# Council Tax



## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

I got a flat from the council last March (2011). I've recently realised I haven't had any contact from Lambeth about Council Tax. Should I be worried? It's a probationary one year tenancy. This March will be the full year so I should become a secure tenant as I have been paying the rent on time etc.

I'm thinking, maybe in March they will contact me about council tax? 

Or should I just contact this lot:

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/AdviceBenefits/CouncilTax/HowToContactUs.htm

about it?

Being a single person, would I be paying the full £960.64 a year charge?

Would be worrying if they back date it to last March..


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Feb 23, 2012)

You don't get CT bills 'til March (or is it beginning of April).

Single occupiers get 25% discount


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## Ms T (Feb 23, 2012)

You should have got a bill for last year though.  As Minnie says you should get this year's bill soon so I would wait to see what happens before contacting the council.  You run the risk that they will backdate it I would have thought.


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## EastEnder (Feb 23, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> Single occupiers get 25% discount


And you have to tell them it's single occupancy, they won't automatically apply the discount (at least not ime).


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

Cheers. Hmm. Will wait till March/April and see what happens. Kinda worrying, but dont want to contact them just yet as scared. 25% isn't much. Was hoping for more. Only £240 off the total.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Feb 23, 2012)

thriller said:


> Cheers. Hmm. Will wait till March/April and see what happens. Kinda worrying, but dont want to contact them just yet as scared. 25% isn't much. Was hoping for more. Only £240 off the total.


 
PS:  I reckon they'll backdate it as well.  You don't really think they're going to just let you off for a year do you?


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## maldwyn (Feb 23, 2012)

It will back dated to the start of your tenancy. They'll think it odd you have already contacted them and will probably demand immediate settlement.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

i feared this!

annoyed i should have to contact them. idiots should have fucking known when i moved in.


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## Rushy (Feb 23, 2012)

It's not a big deal to contact them. Just email lambethctax@capita.co.uk giving them your name, address, date you moved in and mention you are single occupancy.

Better than hanging about on the phone.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Feb 23, 2012)

Rushy said:


> It's not a big deal to contact them. Just email lambethctax@capita.co.uk giving them your name, address, date you moved in and mention you are single occupancy.
> 
> Better than hanging about on the phone.


 
and offer to make an arrangement to pay off the arrears, otherwise they'll only try and get you for the whole lot


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## maldwyn (Feb 23, 2012)

Not only that but they could ask for the whole of next year's up front too.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

OK. Will email them (tomorrow-not now as need to watch final episode of Game of Thrones ) and see what happens.


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## EastEnder (Feb 23, 2012)

thriller said:


> annoyed i should have to contact them. idiots should have fucking known when i moved in.


You were seriously expecting council departments to talk to one and other??!! 

Council tax is handled by its own department, they don't care how or why you're there, just that you are. I'm afraid it's your responsibility to notify them of occupancy of a property - any property, council or private.


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## EastEnder (Feb 23, 2012)

maldwyn said:


> Not only that but they could ask for the whole of next year's up front too.


This ^^^

In my first London pad I arranged to pay monthly, but forgot to pay once - just _once_ - I got an immediate summons and then had to pay the entire year's amount straight away, or be prepared to fight off the council's bailiffs.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

Damn it! Will have to call them or email them. This is gonna hurt the pocket.


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## EastEnder (Feb 23, 2012)

thriller said:


> Damn it! Will have to call them or email them. This is gonna hurt the pocket.


TBH, your best bet (imho) is to play the naive idiot - phone them up and say you're worried about not receiving any kind of bill yet. Don't be confrontational, act like you're a simpleton who's genuinely concerned, that's probably your best bet for getting away with an easy payment plan. If they get the slightest impression you've been deliberately trying to avoid paying, they'll throw the book at you.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

OK. Just sent off an email. Oh boy. lets see what the little fuckers come back with.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

EastEnder said:


> TBH, your best bet (imho) is to play the naive idiot - phone them up and say you're worried about not receiving any kind of bill yet. Don't be confrontational, act like you're a simpleton who's genuinely concerned, that's probably your best bet for getting away with an easy payment plan. If they get the slightest impression you've been deliberately trying to avoid paying, they'll throw the book at you.


 
I've sent off a simple email saying I still haven't had contact from them about the tax etc.....Fingers crossed.


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## stuff_it (Feb 23, 2012)

thriller said:


> Cheers. Hmm. Will wait till March/April and see what happens. Kinda worrying, but dont want to contact them just yet as scared. 25% isn't much. Was hoping for more. Only £240 off the total.


Contact them now while you don't owe them as much.


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## EastEnder (Feb 23, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> Contact them now while you don't owe them as much.


I concur.

They're wankers, but just doing the evil job they're paid to do. Better to plead your case than bury your head in the sand.

Best of luck thriller.


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## thriller (Feb 23, 2012)

May Zeus look down favourable upon me.


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## Mr Smin (Feb 24, 2012)

thriller said:


> annoyed i should have to contact them. idiots should have fucking known when i moved in.


 
It would be nice if they could integrate the council lettings database with the council tax one, but it is common practice for the occupier (you) to make contact with the tax department when you move in.

More strange is that you presumably had no reminder letters. Perhaps they're in the previous occupant's name?


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## Puddy_Tat (Feb 24, 2012)

I'd agree with those saying that you're still liable back to when you move in, and also those suggesting you play the naive line.



