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.

Get advice. This doesn't sound right. It sounds like the council have made the mistake, not you. Hope it gets sorted.

I've had a really good think about this.
I would firstly approach the employer for the signed contract stating you are liable for paying council tax, if you don't have a copy still yourself. Check the small print.
I would do some research and take advice if available.
I would try to establish why I have no postal address.
I would ask the employer if they've had any council tax correspondence either for them or the occupier.
Only then would I decide my route for contact with the council tax department.
Good luck, op.

@LakieLady

Thinking about it, £10k seems like a lot for 7 years, unless it was pretty big accommodation. If you were living there alone, OP, you should have been getting a 25% discount as the only occupier.

It may be worth checking the amount. The website mycounciltax.org.uk will give you the council tax band for the accommodation, and it should be relatively straightforward to find out the historic amount for that band in each year you were there, and to check that the 25% discount was applied.

I've also known it happen that accommodation has been subdivided, but the info has never got through to the council. In this case, the full amount for the whole of the original accommodation had been charged to the occupier of just one part.

Given that you had been misled about council tax liability, and the council never took any steps to find out who was living there, they really ought to be amenable to letting you pay it off in instalments.

It only works out to £1,400 a year which, as far as I am aware, is not that much for council tax. Depends on the size of property and, obviously, where the property is

I know you feel terrified but don’t- stuff like this happens all the time. Call them, explain and arrange a payment plane to suit your budget. Even better go into here with an offer straight away of what you can afford - even if it’s £20 a month.

I was once sent a large bill for overpayment of housing benefit backdated by a couple of years. I wrote directly to the CEO of the council, explaining that I had no idea I was being overpaid, was a single working parent etc. That there was no way I could afford it. I was never officially told I had been let off but my arrears vanished. It’s worth a try.

I think @GeoffreyGeoffreys has given you good advice. I know there probably isn’t much of a silver lining, but thank goodness you have already bought your house. Otherwise this would have been a stopper in getting a mortgage.

I would speak to CAB. And then go to the Council with a payment plan proposal. That could be as little as £5 a week in the first instance, though you will need to make the case for why the arrears built up.

However I would also see if someone in your company would advocate on your behalf. If it literally only applied to your accommodation, not that of others, I would have expected them to flag it to you. And to make sure that you were never told that your rent included all bills. Maybe they would make a contribution, or consider an ex gratia payment to cover at least some of the arrears.

I do realise that they almost certainly don’t have to do this, but if you find someone who is kind and has authority, they might.

Firstly you do need advice because I thought on some utility bills they were not allowed to go back more than 2 years .

I bhajis bebb

OP, that is pretty shit. How they haven’t noticed you haven’t paid for years is a massive surprise as they usually desperate to claw back a missed month, let alone 7 years. It does seem sussed to me that the student accommodation included all bills except rent and council tax? I’d look in to it further and as some others have mentioned try and fix a payment plan. I’d also seek legal advice from CAB or law centre or something similar. Please try not to worry, and I hope you’re able to sort it out. X

I’ve read some of the responses to the shock you’ve received. I think some of them are really mean ‘who do you think was paying’?

As it was a business, the outgoings would have been declared for tax purposes and likewise your wages and your rent were an income, I would definitely appeal this and have a look at your household insurance to see if it covers legal help to find out why you’ve been landed with a bill of this size after so long. 💐

You poor soul , I can completely understand why this would be so upsetting and stressful. However if no post has ever been delivered to you, the council never contacted you and the company never told you then this sounds as though someone is trying it on. I am certain they can’t backdate that far ( or that amount). As others have said - citizens advice or solicitor , or actually go into council offices to speak to a human being ( politely) to explain the situation- the people who work there are only human and I am sure this can be resolved. Good luck 💐💐

No the council and accountants will need to provide a plausible reason why they have allowed it to build up. If I miss one month I get a red letter!

You MUST look at your employment AND rental contracts. It’s illegal not to have them especially if you’re renting. Maybe you could come to an agreement with your employer?

