Council Tax Request More Time To Pay

COUNCIL TAX - MORE TIME TO PAY

TEMPLATE LETTER

[YOUR ADDRESS & POSTCODE]

[COUNCIL'S SECTION 151 OFFICER ADDRESS & POSTCODE]

Your Ref:  [THEIR REFERENCE NUMBER]

DATE: [THE DATE]

BY POST AND BY EMAIL

FORMAL REQUEST FOR MORE TIME TO PAY

Re: Council Tax liability claimed of £[AMOUNT OF COUNCIL TAX THEY CLAIM IS OWED]

I make this formal request to the council to consider using its discretionary power under the Department for Communities and Local Government guideline document called the Guidance on Enforcement of Council Tax arrears which on page 8 provides for a local authority to return the account from bailiff administration and allow me to propose a repayment schedule I can afford.

The enforcement agent is making unreasonable demands on me to pay money I do not have and access to goods is not an option open to him.

Under clause 4.4 of the document it says if an enforcement agent is trying to force me to make payments I cannot afford, then I can write to the council asking them to comply with the above guidelines and follow clause 4.5 by exercising its discretionary right to return the account to town hall control as a gesture of goodwill to protect me from further punitive action by the enforcement agent.

Paragraph 24 of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents 2014 says enforcement agents must not pressure a debtor into making unrealistic offers.

I propose to repay the council tax arrears of £[ARREARS THEY SAY ARE OWED] by monthly repayments of £[AMOUNT YOU CAN AFFORD EACH MONTH] starting from [DATE TO START PAYMENTS] until the final payment of £0000 is paid in full.

[Example text] I am self employed and the last 8 weeks I have not worked just adhoc days and must support two children under the age of 7. I have now decided for the money to come monthly from my sister’s account on the 1st of each month and she will ensure it will not fall behind with any arrangements. [Example text]

I accept it, is the authority’s discretion alone to exercise this privilege under the above-mentioned guidelines, but I make this plea in writing as my very last resort to resolve this longstanding problem and it is my utmost hope that we can come to this arrangement mutually and agreeable to all concerned.

If you are unable or unwilling to complete the above request, please be sure to state why you are unwilling and to mark your response letter with the words FINAL RESOLUTION.

Please provide a copy of your Published Debt Recovery Policy or state why you cannot provide this document.

I request that all communication between us is made in writing or other durable form so that all parties involved can maintain a paper trail. This is to protect the parties from any mistakes that can occur in a telephone conversation.

Yours faithfully, 

[YOUR NAME]

What next?

If the Council still refuse to take it back from the bailiff,  you should consider writing to your Member of Parliament and asking them to contact the Council on your behalf. The use of private debt collectors to intimidate people into paying unreasonable payment demands,  is increasingly catching the attention of Members of Parliament:  THEY WORK FOR YOU!

Another way to get the Council to look at how much you should actually be paying is asking them for a discount. This little known bit of legislation gives the Council the opportunity to ZERO your Council Tax if they so choose, if they turn down the application, you can appeal to an independent adjudicator,