Rushy said:


> Just email lambethctax@capita.co.uk


 
crapita?


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## shakespearegirl (Feb 24, 2012)

After living in Lambeth for 10 years and never missing a payment we moved house. They fucked up the first direct debit and then made us pay the whole year up front.


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## thriller (Feb 24, 2012)

Mr Smin said:


> It would be nice if they could integrate the council lettings database with the council tax one, but it is common practice for the occupier (you) to make contact with the tax department when you move in.
> 
> More strange is that you presumably had no reminder letters. Perhaps they're in the previous occupant's name?


 
no reminder letters received at all. Not in my name or the previous occupier who was an old man that signed himself into a home. I'll call these idiots on Monday as I got the day off work.

Just when everything was going good. Rent paid on time. Flat looking nice and cosey, this shit pops up to spoil my boudoir


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## thriller (Feb 24, 2012)

Might have to try flog my Sybian to help.


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## maldwyn (Feb 24, 2012)

It's likely still registered as unoccupied from when the previous tenant left.


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## thriller (Feb 24, 2012)

probably.


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## Ms T (Feb 25, 2012)

shakespearegirl said:


> After living in Lambeth for 10 years and never missing a payment we moved house. They fucked up the first direct debit and then made us pay the whole year up front.


 
That is just ridiculous.  Bloody idiots.


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Feb 25, 2012)

shakespearegirl said:


> After living in Lambeth for 10 years and never missing a payment we moved house. They fucked up the first direct debit and then made us pay the whole year up front.


 
When I used to live in a shared house one of my flatmates moved out. They then managed to credit our payment to her new flat (along with her own payment).

Then they tried to tell us we should pay them again while they sorted it out.


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## wemakeyousoundb (Feb 26, 2012)

Not all letters from crapita arrive (or maybe they just don't get sent?...), but since last March they would have sent a lot of reminder so they're probably not aware of you being there.
I guess that by contacting them you are making the first step which stands you in a good place to negotiate paying in installment since the error wasn't yours, but they might want to try and get the money in before the end of the tax year in which case they will try and get it in one go.
Disclaimer: I'm not any kind of authority on this.


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## thriller (Feb 26, 2012)

tbh. if I was one of those dont give a shit about authority nuisance tenant, I would have just kept quiet.


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## Chilavert (Feb 27, 2012)

FWIW I moved into a new flat last July and as it had only just been converted from a single house to three flats it was necessary for the Valuations Office to come around before Lambeth would issue a bill for the council tax.

The bill finally arrived in December which meant I had to pay a whole year's council tax in three installments. As has been said above the council will probably want the money before the end of the financial year, but given that we're almost in March I can't see how they can reasonably expect to you pay the whole lot in one go.


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## Laughing Toad (Mar 13, 2012)

How did this turn out in the end, Thriller?


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## Mrs Magpie (Mar 13, 2012)

shakespearegirl said:


> After living in Lambeth for 10 years and never missing a payment we moved house. They fucked up the first direct debit and then made us pay the whole year up front.


They fucked up a few years ago and took us to court for £180....except we'd actually overpaid by £180


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## thriller (Mar 13, 2012)

Laughing Toad said:


> How did this turn out in the end, Thriller?


 
i paid it off in one go online. Used some of the bonus from work. was going to ask them if i could pay off in installments when I called, but thought sod it. Will have to pay it off eventually anyway so might as well do it straightaway. So now it's a case of waiting for June for the next bonus where I will set aside £720 for this year. Funnily enough, before I called them I went through a box where I keep all the paperwork for the flat and low and behold amongst that paperwork was a Council Tax form and telephone number. So it seems Lambeth Living *did* provide the info it's just I never looked at it. I mean, c'mon just got a flat, I wasn't gonna sit there reading all the booklets and forms provided by Lambeth.


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## Laughing Toad (Mar 14, 2012)

A happy ending to the story. 
And, for possibly the first time ever...

(((Lambeth Council)))


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## stuff_it (Mar 14, 2012)

thriller said:


> Might have to try flog my Sybian to help.





maldwyn said:


> It's likely still registered as unoccupied from when the previous tenant left.


What, the Sybian? 



thriller said:


> i paid it off in one go online. Used some of the bonus from work. was going to ask them if i could pay off in installments when I called, but thought sod it. Will have to pay it off eventually anyway so might as well do it straightaway. So now it's a case of waiting for June for the next bonus where I will set aside £720 for this year. Funnily enough, before I called them I went through a box where I keep all the paperwork for the flat and low and behold amongst that paperwork was a Council Tax form and telephone number. So it seems Lambeth Living *did*provide the info it's just I never looked at it. I mean, c'mon just got a flat, I wasn't gonna sit there reading all the booklets and forms provided by Lambeth.


£720 isn't loads really. My council tax in West Bridgford a couple of years ago for a poorly converted one bed was over a grand. 

And you have to read the booklets. That's what they're for.


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## wemakeyousoundb (Mar 15, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> What, the Sybian?
> 
> 
> £720 isn't loads really. My council tax in West Bridgford a couple of years ago for a poorly converted one bed was over a grand.
> ...


surely these days just typing council tax and lambeth in an innocuous non data gathering search engine should bring up your bill directly on screen.
Reading?
That's sooooooo 15th century


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