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#Post#: 25691--------------------------------------------------
Non motoring CCJ
By: Colin_S Date: June 12, 2024, 8:44 am
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I rent a flat and a previous tenant appears to have advised the
council they had vacated the property more than 12 months ago
and that I was responsible for the council tax when, in fact,
they stayed until evicted earlier this year. The council has
subsequently billed me at the property and then started court
proceedings for non payment resulting in a judgement against me.
I only became aware of this when I found letters addressed to me
at the property very recently.
I know the obvious solution is to make a statutory declaration
but the letters have an incorrect spelling of my name. The
surname is correct but my christian name has two errors in it.
So, what does the collective wisdom suggest? Ignore it as it is
not linked to my home address nor name or crack on with a stat
dec? Can I even make a stat dec when the name is incorrect?
I have contacted the council to advise of the void period for
which I am responsible and they have requested proof of the
previous actual tenancy dates but, thus far, have made no
mention of any Court proceedings.
#Post#: 25697--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: peodude Date: June 12, 2024, 9:05 am
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I don't believe unpaid council tax goes to a CCJ. It goes
through Magistatrates.
As presumably you have proof of eviction date then i'd just
comply with the councils requests and let them deal with it.
#Post#: 25703--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: Colin_S Date: June 12, 2024, 10:52 am
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Thanks for that. It seems you are correct. From my LA's website:
"Will a summons for non-payment of council tax affect my credit
rating:
No. Non payment of council tax is dealt with at Magistrates'
Court, not County Court and will not result in a CCJ."
I shall sit back and let them get on with it at their usual
snail like pace.
#Post#: 25706--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: andy_foster Date: June 12, 2024, 11:26 am
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As it stands, the mags have lawfully issued a liability order.
The flaw in the process was not that the tenant lied, or any
other purported fact regarding liability, but that you were
unaware of the proceedings.
You can either trust the council to do the right thing, or you
can make a statutory declaration within 21 days of becoming
aware of the decision (N.B. contacting the court to arrange to
make the stat dec in good time generally seems to satisfy the 21
day rule, regardless of when they actually manage to fit you
in).
#Post#: 25716--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: Southpaw82 Date: June 12, 2024, 1:10 pm
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[quote author=andy_foster link=topic=2186.msg25706#msg25706
date=1718209569]
As it stands, the mags have lawfully issued a liability order.
The flaw in the process was not that the tenant lied, or any
other purported fact regarding liability, but that you were
unaware of the proceedings.
You can either trust the council to do the right thing, or you
can make a statutory declaration within 21 days of becoming
aware of the decision (N.B. contacting the court to arrange to
make the stat dec in good time generally seems to satisfy the 21
day rule, regardless of when they actually manage to fit you
in).
[/quote]
Can you do a statutory declaration in respect of civil
proceedings under Part II of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980?
Assuming that’s what council tax proceedings are.
#Post#: 25718--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: slapdash Date: June 12, 2024, 1:36 pm
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[quote author=Colin_S link=topic=2186.msg25703#msg25703
date=1718207564]I shall sit back and let them get on with it at
their usual snail like pace.
[/quote]
The minor misspelling is unlikely to help.
They have a variety of enforcement powers, the top end of which
see you locked up and a charging order. The lower starts with
enforcement agents at a fairly modest cost and then garnishing
salary (if employed).
#Post#: 25723--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: andy_foster Date: June 12, 2024, 2:10 pm
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@Southpaw - good point. S. 14 concerns summonses issued under s.
1 MCA for criminal offences, as opposed to summonses issued
under s. 51 in respect of complaints.
However, to hold the OP liable when he was denied the
opportunity to defend himself, without an appropriate remedy
would seem to run contrary to the right to a fair trial.
#Post#: 25729--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: Southpaw82 Date: June 12, 2024, 3:21 pm
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[quote author=andy_foster link=topic=2186.msg25723#msg25723
date=1718219432]
@Southpaw - good point. S. 14 concerns summonses issued under s.
1 MCA for criminal offences, as opposed to summonses issued
under s. 51 in respect of complaints.
However, to hold the OP liable when he was denied the
opportunity to defend himself, without an appropriate remedy
would seem to run contrary to the right to a fair trial.
[/quote]
I agree, might have to apply under s 142.
#Post#: 25735--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: ivanleo Date: June 12, 2024, 4:12 pm
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[quote author=Colin_S link=topic=2186.msg25691#msg25691
date=1718199895]
I know the obvious solution is to make a statutory declaration
but the letters have an incorrect spelling of my name. The
surname is correct but my christian name has two errors in it.
[/quote]
As a general rule if you know it's your name, then any typos are
immaterial (though of course you can ask for them to be fixed).
Name issues only really help if you could honestly say that you
have no idea whether the documents are addressed to you at all.
I would also question whether there is any point in applying to
set the liability order aside. Is the council likely to be able
to recover the outstanding council tax from the former tenants,
assuming they can even be found? As I understand it if the
council tax cannot be recovered from a tenant, the council can
go after the landlord instead, so if you're going to end up
having to foot the bill anyway then it might end up being an
awful lot of hassle for no real benefit.
If cash flow is an issue it might be more beneficial to see if
you can negotiate a payment plan.
#Post#: 25784--------------------------------------------------
Re: Non motoring CCJ
By: Colin_S Date: June 13, 2024, 3:27 am
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Thank you for your comments.
As the Council have requested evidence of the continued tenancy,
I would hope they will correct the matter eventually.
In response to cp8759's comment, I let the property through a
major letting agency and the tenancy agreement stipulates the
tenant is to pay the tax so I have no concerns over the Council
expecting me to pay any unpaid sums whilst the flat was let.
Apologies for posting in wrong forum, I just noticed the
non-motoring legal advice one. I'm still working on pepipoo
time....
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