Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

[calibanzwei]

Morning all,
Please bear with me on this as, having never had to deal with either of the titles topics before, I'm trying to resolve my partners issues.
I'll break it down:
- Received a Notice of Enforcement Sept '14 for unpaid council tax (and charged an additional £75 for the privilege)
- Have been making regular, agreed upon payments to Excel until Feb '15 whereupon due to my partners mental state a payment was forgotten.
- Yesterday we were visited by a Excel representative who issued a Notice of Attendance and was charged £235 for the privilege. As the remaining amount owed is now only £300, the total now due is £535.

Questions:
- If payment for the remaining original amount of £300 is paid direct the council, what is Excels' standing with their own charges? Can they be ignored? (Hopefully making them hopping mad in the process, but legally without foothold)
- If it's wise to NOT ignore the fees, how do I proceed?

Cheers
Colin

[ploddertom]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

Is your partner under the doctor or similar for his MH issues?

[calibanzwei]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

More a case of a physical condition leading to general 'scattiness' - fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition.

EDIT: But yes, she is under the doctor for her condition and is in award of PIP and some other payments.

[ploddertom]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

More a case of a physical condition leading to general 'scattiness' - fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition.

EDIT: But yes, she is under the doctor for her condition and is in award of PIP and some other payments.

Thank you for that - is it severe or would it cause him to miss or forget things, has he had it long, is it getting worse etc. It may be that you could be classed as potentially vulnerable depending on the severity of the condition in which case you could ask it is returned on those grounds. Unfortunately there is no concrete definition so each case has to be taken on its own merits.

[calibanzwei]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

It can mean an altered state of mind due to the medication she's on and it's more than likely we could obtain a letter from her doctor declaring this.
So I take from your response that we need to speak to Excel directly, provide the doctors letter, and ask that the £235 be revoked?

[ploddertom]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

My understanding is that if vulnerable accounts are returned to the Creditor - in this case the Council the Enforcement Fee of £235 will be removed and you will have just the initial debt & Notice of Enforcement Fee of £75 to pay. If you are going to go down this route you will need to provide proof to both Council & Bailiffs and I would also recommend involving your local Councillor(s) to help fight your corner.

[calibanzwei]

Re: Outstanding Council Tax/Excel Civil Enforcement

Excellent, many thanks.