You poor thing ! What a horrible shock!
Were you a student at all during that time as I think they are usually excempt.
I’d make an appointment with the citizens advice bureau and ask them for advice

This is worrying for you OP, but try and approach it calmly

1. Where did the council tax bills get sent each year? If to the business then why didn't they pass them on to you?

1. If no bills were issued, and 7 years have been issued in one go, then there is no way that the council can expect you to pay them in one go

1. Definitely go to CAB or Shelter for some professional advice and then take it from there.

1. If there is a council tax bill issued, then there should be a postal address for the property, even if it is 1b, or flat above shop, or whatever it is.

Good luck

S 9 of the Limitation Act limits enforcement of statutory debts, including council tax to 6 years, so any CT bill relating to period more than 6 years ago would be unenforceable. Also, even if they have correctly billed you (which I doubt as they should have served a demand notice at the time theCT became due. As others have said, seek advice from CAB and do not admit or agree to anything until you know exactly where you stand.

@Insanelysilver

You poor thing ! What a horrible shock! Were you a student at all during that time as I think they are usually excempt. I’d make an appointment with the citizens advice bureau and ask them for advice

Oh interesting!

Please contact Citizens Advice. They will be able to help you.

@Caroline632

Please contact Citizens Advice. They will be able to help you.

Lol lol lol

Ring them and get out on a payment plan, they can't demand any more than you ca afford to pay, even if it's £1 a month.

Would say your employer is liable for commercial rates rather than you being liable for council tax. Get yourself to CAB for advice. If you are a member of a union they might also be in a position to help.

I think you're getting loads of duff advice here OP (GeoffreyGeoffrey I don't mean yours). It sounds as though the property you were residing in was not on the Council Tax Valuation List. The first thing to do is check with the Valuation Office Agency to find out when it was brought onto the valuation list. This is a national list, and properties are added and removed all the time.

www.tax.service.gov.uk/valuation-office-agency-contact-frontend/about-council-tax

It's not up to the Council to decide if a property is included in the list, it's down to the Valuation Office Agency. Once it's in the list it's down to the local Council to collect the tax on it.

It may be the fault of your Employer if they failed to let the Council or the Valuation Office Agency know that there were residents in the property. Someone moving in to some properties means it must be split - it then becomes part business rates and part council tax.

You have the right to appeal against being included in the valuation list if you think it's inaccurate (although it sounds as though yours should have been). If you check here

www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands
or you can ring the VOA on 03000 501 501 and they can check it for you. They should also be able to tell you how they were notified if it's literally only gone back to the date you moved into the property.

You can find out exactly when the property was brought onto the list (this is called the effective date). If the date you can see is earlier than the start date of the charge on the bill then someone will definitely have been receiving bills. If the date is the same as the start date on the bill then it's just been discovered that it should have been chargeable for council tax.

In either of these scenarios, technically as the resident you are liable. However you should look into the Council's complaints procedure. In the meantime you should make an arrangement to pay a minimal amount. You should make a complaint about the length of time it's taken for the Council to find out that there should have been a charge (or a charge to you). Once they've turned you down (which they usually do) you can then complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

www.lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint/fact-sheets/benefits-and-tax/council-tax

Don't think this is a waste of time - the chances of success with the Ombudsman are far greater than with a complaint to the Council. However when you make your complaint you should include that you will be taking it to the Ombudsman if they don't write off the debt. Also please bear in mind that the legislation doesn't actually say there is a requirement for you offer yourself as a taxpayer, the onus is on the council to request the information from you, and it should have been done in writing.

In the olden days when I worked in Council Tax we had teams of inspectors who would check most properties over a two year period. Sadly with the cuts that have been made the majority of those jobs have gone, which is why it won't have been picked up. The fact that you get post there or deal with other council departments makes no difference - they don't share information about residents due to data protection (unless there is consent to do so).

It all sounds much more scary than it actually is, please feel free to message me if you need any help with this. Good luck!

I hope you’re not liable

It doesn’t seem like you should be in the circumstances

Good luck and congratulations on your new house

Hopefully this stressful part will be in the past soon

I work for the council. I can't comment on your council tax but I can tell you that whatever they tell you, they absolutely do not have the funds to take you to court

oh and for those saying offer them £1 a month - it won't work, this isn't like other debts. While you're challenging it I'm sure they'll hold off until its resolved, but if not you could end up with a liability order in as little as 56 days if they rush to court with this.