>live in uk>masters student, was an undergrad>in the UK you pay council tax>students are 100% exempt from paying this tax with an exemption form>have this form>submit this form>council send me letter saying I apparently owe them money>ring up council>they apprently deal with it>send me another letter saying I have to go to court and I owe 1679.59 and they may send bailiffs>council's incompetency>ring up again, cannot get through>contact the courthouse saying theres a fuck up and I am literally exempt from this tax>ignoredwhat the fuck do I do bros, they want to send men to take my possessions and if i dont go to court over a tax I do not owe them the police will come after me because its a court summons, I cant get through to the council I wait for hours on the line and nothing happens. I dont wanna go to court on thursday because I'm doing my STEM dissertation field work this week and have no time for that shit, I dont owe them my money or my time. I've sent this exemption out so many times and they wont fucking do anything with it.
>>31543041look at it this way, you may have the honor of being featured on the next episode of can't pay? we'll take it away!! be sure to throw a temper tantrum and drop ebin maymays so we know it's you.
>>31543073But I dont owe them any money, why cant they just process my exemption form
>>31543041This is becoming very very common, do not be mistaken this is 100% intentional. The council knows what they're doing.Here's what you do OP>if the court date is more than a week away you can still postpone. You will to send a N244 form explaining that you would like the date of the hearing to be postponed and why. This will cost £155>ATTEND THE HEARING>gather up all evidence that you sent off the form saying you were exempt from council tax. If it was online, they probably sent you a confirmation email; if by post, then presumably you sent it through tracked/signed delivery and so you have a record of when said form was received>email your university explaining your situation, they can and will cause a fuss as they're also fed up with council-related jewery>move out of this fourth world shithole ASAP as it is now evident you do not have a right of peace in a property you legally rent, you do not have legal possession of anything you think you own, you have no right of security as long as some company/council can fabricate bullshit charges against you with zero legal consequences for them and send their team of tyrones and ahmeds to pilfer your property
Unfortunately legal issues come before dissertation work.
>>31543123listen lad, it is now quarter to 3. at quarter to 4, they shall be taking possession of your worldly possessions. do you have a loicense for that loicense? didn't think so
>>31543191Alternatively, you could just ignore it.Chances are they won't actually take your possessions. They will threaten to do so, but there's a 1/1000 chance it will end up with them taking anything. They will threaten to take expensive things like laptops, etc. Problem is they know nothing about electronic components- they don't know the specs, the wear and tear, and it's too expensive for a close examination. So best they can do is just auction all this shit off for like £50-£100 per item. They won't be anywhere close to making the money on the CCJ and they'll have no leverage against you if they do so, so it's not in their best interests to take your shit. They will look for things like expensive cars, jewellery, expensive makeup items, etc. Things with actual resale value which a student usually does not have. For a £200 fine? They might take some of your stuff. But for £1700? No way, it won't come anywhere close to covering the debt.Most mobile devices nowadays have kill switches in them that the owner can activate if the device is lost or stolen. So they don't take phones or tablets, either. There are dodgy bailiffs who will start pilfering your apartment and claim they didn't take anything, but that's why you record them when they arrive. If it comes to this, the bailiff is likely to be an HCEO if it's a council-related debt and they're usually well vetted, so this is unlikely.
>>31543041>>ring up council>>they apprently deal with itThere's the point where you screwed up. Don't EVER settle for "apparently." Get it (in this case, your exemption) in writing.You can still go to the council office in person with evidence of your student status and get them to reverse themselves.
>>31543041lmao if you think your local council will act within a week
>>31543766>in writingThis 1000x. I also take pictures of legal documents in case they get "lost" at the most convenient time for these jews.
>>31543041Local councils run like an amateur school play about local government. Its completely disorganised and will drive you insane if you take it at face value. Have no idea what council this is and im guessing you're not going to doxx yourself. First of all put all of this in writing and send it to all the relevant people you can think of. The council tax line is usually so overwhelmed from shit like this they replace them with automated services. There is however a loophole. Generally they have a line for "emergencies" or even "blind people" or the elderly. You'll probably have to get an appointment for this or ring at a strange specific time on every second tuesday to get one. Ring that as wellAlso relax. Imagine the shit theyd get in for claiming the possessions of a broke grad student whos exempt from council tax anyway? More than likely they mean theyll use repossession as a last resort if you dont pay. Or maybe you live in a much smaller area where they do that more frequently idkThat being said I would still explain to whoever on your programme what's happening and do attend it for your own sake. Heres something you haven't thought of. Go down to the council building. They will more than likely pass you of to someone else but theres always the off chance youll get the one someone with a brain that actually know what theyre doing that can and will sort things on the spot for you. Had this happen before.
