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Just got a CCJ through my door from Buchanan Clark and Wells for Council Tax.

I am a student and submitted exemption forms in September then received a final reminder from the Council at the beginning of November so phoned up to explain the situation and the woman informed me everything had been sorted and she'd found my forms.

I've spoken to them again this morning and the woman said there was no record of my correspondence at the beginning of November, standard Council don't know their face from their arse bullshit, but eventually managed to speak to someone who says everything is actually sorted now and she will phone Buchanan Clark Wells to get the CCJ cancelled.

Even if they do have the CCJ cancelled will there be a record of it against my name in the future? I have been applying for jobs where i have to declare any proceeds against me to recover debts and have obv said none but will this show up against me?

keep all correspondence and in a couple of weeks go to

  www.experian.co.uk (http://www.experian.co.uk) and check yr credit rating,might take a few months though..

Get logged onto www.penaltychargesforum.co.uk

The BEST website I have come accross for advice on all sorts of charges.   I received a PCN for a box junction the other day and this site has shown me how to appeal it which I am in the process of doing.  Some valuable info on here.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Mich

Ignore them.  Buchanan Clarke & Wells are a shower of monkey's.  Bury your head in the sand it'll go away.

afaik ccj stays on record for life,all you can do is get a "settled" stuck to it.

this is bad advice - BCW have an established track record of being the most effective collectors of Council Tax in the whole of the UK - so effective that they are now winning business in england hand over fist.

I had dealings with the 3 chaps who started this business right at the beginning (we were a prospective supplier to them) and a more odious bunch you couldnt hope to meet.

I would question what it is that has happened here - Council Tax debts do not (generally) result in County Court Judgement, but rather are dealt by summary warrant at magistrate court level. I would suggest you read the letter you have carefully.

If it is a CCJ then you can apply to have it set-aside, if you have documentary proof that it shouldnt have been granted in the first place.

If it isnt a CCJ i would take your evidence back to the council and deal with it at that level - they are the people who instruct BCW.


oh and a CCJ will stay on your credit file for 6 years . Council tax debts do not appear on CRA reports.

I'm afraid I work for one of those "don't know their arse from their elbows" councils!  It's impossible to receive a CCJ for a Council Tax debt!  Council Tax by definition is a tax and is therefore dealt with under criminal law (via the Magistrates court).  Non-tax debts are civil issues and are dealt with by the County Court and this is where a CCJ is registered.  The typical recovery path for a council tax debt is as shown below - much of this is laid down in statute and councils cannot deviate from this:

First Reminder - If an instalment is not received by the due date, a reminder notice will be issued for the overdue instalment(s).  If the instalment(s) remain unpaid after seven days, the remainder of the year's charge becomes due (this amount is detailed on the reminder notice) and must be paid in full. Failure to pay the whole amount due will result in the issue of a summons.
 
Second Reminder -  If the instalment on the first reminder is paid within the 7 days limit, you may continue to pay under the original payment scheme.  If a further instalment is not received by the due date, a further reminder notice will be sent.  If the instalment(s) remain unpaid after seven days, the remainder of the year's charge becomes due (this amount is detailed on the reminder notice) and must be paid in full.  Failure to pay the whole amount due will result in the issue of a summons.
 
Final Notice - If the instalment on the second reminder is paid within the 7 days limit, you may again continue to pay under the original payment scheme.  If a further instalment is not received by the due date you will lose the right to pay by instalments and a final notice for the remainder of the year's charge will be sent.  Failure to pay the whole amount due will result in the issue of a summons.
 
Issue of a summons
Failure to comply with the above notices will result in the issue of a summons for the balance outstanding for the remainder of the year plus costs.  If these amounts are not paid in full, the Council will apply to the Magistrates for a Liability Order, which will again result in further costs being added to your account.  The Liability Order gives the Council the power to request details of your income and obtain payment of the outstanding debt and costs in several ways including:

    * Attachment of Earnings:  Deductions from your wage/salary vary from 3% to 17% depending on your take-home pay and are made in accordance with a scale set by the Government.  Your employer is entitled to make an additional deduction for administering this order.
    * Deductions from Benefits:  If you are in receipt of either Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, and you do not already have an Attachment of Benefit Order, the Council will advise the Benefits Agency and deductions will be made directly from your benefit.
    * Removal of Goods or Property:  Your debt may be passed to the Council's Civil Enforcement Agents who are authorised to either make a suitable payment arrangement with you or to seize goods or possessions up to the value of the amount owed and sell them to settle the debt.  This will incur additional costs which may be substantial.
    * Committal to Prison:  After all other applicable recovery options have been tried and full payment of the outstanding arrears has not been paid, the Council will apply to the Court for the debtor to be sent to prison for a period of up to 90 days.  This action will result in substantial costs being added to your outstanding charge.
    * Bankruptcy: If your outstanding debt totals £750 or more and you own your property, the Council may petition the court to make you bankrupt.  This action will affect your ability to obtain credit and may result in the loss of your home.


I would suggest that you contact the collection/recovery agent dealing with the debt and ask them who has instructed them to act, the reference number of the case and what it is actually for.  I suspect it does not relate to Council Tax and may be for non-payment of a different debt which is recoverable via the issue of a judgement at county court.

Good luck and if you need any further advice please let me know.

Michelle

I think this is a Scottish case. Not sure if the law is different?

Thanks for all help. It actually is a summary warrant not a CCJ - only got to "Council Tax Arrears" at the top of the letter and flipped. I went to the council tax office yesterday and think i've got it sorted, the woman informed me my balance is now zeroed. Spoke to BCW and they said it shouldn't affect my credit record but i'm going to phone them in a couple of days to make sure everything's been cleared. I'll also check my credit record with experian in a few weeks just to be sure.

dont know if you have already done this but confirm with BCW that they have received confirmation from the Council that the matter has been sorted and that no further action should be taken. otherwise BCW will have no knowledge of what you have agreed with the council, and would normally proceed with enforcement action on the SW.

Yea woman at Council said i will receive a confimation letter from them within the next week. Also she said something about BCW's systems syncing with the Council every 48 hours so will phone them Friday to make sure.

aye, that would be good. I designed large parts of that "sync" a long time ago, during the "super lager" years, so wouldnt trust it ;)

Good luck with that. I hope you get your money back.