Bailiffs sent for unpaid council tax after 15 years

A woman with a sick newborn child said she "can't go on" after a council started sending bailiffs to collect £700 of unpaid council tax from 15 years ago.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she was unaware she owed Slough Borough Council for six months' worth of council tax from 2009.

She said she started getting letters from the council and then bailiffs' visits in 2023, and said she would pay but was unable to while she was on maternity leave.

A council spokesperson said a valuation tribunal had confirmed she owed the money and urged residents facing hardship to reach out so the council could work with them to find a solution.

The woman lived in Slough between 2004 and 2009 and for most of that time was a full-time student - meaning she was exempt from council tax.

In 2009, she lived with her now-husband in Slough while she was pregnant.

When he returned to his home country for a period, she moved to Leicester to live with her sister but was advised to continue getting her maternity care in Slough.

She said she gave Slough Borough Council that information in 2009 and was advised to fill in a single person discount form.

But as she had been a full-time student and then a resident in Leicester she did not think she was eligible to pay council tax in Slough.

She heard nothing more until 2023 when she got a letter from the council.

"They said I owed over £1,000," she said.

"Within two weeks I started getting bailiffs."

She said the bailiffs were "coming every single day" and the council was "writing to me constantly".

She challenged the bill, having to prove when she was studying at the now-closed Thames Valley University campus in Slough.

She appealed to a valuation tribunal, which ruled partly in her favour but found she was still eligible for tax between February and September 2009 when she was claiming a single person's discount.

Now, Slough Borough Council said she owed £724, which the woman said she would pay but was unable to whilst on maternity leave and looking after her unwell son.

She said she asked the council for a delay and sent evidence in emails to the council, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

But the council said she had to complete a financial circumstances form, and sent bailiffs to her again.

"I can't keep going on like this," the woman said.

"I can't fill it in - my son is in hospital, I am in hospital with him every day."

A council spokesperson said: "Council tax notices were served during 2009 when the debt became due.

"The dates of council tax liability from 1 February 2009 to 21 September 2009 were confirmed by the valuation tribunal in November and the liability order remains valid."

They added residents were "encouraged to reach out to us to discuss their financial circumstances so we can work with them to find a solution to pay the outstanding debt".

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