Council Tax Court Summons can they do this?

Question

I pay my council tax monthly and the installments are 10 payments from 1 April to 1 January for the period 1 April to 31 March (payments due on the 1st) I was a bit short of cash with Xmas ect so paid Decembers and January's instalments by cash on the 23rd Jan. Today I recieved a Court summons for the 2 outstanding installments (Dec and Jan which I paid on the 23rd of Jan) .the summons is dated the 20th Jan and costs £40. As I have paid my Yearly amount in full before the end of the period (ie 31 March) can the council persue me for payment of the cost of the summons ?.

Answer 1

In reply to your query yes you will still have to pay the court or summons. Unfortunately if you are late in making payments then the council will insist u pay in full but yes u are still required to pay the summons. The council will tell you that unless u make direct debits or keep molnthly payments u would have to pay the amunt in full. You will find that the people who pay regular will recieve these summons and demands. Councils should glo after the people who havent paid a penny Good Luck

Answer 2

When is the Court date? You need to ring them urgently and tell them you have paid, then hopefully they can cancel the court hearing so you won't have to pay. I think they have to send you a warning letter saying they will go to Court if you don't pay. Did you get one?

Local Authorities are a law unto themselves when it comes to Council Tax - If they are going ahead with the Court thing though even though you have paid I would suggest getting some legal advice if you can (Citizens Advice might be good enough) (Got any solicitor friends?), because it sounds extremely unfair! Surely you should have to the end of the financial year anyway to pay by!

GRRR!

Answer 3

ring your council and enquire about it as they may have postef the letter before receiving your payment.
you only have to the end of january to pay the tax and not march as they expect the payment before the end of the month. have you had any warning letters before? in my experience they should give you 2 letters of warning for late payment then send a letter of prosecution on the 3rd late payment.

Answer 4

I have this problem every year, I am always struggling for money in Jan/Feb. Contact your local council tax office as soon as possible and they will probably tell you that you dont have to pay the costs.

Answer 5

No just make sure you have kept all proof of payment, go into the office and speak to them.

They may still make you pay the £40 as administration costs (god know how one letter costs so much)

Answer 6

It's worth one phone call (get a name!) but if they insist, you might consider it worth paying up. Their argument is going to be that monthly payments are a convenience offered to the public (not strictly true but that won't stop them spinning the line).

Answer 7

You beat them ,it was paid before you received your letter ,nothing they can do as you paid cash and the debt was cleared.But if you want peace of mind just ring them and explain why your payment was late i bet yours was not the only one.

Answer 8

Contact the council and see what they say. I got away with it once, but i had to argue with them. They will say the letter was sent out automatically, and they cant do anything, but state your case. good luck.

Answer 9

yup - but i suggest you phone them up and argue it out. Point out when you actually received their letter, if it was dated the 20th you also want to know when it was posted.

Answer 10

no but phone them to confirm, they'll probably tell you to ignore the letter as it is computer generated and come out automatically