Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?

Nick

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100,
(Nick Smith) wrote:

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?

Nick

You have the 3 months money you wanted to be paying saved up
somewhere? Can't you just split that up into 9 parts?

--
Free stuff by post
http://www.freestuffbypost.co.uk

(Nick Smith)'s wild thoughts
were released on Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100 bearing the
following fruit:

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?


My advice from experience (IANAL)

Ring them up and tell them to either reinstate your monthly
payments or you'll wait until they take you to court and
you'll pay them then.

If they do take you to court, you get to speak to someone
from the council tax people who try to sort out an
arrangement with you instead of going into court.

They are VERY keen to get you paying so much a month.

It sounds daft, and it is. No wonder the council tax charges
go up and up when they waste money like this.

In my case I had to had to go to court, met one of their
people who arranged the payment schedule I had been trying
to get them to confirm for weeks.






Jan Hyde

--
A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only clingfilm for shorts.
The shrink says, "Well, I can clearly see you're nuts."

[Abolish the TV License - http://www.tvlicensing.biz/]

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100,
(Nick Smith) wrote:

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Why should you not be charged for the whole time you have been living
at your present address? The delay before paying just means that you
have had the use of the money.

Most people have to pay their 12 month's council tax over 10 months
anyway.

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100, (Nick
Smith) wrote:

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill

I believe your maths is wrong. Yes, your monthly payments for the
remainder of the year will be higher, but you still will have more money
in your pocket and have paid less to the Council at all times until the
end of the year compared with the situation if you had started paying at
the beginning. You have not been penalised.

surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Are you asking for a forgiveness of part of your full year bill?

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?

There is no issue and so there is no recourse.

Tony

"Nick Smith" wrote in message
om...

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

You normally have the bill split over 10 months, so having it split over 9
will not increase the monthly payment much. Anyway being able to split your
bill into installments is not a given right, only a concession which they
can withdraw.

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?

None really. In any case payment of the council tax by installments is
required spread over ten months commencing from the start of the year. Since
you knew the bill was payable you will doubtless be told you shoould have
put the money to one side.

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100, Nick Smith wrote:

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

Do I have any legal recourse on this issue?

Nick
No to be concise.

The council would probably tell you that you do have several others ways
of paying such as all now or 3 months now and the rest over 9 months or
as they have already offered. their argument (quite a legitimate one) is
that you owe the whole year and should like most other people pay the
whole year.

--
neil
delete delete to reply

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:25:06 +0100,
(Nick Smith) wrote:

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

If you've budgeted for it, then you must have the money to pay for it
unless you've spent the last three months installments ...

--
Pink 5 : "Hey Base One! My little robot guy's head got blown off. Is that bad?"

"Adrian Boliston" wrote in message
...
"Nick Smith" wrote in message
om...

Having moved in March, I wrote to my local council tax office to have
them send me a bill, explaining that I wished to set up a direct debit
to spread the cost evenly over the year.

I have only just received the bill today, despite several phone calls
and letters to the local tax office. The upshot of this is that due to
their inefficiency, I must now pay the whole bill over nine months,
leaving me with a far higher monthly payment than I had originally
budgeted for. As far as I can see, I have now been penalised for my
honesty and hard work in chasing them up for the bill - surely a
fairer system would have been to only charge me for the months
remaining in this financial year?

You normally have the bill split over 10 months, so having it split over 9
will not increase the monthly payment much. Anyway being able to split
your
bill into installments is not a given right, only a concession which they
can withdraw.


I thought there is an implied monthly payment schedule, as before with the
rates, but the subtle difference here, rather than with rates, is that if
you become in arrears then the whole amount is payable. It was designed to
save multiple visits to the mags.

My bill is also over 10 months if paying by direct debit where the payments
run from April to January. In previous years when things were a bit tight I
would offer payment by standing order right up to the last day of the
council year, ie 1st April.. I would send a letter and a completed standing
order form. The would moan and threaten action if I ever missed a payment
but would always accept it.