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 likelihood is that a Liability Order was granted years ago but that they have just traced OP to this address. I would add OP that you've said you usually earn 3x£700, so £2100 per month. It is in your best interest to set an arrangement as Attachement of Earnings are based on a percentage of your earnings and if the debt is split over two Liability Orders then two Attachement of Earnings can run at once.

Please don't bury your head in the sand.
Call them now and explain.

If you do nothing they WILL act.

Yes, same sort of monthly income as me, had I of let my debt go to AOE Order it would have been roughly 33% deducted. I advised this in a PP, OP must absolutely only offer what she can afford as if she defaults on the agreement they will not hesitate to go to AOE or Bailiff recovery.

They should be okay if you offer to pay a fiver a month for now and offer to review things once your finances change. Sorry you're being attacked on this thread.

My debt was slightly larger and I pay £10 a month while on mat leave and will be paying £200 a month when I go back to work. Council were happy with this agreement. As long as you do your income and expenses accurately OP I am sure they will accept what you can realistically afford to pay.

If you didn't expect to be chased - you clearly forgot the truism that 'in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes'. 😀

You know that you owe it and of course must pay it.

It is probably best not to need to be chased. Think of a payment plan - show that you are not avoiding the debt - and see what can be arranged.

@Panicatthezoo Sounds like you seem to enjoy spending! Don't we all?! But you're doing it/have been doing it for years, and have been spending beyond your means... and not paying your bills!!! And consequently, you seemingly cannot find the money for your council tax. But instead of trying to sort it with the council, you are complaining because they want the money that you owe them! Why should you not pay your council tax??? Everyone else has to!

You appear to be blaming anybody and everybody but yourself for your situation, and you've had this debt for eight years and don't seem to have made any effort to pay it. You are now on maternity leave, and you're like, 'well, I can't pay it now!' Like a previous poster said, you are just using this as an excuse to not pay - again.....

Stop making excuses and just pay your debts like everybody else has to - and stop trying to wriggle out of it. I have got no sympathy for you - and the council won't have either. You will end up in serious trouble not paying your council tax. People have gone to prison for non-payment of council tax.

People on here aren't being nasty. They're just telling you the truth, and understandably getting annoyed with you for thinking you can get away without paying your bills. Stop trying to get out of what you owe, and set up a payment plan!

Just set up a payment plan, when I moved in with my husband he had about 2k in council tax debt ( from a house share through no fault of his own) and we just set up a payment plan of £6 a week. We just went for the minimum payment as it was actually someone else's debt, it took years to pay off but at the end of the day its not worth the stress and hassle not paying.

Of course it's helpful. A reality check was needed.

@Tinklyheadtilt surely OP is facing reality by asking for help and useful advice, unless I'm missing something

Whilst you say you don’t feel it’s fair to bring your partner into it, he is part of the reason you are on maternity leave let’s be honest! Your income will have to cover a child going forward so it’s not like things are going to be the same as they were before either.

get a repayment plan sorted. But no, I think over the last 8 years there must have been an opportunity to pay back the sum - it’s really not for the council to go easy on you when it doesn’t seem like you’ve made any attempts to sort it, even at a fiver a week.

8 years? surely enough time to have made indentations into debt

Well said. The reality is that you're using services you're clearly happy for everyone else to pay for, but not you, coz it's boring?

Erm, no, you can’t just go “I have a baby” to make debt disappear.

Glad you’ve taken steps to get it sorted.

We are asked to apply council tax orders at work regularly so it will catch up with you if you are employed and will be deducted automatically from your wages.

The thing is though, it feels like she's asking for advice on how to get out of paying it, what excuse she can give why she's not able to pay it, can she get it written off, etc. Lets face it, if she wanted to resolve it, all she had to do was phone the council and make an arrangement to pay, and she hasn't done that in eight years.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/council-tax-arrears-ew/

Just pay your debts. Maternity does not and should not make a difference . Time to pay up.

@Panicatthezoo people on this thread are being so awful! It can happen - I was made redundant during Covid and had a council tax debt to repay. I also had a baby. It happens!

As another poster has said the statute of limitations for a council tax debt is six years - www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/help-with-debt/dealing-with-your-debts/check-if-you-have-to-pay-a-debt/#:~:text=For%20most%20debts%2C%20the%20time,years%20on%20the%20main%20amount.

And if you've recently had a baby you're classed as a 'vulnerable person' so they have to go gently with you, I had some pretty fierce bailiffs chasing me for mine (it was a horrible shameful situation, I'd generally been in such a mess during Covid I'd totally forgotten about it), as soon as I laid down my rights to them they backed off and a payment plan was agreed on.

Hope yours gets sorted soon.

No, you're right, I looked at it again after I posted and the council in question definitely do exempt students. And PP has said its the law, and always had been.

Whether they did back then too and either didn't advertise the fact or my brothers friends ballsed it up (entirely possible!) and didn't fill out the right form, I don't know. But I definitely remember them being jealous that my brother didn't have to pay and they were paying.

And yet she posted for advice on AIBU 🤷🏻‍♀️

They don’t care if you are on Mat leave I had an unexpected bill for them (old house thought was settled), they wouldn’t let up even when I told them the amount was half my monthly income and I wouldn’t be able to afford food.

She said I could let it go to court but then I would owe court fees on top. They wouldn’t allow monthly payments .

@KinooOrKinog yes, I see what you are saying, I read it as she knows she messed up and wants to fix it

@Amispringy I'm new to MN so maybe I read it out of context, what AIBU is for. I still think she shouldn't be berated if she's dealing with it, but understand I may have read it wrong. Still stand by my advice though, if she reaches out and offers to pay they will be reasonable.

Hope you get it sorted OP x

4. 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.

Your partner is equally responsible for the latest in your long line of excuses (maternity leave) for not paying this debt. It is a bill that imo, absolutely should come out of your household income. Do they not charge interest on this debit? Surely it is in your (and your dp's!) best interests to get it paid sooner rather that continuing to try to avoid.