Summons to go to court for not paying council tax - urgent

[Kotiara]

I have recieved a summons from my council to appear before court for non payment of council tax. I forgot to pay and missed their reminder, although usually pay everything on time. Now they demand that I either pay for the whole year (until Apr 11) + £55 charge to stop the case going to court or appear before court. I don't mind paying the charge.

I'm only going to stay the flat im renting for another 6 months. The letter says that if i pay for less than a year the case will still be brought to court so that the council can get a liability order to be able to get the money from me.

I'm going to apply for citizenship in about 6 months. If the council brings the case to court and gets a liability order will it affect my application in any way? Will I have to disclose it anywhere in the application even if I pay the council for the 6 months i'm going to stay in the flat?

The way i understand it at the moment is i have to options
1. Pay the full amount for the whole year even though i'm not going to stay in this flat half of this year. Then try to claim back the money from the council when i move out.
2. Pay less then that and have a civil claim (?) record against me which may affect my naturalisation application.

[Kotiara]

Here's what i found in the application form for naturalisation. If there is a civil judgement made against me i'll need to dicslose it.

Criminal Convictions: Civil Judgments
3.6 Do you have any criminal convictions in the UK or any other country (including traffic offences) or any civil
judgements made against you?
Yes No
If you have answered Yes to question 1 above please give details below for each sentence starting with the most
recent one. If you have received more than two sentences you should continue on page 14. Convictions spent under
the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 need not be disclosed (see guide page 18). If you have answered No
please go to question 3.7.
Information may be checked with other agencies.

[mrlookforward]

I have recieved a summons from my council to appear before court for non payment of council tax. I forgot to pay and missed their reminder, although usually pay everything on time. Now they demand that I either pay for the whole year (until Apr 11) + £55 charge to stop the case going to court or appear before court. I don't mind paying the charge.

I'm only going to stay the flat im renting for another 6 months. The letter says that if i pay for less than a year the case will still be brought to court so that the council can get a liability order to be able to get the money from me.

I'm going to apply for citizenship in about 6 months. If the council brings the case to court and gets a liability order will it affect my application in any way? Will I have to disclose it anywhere in the application even if I pay the council for the 6 months i'm going to stay in the flat?

The way i understand it at the moment is i have to options
1. Pay the full amount for the whole year even though i'm not going to stay in this flat half of this year. Then try to claim back the money from the council when i move out.
2. Pay less then that and have a civil claim (?) record against me which may affect my naturalisation application.

Without going into too much details and technicalities, I would advice you that you should pay the amount in full. When you move out from your flat then you simply have to phone the council or if you want you can write them a letter stating the date you are moving out and a refund will be swift.
If you move to another flat within the same council area, then your council tax account will simply move to your new address and you wont need to get a refund.

[Kotiara]

Thanks, that's what i'm going to do next week.

Do you think that gettings a summons should be disclosed anywhere in my application for citizenship if i pay the full amount as requested by the council?

[mrlookforward]

Yes, do it as soon as possible. Dont be complacent at all. I know you are not a child but let me tell you a few things. Best way would be to pay by card, or pay cash. If you pay by cheque council wont stop to get the court order. It is your responsibilty that council receives the cleared payment before the date.

Just getting summons wont matter at all and you will never be required to mention it anywhere.

But if somehow you fail to pay up and court actually makes an order, the story will be totally different.

[Kotiara]

Yes, do it as soon as possible. Dont be complacent at all. I know you are not a child but let me tell you a few things. Best way would be to pay by card, or pay cash. If you pay by cheque council wont stop to get the court order. It is your responsibilty that council receives the cleared payment before the date.

Just getting summons wont matter at all and you will never be required to mention it anywhere.

But if somehow you fail to pay up and court actually makes an order, the story will be totally different.

Thanks for the advice. I'll pay by card over the phone just like i usually do. I have never had such a problem. I think I missed the first warning letter or maybe they never sent it in the first place because I always check my mail carefully. Actually I don't even remember getting any bills from the council for this financial year. Of course, if I start arguing about it they'll just take me to court - their word against mine.

It's just annoying when you get letters like this on a bank holiday. Sometimes it's hard to keep in a good mood when these things happen.

[mrlookforward]

I know, I have done it a few times and threatened by council and water company, lol. I am now on direct debit for everything. But still whenever I recevie council tax bill or water bill or any other bills, I mark the due dates on the calender with a highlighter.

Wish you good luck

[shyamite]

http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/council ... stions.htm

[wpilr_nov12]

1. Phone the council immediately, get into a payment arrangement, and have them confirm (in writing if they are willing) that you do not have to attend the court hearing. Make sure you note down date time and the person name of this conversation. Usually councils will accept partial payments if full payment is not possible.

2. From my own experience in a similar situation, I did not disclose it after my council confirmed that this would not appear in any court records if I had responded to the council with a payment arrangement in place. Also, this did not come up in my ILR application, however I have not yet applied for BC.

3. Don't let this get to the point where you actually end up attending the court date.

[Amber]

They could still push for a liability order depending on the repayment offered as a liability order acts as a security. You should not ignore your council tax demands, contact the CAB or national debt line as this priority debt can lead to prosecution not to mention refusal of citizenship. You'd need to include a financial statement showing your income and expenditure and what you can pay. If you're in hardship consider applying for a discretionary housing payment and apply to the British Gas Energy Trust.