Council tax chaos
Question
I've received a demand for Council Tax on a place I left at the beginning of 2002. They wont give me any more details and I don't know where I stand. What's more, I shared the place with my ex, so is she liable as well?
Answer
As a tax debt, the council are able to make a claim beyond the six years when most debts become unenforceable. Having said that, the length of time they have waited to claim this money does seem to be excessive, and test cases do exist that would back this up.
In addition to being slow in dealing with this debt, the council's reluctance to show evidence to support their claim is certainly something you can address. Every council has a formal complaints procedure; you can find out about it by contacting your local council. If this fails then you would be in a position to ask the Local Government Ombudsman service to investigate your complaint. If you do this you may be advised to make a Data Protection, or Freedom of Information Act application to the council. This is basically a request for all information relating to your Council Tax position - including any copies of letters sent and the original bill.
As for the issue of liability, both you and your ex are jointly responsible for this debt. This means that the council can pursue both of you for it. Alternatively, if they are unable to trace your ex (or one of you has no income), they can charge the whole debt to just one person. First and foremost, however, be sure to press the council for the information you need, and use the complaints procedure to test whether too much time has passed for the debt to remain valid.
Updated: 23/02/2010
Question answered by CAB
