10k backdated unpaid council tax, what do I do?

[CTfuckup]

Been living in staff accom for over 7 years, was never informed I had to pay council tax, moved in at 19, believed it fell under the business address as I didn't have a postal address of my own I.e post doesn't come to my house, private bin collection not council. My rent has come straight out my salary. I've saved hard and I've just bought my first house, contacted council to arrange to pay council tax for house and it's all come about that I owe them £10k. I don't have it, I've just spent every penny of my savings on a house deposit, my monthly outgoings are about to sky rocket as staff accom was cheap and all inclusive and I'm now paying mortgage, CT, bills etc for the first time. What do I do? I have a toddler who is in very expensive nursery. I work all the hours I can. I've cried all day.

TheLeadbetterLife. Cummings seemed to get his tax sorted last year.... so it was certainly negotiable for him to get several thousands wiped off - this might be good news for op

Just take it one step at a time. First speak to the people that you were renting through. What have they said? Secondly, speak to the council once you have the information from the accommodation. I know it is a shock but it seems odd that this issue was not discussed. The amount does also seem like a lot. that amount needs to be checked against the rate you are being charged ie personal versus business.

You can do this. One step at a time just like before. Don't be hard on yourself. All of us have not known something and had it bite us. Some pay more than others. I killed our car as I thought something was being done but was not. It happens and we learn. Sending really big hug

As you have moved from the property it is a separate account to your new property one so this should be more than possible.

might be the same account number as op would have instigated a moving form - which was what prompted the tax demand to her name - so they will have then raised an account in that name and then can move the same account and number to the new address. It is what many councils will do so its easier to join the dots so to speak

Blimey, I’d feel sick too. Hope you get it sorted.
As pp have said, if the previous occupant paid it as they say, then why haven’t they chased you?

OP I haven't rtft but eight years ago I got 2 letters. 2 bills, 1 for €4500 and the other for €11000. When we had started renting out our apartment because we could no longer live in it I had phoned revenue and asked them about tax and was told because our tenant was only paying €350 a month (because half the county was vacant and we needed to rent it for something) we were exempt. The other money was a tax for not living in your apartment (since scrapped because there were killings that so many people were caught for it). The letters were brutal and I can't even tell you. I was bawling crying and dh looked terrified. We rang revenue and the lady we talked to told us we had to come up with the money in the next three months. OP dh started looking for jobs in Dubai, I rang members of my family (secretly hoping they'd offer money,, they did but not that amt of course!). Then a man from revenue rang and said it was probably all a big shock and they had to set up a payment plan. I hope oyu get this sorted without having to pay but if you can't pay you can't pay. DO NOT LET THIS AFFECT YOUR HEALTH. It is not worth it. If you have to pay for years in ridiculously small amounts then that's what has to be done. Honestly. Take care op and hugs (and breathe)

I'd check it out. Depending on type of accommodation and contractual arrangements the council might be incorrect

Have you spoken to others using same accommodation?

We had this on a flat we rented with bills included. We ended up having to pay it back at a rate we could afford.

Gosh I understand how upset you just feel.

I would dig a little deeper. Are you actually liable? Etc. If so explain the situation, I’m sure they would arrange a payment plan 😓

@DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat

What kind of business? We’re you given staff accommodation in someone’s home where they ran a business? (Like eg an annex)

The OP said in her initial post that it was staff accommodation. People in such accommodation usually don’t pay Council Tax (NHS staff accommodation, nannies with annexes etc).

To the OP, I would contact the Council concerned, explain and ask to appeal. It could be an error after all. If that fails, point out that in the 7 years, you were never notified that you were liable for council tax, then see a Solicitor (an initial session is free with some). At the very least, the amount should be paid in manageable instalments, but you may get it reduced or it might turn out not to be due at all. Good luck!

You mention that others in staff accommodation weren't liable for council tax. Did you in fact occupy the same accommodation throughout your time there, or did you move at some point more recently eg when you had a child? The other thing I'd want to be sure of is that the assessment only includes what you had private use of, not areas others were using or living in.

Good luck getting this sorted, either reduced or written off, and with low enough payments you can handle.

If you don't have legal cover via an insurance policy join Which? It's £9 per month and you can use the legal helpline straightaway. There is a minimum commitment time but it could still be your best option.

If the person who lived in the accommodation prior to you paid council tax the property was very obviously in their systems. When that person moved out they will have been asked if they knew the name of the person moving in. If they said they don't know the system would revert to The Occupier. Have the council bee issuing bills to The Occupier and they haven't been being passed on to you by the business where your post is received? That could put some of the liability back in your employers court. If no letters have been issued by the council what does that mean in terms of their meeting their requirements to stop this kind of situation from happening.

I think this might end up being a case of looking for a technicality so you are not liable or at least not fully liable. I am all for following rules and laws however this is not just your responsibility and without the right legal advice you could end up picking up the full cost for possibly two other parties errors.

