My son's council taX debt at another address

[Spent2much]

My son shared a house with his now ex girlfriend , he was a student at university , she did nothing lol . Long story short, they split he had a mental breakdown and she kept the house (that's another story), so he doesn't live at my house , hasn't lived here since 2018, so we got a letter from the council asking us if he lived her and how long has he lived her and how much are his wages as, we get some council tax reduction . We phoned the council , said he doesn't live her hasn't lived here in years, they accepted this and supposedly updated their records.
This morning at 7.40 knock on the door , I answered and a guy said ' I am from the local authority and this is for mr *********, I said who are you? he said he was from the local authority, i said what do you want , he said is *** ******* living here , i said no he isn't , he said is he related to you ? i said what has that got to do with you .
So hubby took over , he too was asked if *** ******** was his son, he said no he isn't . He tried to hand him a letter which i am going to post so you can see what you can advise please . My hubby told him to post it back as he doesn't live here, the letter was posted through the letterbox .
The letter shouldn't be coming to my house and we suspect that my son's ex girlfriend has given this address for debt from her house , which she is also responsible for , not just my son .
So this is the envelope posted through, what should I do with it and is this man from the local authority illegal harassing me for something that isn't my problem ?
thank you .
I can't post it for some reason , the letter says URGENT -FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NOTICE OF ATTENDANCE BY HAND .

[Never-In-Doubt]

So they've served him papers, possibly a liability order or otherwise. He doesn't live with you so open it to get the sender then return it as unknown at address.

[Spent2much]

So they've served him papers, possibly a liability order or otherwise. He doesn't live with you so open it to get the sender then return it as unknown at address.

Hi niddy, thank you , will do that

[Warwick65]

If he was a full time Uni student there is no council tax liability. Could this be something different if it was supposedly served by hand?

[PlanB]

I agree you should return it 'Unknown' or 'Gone Away', but if it was hand delivered you may need to put a stamp on the envelope to make sure they get it.

Did the man say it was about council tax or could it be in relation to something else to do with the Local Authority such as an old parking ticket (PCN) if your son has used your address on old DVLA documentation etc?

It must have been a horrible experience for you especially at 7.40 am; I may not have been as polite as you and your husband were at that time of the morning!

And I also think it wasn't appropriate to knock on anyone's door while the country remains in Lockdown, and we've been told to socially distance - albeit this could hardly be described as a 'social' call

Di

[Spent2much]

I agree you should return it 'Unknown' or 'Gone Away', but if it was hand delivered you may need to put a stamp on the envelope to make sure they get it.

Did the man say it was about council tax or could it be in relation to something else to do with the Local Authority such as an old parking ticket (PCN) if your son has used your address on old DVLA documentation etc?

It must have been a horrible experience for you especially at 7.40 am; I may not have been as polite as you and your husband were at that time of the morning!

And I also think it wasn't appropriate to knock on anyone's door while the country remains in Lockdown, and we've been told to socially distance - albeit this could hardly be described as a 'social' call

Di

Hi, I opened to get the address , it was for council tax debt of £1489.56 , says Final Notice ,Unless you pay the total you owe, further consequences can include, referring the case back to our Client who may choose to take of the following actions.

committal proceedings-asking a magistrate to decide whether to send you to prison . ( If my son read this he would have a breakdown again , he is already suffering with mental health issues because of the relationship he was in, she was very violent , I know I heard her in action breaking furniture and hitting him while they lived at my house .

Bankruptcy

charging order ( he has no property )
attachment of earnings

We will not send any further warnings to you.

Contact the Enforcement Agent to pay what you owe to prevent further action .

This is who the letter came from . https://www.marstonholdings.co.uk/ma...t-enforcement/

I wrote the return address on the envelope , and said ( not known at this address)

If this company did get a court order , would we be able to pay this debt to prevent him going to prison , is this a serious threat ?
I'm really worried , my mother is really ill right now and this drops on my doorstep at a time that I could do without it .
The guys said three times he was from the local authorities . He had a face mask on , but yeah with social distancing he shouldn't be bothering us and I was under the impression that debt collecting was suspended while the country was on lockdown ?
Thanks .

[Spent2much]

If he was a full time Uni student there is no council tax liability. Could this be something different if it was supposedly served by hand?

He was a full time student , but his girlfriend was on a college course at the same time and there was also a lodger there , also on the college course, I get the feeling that my son was main claimant , although at the time his ex girlfriend was on the joint tenancy , the lodger was not on the tenancy.

My son said that the bailiff had turned up at his door when he lived at the address where the council tax debt is and he told them he was a full time student , they accepted this and said he shouldn't pay , now I don't know what happened after that , my son had a mental breakdown and moved away . I was in contact with him , but I know no more about this debt.
I might do some searching and contact the lodger as she is on my friends list on faceache ,she has some problems with my son's ex girlfriend , who seems to be on a path of destructing people's lives .

[Spent2much]

Update, I've spoken to the other lodger and she said , the university course finished and they got a bill through , all three went to the council to sort out the bill and they all agreed to pay in shared instalments, the lodger said she paid her share , but then my son and his ex never paid anymore (doesn't surprise me as she has run over two thousand pounds in arrears and we are the guarantor ) But he moved out in July 2018 , she stayed in the house and is still there . The landlord is now evicting now covid restrictions are lifted , he had to pause as covid started . This is a mess . I am going to have think what to do next , I don't want my son to go to prison or to have to pay debt that isn't his .

[The Tech Clerk]

Diana Mayhew more your area?

