My Council Tax Experience

This will be relevant to anyone in similar circumstances ,Back in 2010 to 2012 i was on ESA and had been for several years .Now since 2012/2013 I receive self employment tax credits , housing benefit , council tax benefit .I earn nill from my self employment .

I have not paid the short fall of council tax since about 2010/2011 because i couldn't afford too ,  in 2011 i got my first "court summons" . I phoned the court to "check the time of my hearing"  and they couldn't find anything under my name . So then i began ignoring the council tax letters and subsequent actions. No DCA came knocking, i think because the council were aware of my vulnerable status due to ESA claim and so did not send them.?.(not sure)

in 2012 i moved house and soon after i started receiving more bogus court summons for the shortfall at the new address ,again i ignored them (the amount for 2010 to 2012 was not included and it seemed to disappear).
This time the council did not regard my vulnerable status (they overlooked because it was not mentioned on the new claim form as now i wasnt claiming ESA,though they still had the info if they had looked back, i still suffer with ptsd though stopped esa because i opted out of the interrogation for fears of recurring ptsd) and the DCA soon came , first was phoenix about 6 weeks after DCA letters started .
This DC was unbelievable he came when i happened to be in the garden and my front door was open so i had to run to the door to stand infront of it before he beat me to it, i told him i wouldn't deal with 3rd party and will deal with council direct . He wouldnt leave and started trying to intimidate, so i went in and closed the door. He still wouldn't leave and started shouting to me through the window "ill have your kids taken away!". At this point i saw red and went outside and actually charged at him,and he ran very quickly to his van and drove off.Lucky for him.
Phoenix next attempt was less exhilarating , he did leave after explaining i wouldnt deal with DCA's and only the council. I RTS a few letters and Phoenix passed the debt to Jacobs within a few months from the start.
there was a lull in activity for about 6 months where jacobs were only sending letters through post . I began ignoring Jacobs and either wasnt in or didnt answer the door when they visited , i may have rts one or two letters, but this time they persisted , i got a few hand delivered letters , every six weeks or so until i accidentally answered the door to one , this time i just humored him  with the who am i? am i a name? your looking for a dead entity that doesnt live here , after a few minutes he threw his letter through the gap in my door and scurried off .
debt is climbing to over £1200(more with fake court costs)
 By now it was 2017 and jacobs began warning me they have no choice but to recommend the council to begin committal proceedings which i ignored .
Two months ago i got a letter from the council stating my case is being considered for committal hearing and an invite to a preliminary meeting with the council tax debt department and sent a means form to fill in and take along.
 
Yesterday i went to this meeting with my form that showed income less than outgoings . and a debt on electricity (my average for the year included a debt on prepay meter which is now cleared)
 The guy was quite easy going , i began by stating that due to my circumstances if anything a court would probably order minimum payment ,and i wouldnt be going to prison . He agreed and said i dont know why your here really , i said i have never refused payment i have only refused to deal with 3rd party DCA, he said yes i cant see anything here (regarding refusal!!)and he also said the DCA didnt count for anything and i was quite within my rights to ignore them !! He said he doesnt know why the council havent just written it off being for such a small amount but because he sees another debt he wouldnt write it off there and then , instead he wants me to fill in a debt relief order which i will have another meeting to be arranged. (i didnt figure that the debt was actually gone so didnt correct him). So now i will be sending this info on and a bill that shows im in credit with the leccy and see if they will then just wipe the debt.....

Hi lopsum,

Sorry to hear how you have been treated by the various DC(s) at least it looks like there was some sort of "sympathy" at the meeting you attended.

I for 1 would love to see ctax gone but have started to get some contact with a utility company (when I paid by endorsement) for late payment & debt collection fees, told them politely of course to go & run. Just wonder when the DC(s) will start on me again for not paying their latest demands?

Hope all goes well for you!

Hey,

Some info on what 'Debt Relief Orders' are := https://www.gov.uk/options-for-paying-off-your-debts/debt-relief-orders

Possibly not worth going into unless you wanted to give yourself a headache but, I would potentially argue that they have, 1, a duty of care & 2 they already had your medical information on record potentially making them vicariously liable should something had gone wrong, example of a case were the state is involved := http://www.publiclawtoday.co.uk/housing/employment/373-employment-features/16520-vicarious-liability-and-local-authorities

Depending on your condition, it may also be classed as a recurring condition which can be seen as a disability under the equality act. Ignoring a persons disability after being made aware of it can be argued as disability discrimination.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, good luck, I hope they wipe it all.