The council should have been chasing you years ago for this if you owed it. Where I live if you're a week late paying then they are in your back. Miss a couple of months it's court. Don't take it as gospel that you owe it. They do make mistakes - quite alot. This isn't just your fault- it's theirs too xx

Unfortunately you being a young mother or you having just purchased your own house etc isn’t really relevant to whether or not you owe this council tax. If you have been a single occupant or single adult etc check that single person discount has been applied as this might lower the amount of it hasn’t. You will definitely have to pay some of it, several years worth at least but you MIGHT be able to get around having to pay the whole amount on the grounds that you didn’t know you have to pay it and you’ve received no notice until now, I think it’s a maximum of 6 years back they can go. But you probably need to speak to Citizens advice as council tax debt is one of the one types of debt that is almost never written off. But also ask the council where the bills have been going because surely they must have been going somewhere. It’s a shock and very unfortunate timing for you but unfortunately I suspect you will just have to agree to pay a monthly amount towards the debt for the next several years because quite clearly you cannot afford to pay it all off at once. Ive always found them to be very lenient with payments, even if you were paying your current council tax bill and then paying £50 per month on top towards the debt they might consider that enough and once you have a payment plan in place it shouldn’t harm your credit rating etc.

Agree with others here. Take advice from CAB or a debt advice charity. They didn't bill you and it doesn't sound reasonable that you should have known, given you received no post to that address and no other employees living on the premises paid CT. They should reduce by any time that is outside the limitation period and also by 25% if it was just you living there - had you known about it, you would have applied for the discount but you were denied this. That could get you down to about 6k. Then, if it turns out you do need to pay, I would offer a very low sum for repayments. If they took you to court, they wouldn't do much better because courts aren't keen on kicking single mums out of their house to help the council who fucked up and they sometimes accept extremely low repayment plans (think fiver a week kind of thing).

Poor you. Hope you feel better and don't beat yourself up about it.

If you didn't have your own address how can you be liable for council tax - I don't understand! Definitely contact Citizens Advice or Money Advice
www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/debt-advice-locator#online-debt-advice-services
sorry I can't be of more help!
Good luck I hope you get it sorted it's horrid worrying about these things but as long as you don't ignore it and do something about it you will be fine! x:)

People are saying it is due. however that may be wrong. Carers, nannies and all sorts do not not have to pay council tax in staff accommodation so do not pay it until all this has been fully checked out.

@ERFFER

Just call the council or the collections business they’ve referred you to

Yes, it was daft that you didn’t spot that you had to pay council tax- but you won’t be the first young person and you won’t be the last, to f*ck up their bills, before you know any better.

My DH does this in his workplace, and I’ll tell you : the council won’t let it go - so make sure and at least start the ball rolling.

It’s a gutter, but try and get a payment plan in place before they arrest your wages ( sorry, but this is a reality) and then you’ll be really in a mess

If it’s referred to a company, stay on the phone if it’s in a big queue and don’t get in a state.

in the nicest way, the staff are not “debt management advice” and are just there to make a decent payment plan for you, not to go through how unfair you think it is.
They’ll no doubt go through your finances and tell you what they would accept as a monthly payment: so if you’ve got an “expensive” nursery or a big Sky Tv package- they’ll not sympathise with these outgoings.
if you don’t agree to a decent amount, they can move for an arrest. You can’t decide what amount to give them- they’ll pretty much tell you
Be prepared to be paying an extra £160 odd a month , for 5 years if you want it cleared ASAP

and remember to get the council to deduct 25% off for your single persons discount.

Speak to the CAB or Shelter before doing this please. The collections department at the council are just going to get you to agree to the highest repayment they can get out of you. A specialist in these matters may be able to have more success with getting some of it written off or insist on a low repayment scheme.

Op have you checked your contract with your job to see whether council tax is mentioned? Usually it will state whether ctax is included in bills if your not liable to pay - hopefully if it does you can show this to council and that will end this, as it’ll be proof your not liable

Did you live in the staff accommodation on your own?

@CTfuckup

I will ask about a payment plan but I will now have a mortgage, CT, bills, extortionate nursery fees and this backdated £10k to pay for and it's going to put me back into financial strain after just getting rid of my DMP and being back in a good place.

Loads of people get hit with historic CT bills.

You lived in this property, didn't pay any CT for over 7yrs .... YOU OWE IT AND HAVE TO PAY UP.

Granted, if you talk to the council and explain your situation they'll sort out a payment plan with you, but don't be thinking you're going to get any special treatment because you're a single parent, be grateful for the fact that you have just sorted out your other debts otherwise you'd be paying this on top of them.

harmonypuss

op has just found out about this tax demand, sensibly asking for advice as to what to do. it maybe a mistake, or a series of errors on both her employers and council tax department. councils do make mistakes with council tax, even with the maths on tax demands at times

dommonic Cummings didn't have to pay, even though it was his tax demand as the council wrote it off

Oh that's a bitter pill. Phone them ASAP and arrange a payment plan

I would go to your local Community Law service. It is free and they handle cases like yours all the time.

OP how did you get on?

@BarbaraofSeville

Question for the people who work in council tax - don't they write to every residential property every year to confirm occupancy for council tax purposes? We certainly get an annual letter, despite living here for over a decade with no changes to occupants.

So shouldn't such a letter been sent to the OP? Although if it's been sent to 'the occupier' at her employer's address, anything could have happened to it, although you would have thought that in all that time, they would have caught up with the OP a lot quicker than they have done.

I've lived in my house since 1993, and I've never had such a letter!