Council tax

[katchika]

I moved into my flat last September. As yet I haven't received a council tax bill. (I also haven't had an electricity bill or a water bill) At the moment I'm living down to my last penny each month as I'm not on a very good salary and living alone works out quite expensive.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma now, if I contact the council myself and let them know my situation will they expect me to pay the full amount from September till now? I don't want to just leave it until they send me a huge bill. Any ideas?

[girl with sharp teeth]

Yes. Go tell your council you are there straight away and ask them to arrange a financial arrangement with you before you get an immediate and final demand for the whole lot. Quite often they will accept a payment of a few pounds a week. If you are on a low income then you may be entitled to some types of benefit, including council tax and housing benefits - your local council will be able to advise you of this.. Don't bury your head in the sand about it whatever you do, it won't go away so sort it out now.

[girl with sharp teeth]

Incidentally, it is your responsibility to inform utilities companies etc. that you are there. Water/Gas/Electricity companies won't let you off the hook just because you are on a low wage so ring them up too and come to an arrangement with them otherwise you'll find yourself landed with huge bills that need paying straight away.

[Mist]

The council tax people are fairly useless generally in my opinion. They still haven't sent our revised bill that was supposed to have been produced in Jan. :|

[Sugar]

it is up to you to inform the council you are there, as gwst already said. your account will be in debit of how much you now owe them so the sooner you speak to them the sooner they can arrange a payment plan, it took them 2 months to get back to us after i called them when we moved here last year and that has made our monthly payment higher for the rest of the year (they go by the financial year which starts in april). if i were you, id get it sorted asap. good luck.