Council Tax Dodger's Home Sold to Pay £13k Bill
Thursday 6th January
2011
A Bedford resident is counting the cost of
trying to dodge paying Council Tax after his home was sold to pay
the bill.
The Bedford man, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, ran up a £13,000 Council Tax bill between April 2002 and
June 2010. When he refused to pay despite court orders and
visits from bailiffs the Council took the decision to apply for a
charging order against his home.
The order granted by the County Court in April
2008 prevented the property from being sold unless the debt was
paid. Payment continued to be withheld and eventually the
Council took the step of asking the Court to force the sale of the
property to raise the money to pay the bill.
The property, a one bedroom flat, was sold
through a local estate agent for £75,000. The proceeds were
used to settle the Council Tax bill of £13,754.88 and legal costs
of £7,504.65.
Michael Headley, Finance Portfolio Holder, said: “Council Tax
helps to fund vital Council services. It is unacceptable for those
who pay their bills each month to have to pay more because others
try to dodge paying. This case highlights the very serious
consequences of failing to pay and shows that the council will not
shy away from taking firm action against those who try to evade
payment.
“Those people trying to dodge payment should realise that they
face the prospect of seeing their home sold, being declared
bankrupt or even being sent to prison.
“Whilst we will be tough on those deliberately not paying we do
recognise that sometimes people find themselves in genuine
financial difficulty. My message to anyone who is genuinely
struggling to pay is to contact the Council immediately. Free
and independent money management advice is available from advice
agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.”