WWYD?

[financialrecovery]

Posted here for traffic, I emailed council tax in January asking why everytime I logged in it showed no balance due and could they give me a breakdown of what I owed. I don't get letters (i wish I did and I've asked plenty of times).
They replied yesterday to let me know I owe 2724 from 2 years unpaid.

They have a fair debt scheme but you have to offer what you're able to pay and wait to see if it's accepted.

I'd have to offer 227 to pay it off in 1 year. I can't afford that. I can't afford anymore than 40 realistically but that would take 5 years to pay off. I already have an IVA I'm paying off so I can't do that. I don't want to insult them. Can anybody advise me what to offer?

I've done an income/expenditure and I have about £85 left per month but that's not including clothing and the things that usually pop up you haven't thought of.

I realise lots of people will want to flame/judge me for being in this position to begin with. That's fine. I accept responsibility for not being on top of things. My family is having an extremely difficult time so I don't need the comments from trolls, just realistic suggestions of what I could offer per month to pay this off if anybody works with the council or has done this before? Thanks

Does that include this year's?

Presumably they're going to want you to start paying your monthly council tax as a well as the backlog. Have you allowed for that before you £85 leftover? Or otherwise the debt is going to keep going up.

No so I'll be paying 129 for this years per month on top of that which I've accounted for.
It's last year and the year before

Just wanted to chime in and say I really feel for you, it sounds like you've actively tried to pay it in the past and this shouldn't have been allowed to happen, in my opinion.

Have they not chased you at all for two years?!

I'm sorry, I'm not quite clear. Is this debt because you weren't paying council tax last year? Or is that this year's bill?

You can only offer what you have realistically. If you speak to Citizens Advice, they can do an outgoing sheet with you and confirm it's all been done proper. Might give you some extra confidence in approaching them with your offer.

Just one other thing to be aware of, council tax is a priority debt that they can and do pursue attachment of earnings orders for and other such powers. Definitely smart to get it sorted sooner rather than later.

Good luck!

Sorry crossed posts and just reread the OP. 2 years is a long time to not pay, they may be more likely to pursue other routes because of the length of time you've avoided it. I really would recommend contacting Citizens Advice.

Yes go to citizens advice. personally 40 sounds too high,it doesn't leave you much spare.

How long do you have on your IVA? I think they probably need to know about this. Poor you, sounds very stressful.

Why can't you afford it? If you are on benefits should you have been claiming council tax benefit? Is this something you could do for this year's council tax?

Visuals if it helps

I already have an IVA I'm paying off so I can't do that. I don't want to insult them. Can anybody advise me what to offer?

I've done an income/expenditure and I have about £85 left per month but that's not including clothing and the things that usually pop up you haven't thought of.

Your IVA income-expenditure should be based on fair amounts included for clothing and basically everything that could crop up. There are lines in the budget for it all, that’s how they agree your payment. IVAs are really only good if you absolutely need to protect your credit history e.g. if you work in a profession where having bankruptcy CCJs etc would lose you your job.

As PP says, council tax is a priority debt so it basically supersedes the IVA in terms of importance.

If you’re now going to get a default because if council tax you might want to rethink everything including the IVA and see if it is still the right option for you.

Don't think the person dealing with the debt is going to be insulted. Better that you offer what you can afford rather than default.

And here is my online account

£40 sounds like too much and leaves you very little spare. Given that you have been chasing them I’d offer £25 with a commitment to pay extra if your income goes up.

@Seeline no I've not had a single letter from them since we moved into this house about 3 yrs ago. I have asked and asked.
I can't remember about before then.

I think they probably do (or maybe I've signed up to in the past) paperless billing, and there's some kind of error with my online account.

I don't really want to approach citizens advice. We live in a very "local" place and my nosey auntie works in our cab office.

I'm happy to approach with an offer I just have no idea what they expect really for this amount for a struggling person on a low income.

It says fair debt scheme but it's hard to say what's fair when they leave it up to you to make an offer.

@flashylamp I don't get Housing benefit but I do get UC

@no squirrels they do know about the IVA but this is from after I took it out. I've had it since the end of 2018

IVAs really aren’t suitable for low incomes. Who set it up, OP? I do think it’s a bit more complex than just offering an amount because a) it’s a priority debt and b) you have an IVA.

You need to talk to the council
Do you have any proof of the page showing you had nothing to pay?

@NoSquirrels I set it up via a company that deals with them and I've not missed a payment so far. I'm desperate to recover from this. Physically and financially.

@lastqueenofscotland yes I've emailed it to the council and added up thread

Don't be nice just for the sake of it. We had a similar situation recently, husband swore he'd sorted out the direct debit last year, turned out he'd forgotten (again ). I rang them up and they just wanted to know what could be paid, rather than demanding x amount. Also made triple sure that I'd set up this years DD whilst at it. So pay for longer rather than try to over do it!

I would phone them and make a low initial offer. Maybe £20. That gives some room for negotiation. You can't leave yourself with absolutely no money.

It's obvious from the correspondence that you have been attempt pay but you knew that 2 years am was due and they might have expected more attempts at communication. Did you call them and speak to someone?