Attachment of earnings despite written agreement - recourse?
Discussion
Hi all, just after some better informed advice before I look into this any deeper. I basically ended up with a council tax debt due to a multitude of factors which have been addressed one by one.
I had a summons notice. I had a payment schedule, starting 24th October. I contacted the council quite quickly via an online form (I was diagnosed with adhd yesterday before I'm asked why I didn't ring them. I avoid calls wherever possible) and I received a response a few days ago.
I asked could I pay that first payment tomorrow, 7th November and then I would be fine paying all subsequent payments on the scheduled dates.
The amounts were £225 BTW. I received the following response:
Why would they tell me I can pay on 7th November, warn of the consequences then enact those consequences before said date occurs? What's the legal position on this?
Appreciate it's my fault I am in this mess ultimately, but any advice gratefully received.
I had a summons notice. I had a payment schedule, starting 24th October. I contacted the council quite quickly via an online form (I was diagnosed with adhd yesterday before I'm asked why I didn't ring them. I avoid calls wherever possible) and I received a response a few days ago.
I asked could I pay that first payment tomorrow, 7th November and then I would be fine paying all subsequent payments on the scheduled dates.
The amounts were £225 BTW. I received the following response:
The Council said:
You have missed the payment due 24/10/2025 of 225.00. In order to repay this years council tax by the end of the financial year you will now have to pay 269.57 on 07/11/2025 and a further 4 payments of 269.57 on the 7th of each month till March when the final payment is due.
The consequence of not paying is that your debt will be deducted from your wage.
Kindest Regards,
Council Tax Team
I then received an attachment of earnings letter either the very next day or the one after that. Today I've had confirmation they've taken a chunk of my wage this week and I assume will continue this for the coming weeks, which will have a severe impact on me.The consequence of not paying is that your debt will be deducted from your wage.
Kindest Regards,
Council Tax Team
Why would they tell me I can pay on 7th November, warn of the consequences then enact those consequences before said date occurs? What's the legal position on this?
Appreciate it's my fault I am in this mess ultimately, but any advice gratefully received.
TroubledSoul said:
Hi all, just after some better informed advice before I look into this any deeper. I basically ended up with a council tax debt due to a multitude of factors which have been addressed one by one.
I had a summons notice. I had a payment schedule, starting 24th October. I contacted the council quite quickly via an online form (I was diagnosed with adhd yesterday before I'm asked why I didn't ring them. I avoid calls wherever possible) and I received a response a few days ago.
I asked could I pay that first payment tomorrow, 7th November and then I would be fine paying all subsequent payments on the scheduled dates.
The amounts were £225 BTW. I received the following response:
Why would they tell me I can pay on 7th November, warn of the consequences then enact those consequences before said date occurs? What's the legal position on this?
Appreciate it's my fault I am in this mess ultimately, but any advice gratefully received.
Sounds like you misunderstand the word 'consequence' as they have used it. I had a summons notice. I had a payment schedule, starting 24th October. I contacted the council quite quickly via an online form (I was diagnosed with adhd yesterday before I'm asked why I didn't ring them. I avoid calls wherever possible) and I received a response a few days ago.
I asked could I pay that first payment tomorrow, 7th November and then I would be fine paying all subsequent payments on the scheduled dates.
The amounts were £225 BTW. I received the following response:
The Council said:
You have missed the payment due 24/10/2025 of 225.00. In order to repay this years council tax by the end of the financial year you will now have to pay 269.57 on 07/11/2025 and a further 4 payments of 269.57 on the 7th of each month till March when the final payment is due.
The consequence of not paying is that your debt will be deducted from your wage.
Kindest Regards,
Council Tax Team
I then received an attachment of earnings letter either the very next day or the one after that. Today I've had confirmation they've taken a chunk of my wage this week and I assume will continue this for the coming weeks, which will have a severe impact on me.The consequence of not paying is that your debt will be deducted from your wage.
Kindest Regards,
Council Tax Team
Why would they tell me I can pay on 7th November, warn of the consequences then enact those consequences before said date occurs? What's the legal position on this?
Appreciate it's my fault I am in this mess ultimately, but any advice gratefully received.
They might have been better to say 'Because you didn't pay what was due on the 24th we've decided to deduct the payments from your wages'.
Possibly, and if they said to me that "we are now taking these payments on these dates automatically" that would make sense and would be fine as it's the same end outcome.
It's the fact they didn't word it that way and I now have no clue if they intend to take the amounts monthly or if they will try to take it weekly and clear the debt quickly.
The only real positive here is that I was actually diagnosed with combined type ADHD this week so hopefully things like this will not occur going forward...
It's the fact they didn't word it that way and I now have no clue if they intend to take the amounts monthly or if they will try to take it weekly and clear the debt quickly.
