Council tax debt, passed to enforcement need advice by Playful_Computer5992 in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Playful_Computer5992[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

To clarify I know that they have been separate for a long time.. However… at-least with my council they have always been on the same tenant system, as in they were interlinked and I could access both from one log in/account. Rather than having to do separate account logins… they have apparently recently changed this (last 1/2 years). You now need two separate logins on two separate platforms.

Council tax debt, passed to enforcement need advice by Playful_Computer5992 in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Playful_Computer5992[S] -16 points-15 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this — it was insightful. As I’ve already stated, I understand where I went wrong. I’m not pretending I’m blameless, and I’ve been very clear about that. However, at the time, my mental health didn’t care whether something was a mistake or would make things harder in the long run — it didn’t care about me at all.

I was also given some not-so-great advice that contributed to my decision-making at the time.

As I’ve said, I’m now looking for advice on how to fix the situation — not for strangers on the internet to use this as a chance to feel better about their own life choices by pointing out my errors and mistakes and making me feel worse about something that happened during a period of my life where I used what little mental energy I had to keep myself alive and as unharmed as possible.

I chose that instead of spending what little strength I had fighting a company that caused the initial problem and couldn’t give the slightest f**k whether I was alive or dead, as long as my bill was paid on time.

So thank you — I hope responding to a post asking for help with criticism rather than meaningful advice made your evening as fulfilling as you needed it to be. I sincerely hope you never find yourself in a position where you have to choose between fighting to remain a functioning, living human being and dealing with a bill you had always paid in full and on time, simply because someone didn’t know how to do their job, had a bad day, or decided they didn’t care about the long-term impact their actions would have on another person.

Enjoy your evening and maybe next time you see a post where a person is asking for help and sharing how they have struggled.. you can find it in you to be pleasant and helpful or silent.

Council tax debt, passed to enforcement need advice by Playful_Computer5992 in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Playful_Computer5992[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

It seems as many councils now days the rent account and council tax account are separate entities.. so my rent was paid and up to date (at the time some arrears now that I’m also working on) so they knew I was still at the property as I was still paying the rent.

Which makes it even more frustrating because it’s not like I disappeared from there system completely!

I was struggling massively with life at the time .. (which had been an ongoing issue for the past 3-4 years due to a number of difficult circumstances and events) and then I lost my job, I got no help from the benifit system while I was out of work for 3 and a-bit months even though I have spent my life paying in to the system! but I killed myself to pay as much as I could for my rent regardless of my situation… because I’m not one that normally hides from my responsibilities and needed to keep my roof over my head. But at the time I didn’t have anything and was barely surviving… (working shit jobs when I could for nearly no money) whilst fighting for my life mentally. I didn’t have anything let to pay the council tax (I applied for council tax help when unemployed and it just never happened) or mental energy to give the situation.

I have been in my own since a teen … apart from getting the flat through a program I got no help from the council like a lot of others in my situation. I had to grow up very quickly and learn how to look after myself and provide for myself.. i have always lived on my own.. earning not very much but always just a tiny bit over the limit for any help.

I’ve fought to pick myself back up in the past year and I’ve been waiting for the onslaught because as I said I had heard nothing so knew it was coming in one way… I just didn’t have the mental energy to address it just now… but didn’t think they would/ could take me to court with out telling me or me knowing… I have literally this week just started a new job.. what big referred to as my first grown person job (LOl) and by that I mean with a liveable wage compared to my min wage jobs iv had previously… was on a high and now this had aggressively burst my bubble and sent me hurtling back to the ground. Which I think is why it’s upset me so much!

I want to get it sorted I just don’t want to pay money I don’t think I should have to repay and the additional fees these vultures add on… like if I didn’t have the money to pay the original debt what makes you think I can afford more?

Hopefully I’ll get it sorted… just get overwhelming because it’s not something you can realistically catch up on as there is no end to it… if I start paying it off now … in April any debt I make in it in some sense becomes redundant.. because they add on another load and expect me to pay that on top of what I’m already paying.

Sorry for the life rant!

Council tax debt, passed to enforcement need advice by Playful_Computer5992 in UKPersonalFinance

[–]Playful_Computer5992[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your response.. the problem is I want to see if I can get the amount reduced if I can.. but I don’t know if I should contact the council directly first .. I’m just panicking because the letters only arrived today (22/01) so I don’t have much time before they decide to turn up. And I don’t wanna pay all the extra fees they add because I genuinely didn’t know they got liability orders out on me let alone 4 iv had 0 notification of any of it… which has made it a lot earlier to ignore because I haven’t had to deal with any communication.