If its not one thing...

[the.fee.fairy]

I need some advice!

I used to live in York, and i moved away 5 years ago, after university.
I have been back to visit since then, but i've never stayed longer than a week.

So...the house that i used to live in had outstanding council tax, from Sept-Dec 2003. I mived out in Nov 2003. My ex-housemate has been receiving bills (apparently) for the last 5 years and has not told me about them. I've never received a bill at all.

She's now gone bankrupt, so that means that this debt is passing to me. i can't afford it! I've just about made myself solvent after struggling for years after university, and now this lands on my doorstep. not only that, but the council have got bailiffs involved and its all turning very nasty.

Does anyone have a clue where i stand in this? The thing is, i didn't know about it until Wednesday, and i've never been billed here. They found out my address on Thursday and have sent me a nasty little letter and a bill that's supposed to be a copy of the original one. it clearly shows that it has been sent to my ex-housemate in york, not me here.

If the council were to be courteous and realise that i have never been billed for it, i would ring them and deal with it, but they're just being nasty all the time. The bill has gone from one amount to double that because of the bailiff's fees. I definitely can't afford it. I'm leaving work in a month! I don't feel that i should be paying all of the bill, there were 3 people living in the house at the time, why should i be bailing them all out? Also, if the council haven't bothered, in the last 5 years to send me a bill to my address here, which they managed to find out suddenly when the other girl went bankrupt, then how can i be forced to pay bailiffs' fees?!

I'm really tempted to go to court with it, because i think i've been treated unfairly, and with no respect and courteousness whatsoever.

Has anyone else been in a similar position? Or does anyone have any knowledge about this sort of thing?

[ina]

Oh dear, that sounds bad... I was billed once long after I'd moved out of the house, but at least it was a fair share I was having to pay - the house owners hadn't passed on the bills to the main tenant for ages...

I would definitely go and at least get some advice from the Citizens' Advice Centre. You really shouldn't have to bail everybody else out, when it so clearly wasn't your fault that the bills hadn't been paid in the first place!

[Annpan]

Yup, get to Citizens Advice Beurau.

My Mum and My Sister work for them, as long as you are nice they are keen to help. They should speak to the council on your behalf and tell you what (if anything) you need to do. There is a web site too maybe that would help, perhaps they have an email address.

When you go to the C.A.B take all the paperwork that you can find that might be relevant (just to make their job easier.

Good luck, I hope it all turns out well.

[red]

did you tell teh council you had moved? -

were you a named tenant at the property?

I think - they can chase you for the whole bill for the time you were there. It might be worth digging out some sort of proof that you stopped living there at some point.. any evidence of you being in new home?

I cannot imagine that you could be chased for bailiff charges if they have not written to you in the first instance.

[niknak]

Something along the same lines happened to me, 16 years after moving out of an address I was contacted about unpaid rates. I wrote a letter to the Council explaining when I had moved in to my new address and started paying council tax.I assume they were able to verify this as I got a letter back saying they would not be taking any further action. As red said, if you can prove you have been living in a new address this may help your case. Hope it works out for you!

[Milims]

Is the bill in your friends name? If so, if she's gone banckrupt the bill is wiped out. It's that simple! Also if the bill is in your friends name and not yours then she is responsible and the council shouldn't be chasing you. If both names were on the bill and your friend is bankrupt then her portion of the bill is wiped out - that's her responsibility. Also it seems that the bill is for 4 months, if you can prove that you only lived there for three of them - perhaps by proving tenancy or council tax payment elsewhere - then you can prove that you aren't responsible for the full bill that way too. Also if you were a full time student in York aren't you exempt from council tax anyway - or at least some kind of discount?
I'd certainly seek advice from the CAB - they are a fantastic service who really know what they are doing.
In the meantime - hold fast to the truth and don't be scared by the baliffs - they need to have a court order to take anything and they have to supply you with a receipt for what they take. They can only take what it yours - so that means that they can't take any of your parents goods, they can't take work tools or a car that you need to get to work etc. If you have a car on HP - it doesn't belong to you it belongs to the HP company - so they can't take that either (a personal loan is a different matter). Basically they can only take luxury items which are provably yours.
It's unlikely that your friend has gone bankrupt as a result of owing 4 months council tax - probably about £500 - she must have had other financial issues for which you are not responsible, so don't go feeling guilty that she's bankrupt -that's her issue not yours. Sorry if that sounds harsh - but it's the simple truth.
Sorry if this sounds a bit ranty - but there's a rabbit off somewhere - it just doesn't ring true!

Good luck - I do hope it's sorted soon. In the meantime - hugs and keep your chin up hunny!

