage holiday in the interim will help as I’m liable for council tax and utilities once empty but with any luck this will only be 3-4 months.

Just got to figure out how to check out current tenants during lockdown-I think a video call to walk around house with keys through letterbox is going to have to suffice this time. I think my cleaning company will do a clean once it is empty as they can just send one person to work alone and we can leave it for a couple of weeks once empty to allow for anything on surfaces to die first.

My current tenants are moving by their own choice-they gave notice before lockdown but have been offered the choice to extend if they need to.

Apologies @megan2018 I didn't explain myself very well. My db had a property become empty yesterday, notice was given before the lockdown. As the rental market isn't really working at the moment he has let it directly to the council who snapped it up straight away. Due to the type of property it is he is only getting about £25pcm less than market rent but yours could be different.

You may not want to let it to the council or an agency for a fixed amount of time but I was just suggesting it as an option if your mortgage terms allow.

@Samcro - you'd be surprised at the massive cash reserves of many local councils. It only came to light for the public when their investments in Iceland (the country not supermarket) were hit.
Haringey in London (not a wealthy borough) had over £30 million invested in Icelandic stocks. Of course this was only one of many funds they had invested in.
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2008/oct/10/localgovernment-iceland

Reference spending on council worker pensions - I checked my council's figures and it spends 7% on Corporate Services which includes pensions. Not very high.

I'm inclined to agree Diana 4 years ago, our local council commissioned a large piece of art/sculpture with fountain to go in the town centre. With all the technical problems they've had with the fountains, it's now cost them near to a million pounds.

One of the heads of our local council has been suspended for the last few months on full pay over fraud allegations.

I'm not saying everyone that works for the council are corrupt or laughing all the way to the bank, and of course there's no choice but to meet council tax bills, but there's no need to guilt trip people not able to pay council tax during the pandemic with comments like "local councils are desperate for money".

Paid everything in full, I’ve been furloughed and DH working as normal keyworker. (My pat is 4weekly, so will have to wait a bit longer until govt funding allows me to be paid so early may)

When we took our mortgage out we took it over a longer term even though we could afford shorter term and would always overpay monthly. We are still carrying on with this but can drop down to minimum payments for a few if needed. Have a 0% credit card as backup

We are paying everything as normal, currently still working as normal also but have enough in reserves to potentially manage a year if money stops coming in.

We’re paying everything as normal. I’m a nurse so I’m working more than usual and can do as many hours as I’ll agree to. With the reduction in kids activities were actually financially better off. I know we’re very fortunate.

Still paying everything as normal as our wages haven’t been affected
I’m still working and dh has been sent home in full pay while waiting for it to work from home

The 1/3rd figure came from a warning about 3 or 4 years ago. Not sure if it ever came to pass, I think the source was one council officer in one council.

Still paying bills in full because I am still being paid, I know I'm lucky.

For people struggling with council tax -

In 2017 when I was on Mat leave we were up shit street financially as I'm the higher earner.

We ended up behind with CT payments and it got to the point I received a court date to grant them a liability order. I rang them and explained humbly that I had buried my head in the sand.

They were so helpful and kind, they let me tell them how much I could afford and even spread the cost over the next billing year. If you are struggling, get in touch. Either via phone or email, they will absolutely help you.

It's when you bury your head and just cancel the direct debit that they take the hard route. Just call them. They are only people and want to help, it's easier for them too rather than the liability order route.

Best wishes all xx

I'm a stay at home mum and DP is now on furlough. His employer paid him roughly half of his wages yesterday so with that we paid all of our bills and have money set aside for food shopping but haven't yet paid our rent. I contacted the housing association last week and They have confirmed that received my message but have yet to contact me further so we can come up with a plan. Should be ok hopefully next month as furlough will fingers crossed have kicked in.

I'm still paying all my bills. I've been furloughed but I'm a single parent working part time on a low wage so I will get a housing benefit increase to make up for the wages I'm losing. I'll be about £100 a month worse off in total but I won't be buying takeaway coffee, getting my nails and eyebrows done like I normally do so it will even out.

I consider myself very very lucky to have my supermarket job. I struggle every month to cover the bills but I can just about do it and will carry on. I feel so bad for all those who've lost their jobs or been put on unpaid leave or have had their salaries cut.