To expect to not be chased frequently for council tax debt during maternity leave

[Panicatthezoo]

I am due 2 grand in council tax payments, please spare the lecture and judgement I know it's stupid but these are from 8 years ago when frankly I did not have the money, it was eat or pay council tax.

I have recently been contacted about this debt, however im on maternity allowance at the moment and obviously on a very tight budget,
I do have a partner however these debts are from before we were together and frankly I don't think it's fair to drag him into it when it's from a time he wasn't in my life.

Can I defer paying this debt until I'm back in full time employment or will I be made to pay on the basis I have a partner (not married) in full time employment? Any advice would be appreciated.

The system is different in Scotland, that's correct, however you will still need to pay it and they can apply to deduct it from your earnings should you not come to some agreement. Tax debts should always be taken seriously.

She was a student in the 8 years after she ran up the debt.

OP the problem is the debt is not going to disappear and if you don't pay it you will be chased up by a debt collection agency and be blacklisted, which will cause all manner of issues in the future, e.g. getting a mortgage/remortgaging.

As others have said, you need to at least speak to the council and show willingness to pay by setting up a payment plan. Even if it's a tenner a month at least it's something.

Surely it will go on current household income?

Also, title says you don't expect to be chased....why?

Communicate with them and offer a payment plan, even £5 a week.

Only some councils offer discounted or no council tax to students. Where I live students pay the full amount. Where my brother went to uni he didn't have to pay anything.

No one is being nasty just because they're not just telling you what you want to hear

You need to set up a payment plan. You should have done this year's ago instead of hoping it will go away. It's not going to go away, people get took to court over this stuff. It's a priority debt.

I get it's overwhelming and a bit scary. You'll feel better if you attempt to sort it out rather than sticking your fingers in your ears.

I’m wondering if the OP had been paying full council tax during her student years, when in fact she might have been entitled to a discount or even to not pay at all, perhaps the council would take that into consideration against the debt she owes???

As it was 8 years ago, does interest accrue?

What country do you live in? Councils cannot disregard the law.

Having a baby doesn’t preclude you from paying debts.

I was in debt for a long time (including council tax) and it was always better when I spoke to creditors, OP. I know it feels like it would be better if they just went away until you were back from mat leave but it wouldn't be, really. The best thing is to speak to them now and agree an amount to be paid back (and if possible a start date that works for you).

Do also speak to your partner. Mine was really supportive even though he'd never been in debt himself (when I plucked up the courage to tell him about it we'd been together for two years but we didn't have kids and didn't even live together - he was still there for me and actually really helped me to pay all of it off; I'm now debt-free and have been for 6 years).

I've actually just looked it up and they do now exempt students, but definitely back in 2003 ish I remember my brother and I talking about it because he didn't have to pay in Winchester and his mates (living alone) in Cornwall did have to pay.

I appreciate maybe you struggled to pay it 8 years ago but there have been eight years since where you knew you owed this and could have made arrangements to start paying something. I'm surprised they haven't chased you for it in all those years.

I was in this exact situation, explained I was going on maternity leave and couldn't afford to pay a huge amount off until I was back to work, they asked that I speak to the CAB to do a formal budget, did this and send it to them, I now pay a nominal amount until I go back to work when I have agreed a higher payment but still in instalments. I suggest you contact them as if you don't communicate and show willing they will either instruct Bailiffs or apply for an Attachment of Earnings Order which is about 33% of your earnings and will be deducted from any OMP (but they cannot take it from SMP). Hope that helps 👍🏻

Students only don’t pay council tax if they live in a household that’s entirely students. If you shared a house with a non student then your not exempt.

doesn’t seem that fair but that’s the rules!

I’m surprised that it’s taken them 8 years to chase? Or are they now threatening further action? Ring them and arrange a payment plan, with a view to increasing it once you go back to work. You owe the money so pay it back. Also, I would tell your partner as not paying this debt could be very serious.

No. Councils can't charge interest on council tax debts.

COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!

Speak to them. Unless you tell them they won't know your circumstances. Arrange a repayment plan.
If you need help then speak to Citizens Advice or a local debt counselling charity (don't use any service that charges an admin fee).

Sorry some further clarification:

1. My child was not planned. Contraceptive pill failure, for all those questioning "why would you have a child".

1. I had high interest credit card debt of 4k, I prioritised paying that over the last few years as interest would of continued to build and would of been in an even bigger mess.

1. "What difference does being on maternity make"... a big difference as I get £700 a month, a third of what I'm used to when working full time!? Also they have only contacted me now for the first time in 6 years about this debt and if I'm being totally honest I had forgotten about it!! (It is from a previous property, so unless they sent reminders there but I'm sure the council have means to track where I live through current council tax and rent payments).

1. My current council tax payments are fully up to date and my partner contributes equally to that, I still don't feel it's fair to drag him into a debt that is not his.

1. I have contacted the council about payment plan and had to send an income and expenditure form, I am awaiting feedback back from this regarding payment plan, I was just looking for advice from others on MN who had possibly been in a similar scenario.

This is off topic but that is not correct. He must have not followed some procedure as students have always been exempt from council tax ever since the poll tax was abolished.

If you house-share with any non students then the non student is liable to pay and in my daughter's case she agreed to pay towards it as accommodation was in short supply and they'd have picked another non student as house-mate if she hadn't agreed to it.

But fulltime students are and always have been, exempt/disregarded.

I don't think interest per se is added, however if it has been passed from the Council to a debt collection agency or even to the court stage (which I would imagine would be the case after 8 years) then other costs will have been added on to the debt. This is another reason for contacting your council as soon as you are having difficulty paying.

@Panicatthezoo please get in touch with the council, explain you are on a limited income but also be willing to make a weekly/monthly contribution to start reducing the debt (it might be less just now when you are on Mat. Leave but you could increase it if you start earning more again). Should you have dealt with this sooner? Yes. Can you change that now? No, in the sense that you cannot turn back time. Yes, in the sense that you can start doing something now. Good luck. Sadly tax debts don't tend to disappear (unless the bill was calculated wrongly to start with) - good luck!

Edit - I have also just read that you prioritised your CC debt over this - while I get that might seem sensible because CC debt can add up, more severe action can actually be taken regarding tax debts than consumer debts (such as a credit card).

Thank you so much for your reply this has been very useful information.