www.iva.co.uk

So I’m around 8 months out now from finishing off my IVA and as daft as sounds I’ve only just noticed something odd.

One of my creditors is my local council. I can only assume for council tax. However I’ve never owed council tax. I’m bang up to date. It’s been late yes, back in the bad times. But I paid it all. Yet they’ve had over a grand out of this IVA.

Now typically my local council have been hacked recently and their systems are down. Been like it for months. But I’m sure I can gather enough evidence from bank statements etc to prove I’d paid up.

I never listed them as a creditor. Is this something PayPlan may have done when creating my IVA? Bit annoyed that they’ve had money out of it when they were never owed. Going to raise it with PayPlan.

The theory is that, for the CTax year that you start the IVA in, that years CT is counted as a debt and included in the IVA, so, for that year you should not be paying CT, as they will get it back ( some of it) via dividends. You then recommence including CT as an allowable expense and paying it as normal thereafter.

The thinking is that CT is, in fact, due in full on the 1st April each year --- you are allowed to pay it monthly as a 'favour' (not a right) and you are then paying it in arrears. I have to say that I do not agree with this line of thinking and it hasn't always been this way ---- why poke a sleeping bear when you don't need to ? But, somewhere along the last decade, someone thought it was a good idea !

As a matter of course, my local authority do not engage at all with IVA's and simply write of the first years CT as it generally costs more to administer than they get back.

I'm at a similar point. I was told not to pay mine the last couple of months of the year the IVA was agreed. Currently the balance outstanding shows £6 greater than this year's bill so I guess the payments are balancing out what I owed.

Coincidentally re Council tax, I haven't had the £150 rebate yet and hoped that those £6 arrears won't stop me getting it! It doesn't say anything about arrears in the info but let's hope they don't try and avoid paying out.

We haven't had our £150 either - it will probably take time to get it out to all households.

They have until the end of September to make the payments --- some councils will be faster than others. Ours says by the end of April .... we shall see.

The £150 will be paid out only once the first direct debit has been taken from the bank account for 22/23 Council tax - they have until September to pay it out so its a variable feast