[PlanB]

the university course finished and they got a bill through , all three went to the council to sort out the bill and they all agreed to pay in shared instalments, the lodger said she paid her share , but then my son and his ex never paid anymore (doesn't surprise me as she has run over two thousand pounds in arrears and we are the guarantor ) But he moved out in July 2018 , she stayed in the house and is still there . The landlord is now evicting now covid restrictions are lifted , he had to pause as covid started . This is a mess . I am going to have think what to do next , I don't want my son to go to prison or to have to pay debt that isn't his .

I don't want your son to go to prison either - it's very rare with council tax debt.

From what you say that was a bailiff from Marstons who visited, and there may have been a Magistrates Court Liability Order somewhere along the line.

Without a bit more details (dates etc) it's hard to make suggestions but he may be able to Appeal the Liability Order. See this > https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fac...ax-arrears-ew/

If your son has had mental health issues he may be able to get some support on how to deal with this or in the very least medical evidence in support of his challenge to this. In some circumstances mental health issues can be classed as a disability and that might be something that would help him if he may have been potentially exempt from Council Tax (I'm not raising your expectations but it's good to check all the possible avenues).

I also note that you were the guarantor of the tenancy agreement - does that mean you are being pursued for any rent arrears deemed to be owing?

Di

[Spent2much]

I don't want your son to go to prison either - it's very rare with council tax debt.

From what you say that was a bailiff from Marstons who visited, and there may have been a Magistrates Court Liability Order somewhere along the line.

Without a bit more details (dates etc) it's hard to make suggestions but he may be able to Appeal the Liability Order. See this > https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fHi, Iac...ax-arrears-ew/

If your son has had mental health issues he may be able to get some support on how to deal with this or in the very least medical evidence in support of his challenge to this. In some circumstances mental health issues can be classed as a disability and that might be something that would help him if he may have been potentially exempt from Council Tax (I'm not raising your expectations but it's good to check all the possible avenues).

I also note that you were the guarantor of the tenancy agreement - does that mean you are being pursued for any rent arrears deemed to be owing?

Di

Hi, thanks , please see update below .

The landlord wants us to pay her rent arrears , which now stands at nearly £2.600, the £600 is what she owed when she was with my son , he paid £900 which was his share, she still owes her share of £600, then she now owes the top up rent of £2000 and rising .We had a meeting with her my son and landlord when the relationship ended, she wanted to stay in the house , the landlord agreed, and said we were still responsible for their arrears , but once that is paid off we come off the tenancy agreement and she takes over as a new tenant . We also have an email that said our son has finished his arrears and when she has finished hers we come off as guarantor . We will fight this once she is out as he sent us a letter last December saying he is evicting her but that he had to halt proceedings because of covid , so she has basically been living there running up rent arrears each month .

[Spent2much]

Please advise me , this gets more bizarre by the minute , I've just looked at the names on the letter from the bailiff and , it has my son's name on it and the lodgers name on it, also his ex girlfirends name , so they are all liable for this bill . I've contacted the lodger and she is going to ring tomorrow as she said she doesn't owe any of this money. I am confused now .

[Warwick65]

Remember you don't have to be officially barking to be covered by the equality act 2010. Now some may argue I am madder than a box of frogs but my GP stated on record that my anxiety and depression were enough to cover me under said act even though I was capable of 'daily living'. As such I imagine your son is covered by the Equality Act 2010 https://www.mind.org.uk/information-...lity-act-2010/

I hope you don't take offence at my terminology, it comes from a good place and I think mental health is a seriously under resourced sector in England . As you son is clearly unwell and on medication, the bailiffs should back off as soon as they know about his situation. I appreciate as a parent you are trying to help and you must do what is right for you and him.

[Warwick65]

Please advise me , this gets more bizarre by the minute , I've just looked at the names on the letter from the bailiff and , it has my son's name on it and the lodgers name on it, also his ex girlfirends name , so they are all liable for this bill . I've contacted the lodger and she is going to ring tomorrow as she said she doesn't owe any of this money. I am confused now .

I am guessing it because effectively they all owed all the money and not just 1/3rd each- so if one person paid the 1/3rd and the other two didn't, they could still chase all 3. Could the ex have gone into a formal debt arrangement such as an DRO or Bankruptcy which would be why their name is not on it.

I am sure Di may be able to explain it better than me

[Spent2much]

Remember you don't have to be officially barking to be covered by the equality act 2010. Now some may argue I am madder than a box of frogs but my GP stated on record that my anxiety and depression were enough to cover me under said act even though I was capable of 'daily living'. As such I imagine your son is covered by the Equality Act 2010 https://www.mind.org.uk/information-...lity-act-2010/

I hope you don't take offence at my terminology, it comes from a good place and I think mental health is a seriously under resourced sector in England . As you son is clearly unwell and on medication, the bailiffs should back off as soon as they know about his situation. I appreciate as a parent you are trying to help and you must do what is right for you and him.

Hi, No offense taken , made me laugh a box of frogs, yeah my son is on two types of meds for his mental illness, he has suffered ptsd from that relationship, she slammed a car door on his hand and the end of his thumb was sliced off , I saw all the blood on his bedroom door when went inside for a towel for the blood, she just told him he he's a wimp. Long story short , she was violent and hurt him bad , used to throw pot ornaments at him and even lamps . I don't blame him for leaving her and just getting away .
I just read you reply below, from what I can make out the lodger isn't going to pay anything off this bill, the ex isn't either as she is on UC and can't even pay the top up on the rent , so that leaves my son , but his mental state is suffering now from all of this .