The only real positive here is that I was actually diagnosed with combined type ADHD this week so hopefully things like this will not occur going forward...
paintman said:
Again, my interpretation is that your payments schedule is the first one being taken today & the remaining 4 payments of £269.57 each will be taken on:
7th December
7th January
7th February
7th March - which is the final one.
Yeah perhaps you are right. I read it as those are the dates I now need to make payments manually. I will try to make that call today and find out but this is why it's good to get another set of eyes on something sometimes. Cheers.7th December
7th January
7th February
7th March - which is the final one.
That means your remaining payment dates would be:-
07/11/2025
07/12/2025
07/01/2026
07/02/2026
07/03/2026
Consequences Mentioned:-
Your debt will be deducted from your wage
This refers to an Attachment of Earnings Order, which councils can apply for through the magistrates court if council tax remains unpaid. It means your employer would be instructed to deduct council tax arrears directly from your salary.
07/11/2025
07/12/2025
07/01/2026
07/02/2026
07/03/2026
Consequences Mentioned:-
Your debt will be deducted from your wage
This refers to an Attachment of Earnings Order, which councils can apply for through the magistrates court if council tax remains unpaid. It means your employer would be instructed to deduct council tax arrears directly from your salary.
An attachment of earnings is in place if a letter has been received and a first deduction has been made.
It takes a while for an employer to receive an attachment of earnings order and to begin making deductions, so I would think the request had been made to your employer some time ago before you were messaged about the agreement beginning on 7th November. Possibly a council tax officer didn't notice the attachment was already in place when they promised you the payment arrangement. What's the date on the attachment of earnings letter and what date were you sent the message advising of the new payment arrangement?
As the payment arrangement clears the debit within the current tax year, by March 2026, I'm assuming it's for the current tax year. Are you absolutely sure you haven't got additional arrears for past tax years or a previous address you've lived at? Or even something else entirely other than council tax? Is the attachment of earnings letter definitely about this council tax debt for which you've been promised a payment arrangement beginning on 7th November?
A backdated reduction in Council Tax Support can lead to an outstanding balance being created for a tax year you've previously paid off as you need to pay the amount that's now no longer covered by the award. Have a good look through all your bills and speak to the council tax office on Monday.
If you've been diagnosed with a mental health issue, it's worth considering an application for a council tax exemption on the grounds of severe mental impairment. It's not up to the council tax office to decide what counts as severe mental impairment. Council tax legislation doesn't state what does. They can give you a form that your doctor will need to complete with confirmation they consider you to be severely mentally impaired and the date you've been considered severely mentally impaired from. You'll also need to be eligible for receipt of a qualifying benefit and be able to show proof, such as a letter from the DWP, of the date from which you became eligible. You can then be disregarded from the council tax charge from the date you've been both severely mentally impaired, according to your doctor, and eligible for the qualifying benefit.
If you're the sole occupier of your property aged 18 or over, this means a full exemption. If there's one other adult, it's a 25% discount. Unfortunately, if there are two or more other adults, there won't be any discount.
It takes a while for an employer to receive an attachment of earnings order and to begin making deductions, so I would think the request had been made to your employer some time ago before you were messaged about the agreement beginning on 7th November. Possibly a council tax officer didn't notice the attachment was already in place when they promised you the payment arrangement. What's the date on the attachment of earnings letter and what date were you sent the message advising of the new payment arrangement?
As the payment arrangement clears the debit within the current tax year, by March 2026, I'm assuming it's for the current tax year. Are you absolutely sure you haven't got additional arrears for past tax years or a previous address you've lived at? Or even something else entirely other than council tax? Is the attachment of earnings letter definitely about this council tax debt for which you've been promised a payment arrangement beginning on 7th November?
A backdated reduction in Council Tax Support can lead to an outstanding balance being created for a tax year you've previously paid off as you need to pay the amount that's now no longer covered by the award. Have a good look through all your bills and speak to the council tax office on Monday.
If you've been diagnosed with a mental health issue, it's worth considering an application for a council tax exemption on the grounds of severe mental impairment. It's not up to the council tax office to decide what counts as severe mental impairment. Council tax legislation doesn't state what does. They can give you a form that your doctor will need to complete with confirmation they consider you to be severely mentally impaired and the date you've been considered severely mentally impaired from. You'll also need to be eligible for receipt of a qualifying benefit and be able to show proof, such as a letter from the DWP, of the date from which you became eligible. You can then be disregarded from the council tax charge from the date you've been both severely mentally impaired, according to your doctor, and eligible for the qualifying benefit.
If you're the sole occupier of your property aged 18 or over, this means a full exemption. If there's one other adult, it's a 25% discount. Unfortunately, if there are two or more other adults, there won't be any discount.
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