[Thomzo]

Milims is right - if you were a full time student at the time you were living there, then you wouldn't have to pay any council tax anyway.

If the Bailiffs appear just point out that their court judgement isn't against you, it's against your former flatmate. Sorry but you can't call her a friend now. No true friend would do this to you.

Zoe

[JulieSherris]

Hang on......

I'm not sure if council tax falls into this bracket, but if there are other debtors chasing you from the same period, it might be worthwhile having a look here...
http://www.abacusfinance.co.uk/limitation-act-1980.htm
and maybe here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limitation_Act_1980

And yes, pop to your CAB - do NOT acknowledge debt to ANYONE either face to face or via mail or phone!

My hubby was being chased for a debt which was actually his ex-wifes... her car after they split up! (It was in his name without his knowledge - go figure )
After 7 years of moving/not answering the mails, etc, we found a form letter that we changed to suit our needs & sent it off - never heard anything else - not even if they'd dropped it!
4 yrs on & we still don't know what happened to the original debt!

Good luck, Julie.

[the.fee.fairy]

Thanks Guys!

I've been in touch with a solicitor who has advised me to keep all paperwork at the moment til he can go through it.

The problem is that we are both names on the bill, so because she's gone bankrupt, they've come after me.

The thing is, if they had been nice and sent me a bill properly, or even searched for my address in the last 5 years and sent me a bill here, then i would have paid my share and not had a problem, but because they haven't and they'[r being threatening, i really feel like running into a corner! At the moment, i've got the nasty letter from them, and the copy of the bill - with her address on it. I'm still tempted to go to court and see what a judge has to say. I really can't believe that i'm going to be liable for bailiff's charges when i've not received a bill...or had any knowledge of the debt.

At the moment, its on hold for 10 days while i contact the university. Because i didn't actually graduate til the November, i'm hoping that they'll write a letter to that effect.

[ina]

The thing is, if they had been nice and sent me a bill properly, or even searched for my address in the last 5 years and sent me a bill here, then i would have paid my share and not had a problem, but because they haven't and they'[r being threatening, i really feel like running into a corner!

Don't take it personally - they always threaten first, and think about it later.

I get a threatening letter every year - threatening all sorts of things because I haven't paid part of my council tax... I don't pay council tax - I'm in tied housing, and my employer pays. We don't pay water charges - we are on a farm with our own water and sewage. They just don't get it - and I get the threats every year!

[Ratty]

So glad you're on the way to getting it sorted. When I split up with my ex I suddenly got contacted by all sorts of people chasing money - I have an unusual surname & I was very easy to find! - mainly for stuff he had run up in joint names without my knowledge (how stupid of me to trust a man & have an easy to copy signature ). I got myself a solicitor who helped to untangle some of it. I was told that as my name was on the Council Tax bill I was jointly & severably liable.

BUT you do not pay council tax as a student. I know it is horrible getting nasty letters. I went months without opening the post when I was suffering badly with depression, and nearly lost my house in the process, simply because the letters were all so nasty - even if I didn't owe it!

My friends don't have a TV but they get nasty letters from the TV licensing people every single year. Apparently one recently insinuated that they couldn't possibly NOT have a TV! We're getting rid of our TV soon so I guess we can expect the same.

Keep smiling honey x

[Andy Hamilton]

The same happened to my girlfriend and she got the landlord to write them a letter saying she was a student and that worked. Perhaps double up with the uni letter. Perhaps even ask one of your tutors to write a quick note.

I got taken to court once apparently due to non payment of council tax, I went back to an old house to find a bill with everyone else who lived in the house's names crossed off and just mine left. I was livid and called up the council to have a go at them, they changed it there and then and put everyone elses name back on but mine. Result.

Councils often make threats and stuff like that despite not having all the facts sounds like they have here with you. I would be tempted to counter claiming for undue distress caused by their incompitance.

[Milims]

Was the other named person on the bill a full time student too?

[the.fee.fairy]

Was the other named person on the bill a full time student too?

Nope. She's a full time layabout alcoholic.

She hasn't worked since she left school, and she's always drifted from one lot of benefits to the next, hence her now going bankrupt.

The thing is, i suppose officially, me being a student would have ended when i did my finals. However, my graduation wasn't til the november...

Arrgh

Is there a thing about being a low-wage earner? I think i was on about 5-6K a year when i was there...

[Milims]

[quote="the.fee.fairy
Nope. She's a full time layabout alcoholic.

..[/quote]

Says it all really!

If she was on benefits at the time did she not have council tax benefit? If so and you were a full time student there should be no bill! Still sounds to me like there's a rabbit off! I do hope you get it sorted out soon