Council Tax

Dannyboy1967

I am on long term sick as I am waiting for 2 operations so at the minute I can not work.

I have received a letter from the council tax saying i have to pay nearly £50.00 a month, I was not paying anything before due to me being on long term sick.

I rang the council and was told the system has changed and I have to pay this.

I was told I have to pay it but I told them I can't afford it, I was then told that the council would take me to court if I did not pay it.

How can I pay it when I have no money. Was told that is your problem

I now know of loads of people who now have to pay more council tax under the new system

This is a joke

Kimi87

It sounds like your local authority has changed the criteria they use for Council Tax Reduction.

Each local authority uses a different scheme so it's really hard to advise on individual cases from here.

Other than Council Tax is a very important bill because the consequences of not paying are very serious. So I'd urge you to look at your budget to see if something else can be reduced to pay for it.

Santosha12

@Dannyboy1967 shocking isn't it, no help to find a solution.

What I would do is pay them something each month? say 5.00 or 10.00 and let them jump. However, c tax is a priority debt so must be near the very top of our list to pay.

I went to Stepchange for help a couple of years ago they were brilliantly helpful and will be able, if you want, to go through your income and outgoings and they'll then be able to give an exact figure you should pay them.

When i did this the council still took me to court to get a Liability Order (I didn't have to attend) but if you then stick to whatever Stepchange advise the Councils don't tend to pursue with any further action.

Good luck to you with it Stepchange have Advisors that can go through it all with you on the phone on the day you ring so relatively easy compared to say CAB who are often booked up.