Medway Council Tax - Bankruptcy instead of enforcing Charging Orders

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Medway Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Medway Council,

Medway Council Tax - Bankruptcy instead of enforcing Charging Orders

Under the Freedom of Information Act I wish to be provided with the following records.

(1) How many charging orders for non-payment of council tax have the council been granted and by which court, please include the date of the Interim Charging Order and Final Charging Order.

(2) For the above, the dates that both the Interim and Final Charging Orders were registered at the Land Registry.

(3) How many Charging Orders have been enforced by the council, please include the date.

(4) How many have not been enforced and instead the council has applied for bankruptcy, please include the date of the petition and bankruptcy order and the name of the court.

(5) Please provide the name of all in-house solicitors and external solicitors firms instructed to obtain charging orders on behalf of the council.

(6) Please provide the same as (5)for bankruptcy.

(7) Please give the reason the draconian method of bankruptcy has been used in place of enforcing charging orders and how many petitions were filed before the increase on 1 October 2015 of the £750 bankruptcy threshold and how many after the increase.

(8) Please confirm how many customers paid to reduce this amount to below the old threshold of £750 that was increased to £5000 on 1 October, please include the date, amount and method of payment.

(9) Please confirm how many customers who paid using your automated payment system had their letter sent after payment ignored by the council revenues staff.

(10) Please provide the title and names of the council revenues team and confirm if any of them have also given a reference to any of the council's external solicitors firms who they have farmed out the charging order and bankruptcy work to, and what previous connections they may have or had (if any).

Yours faithfully,

Deb Williams

freedom, Medway Council

1 Attachment

Good morning Ms Williams

 

Please find attached an acknowledgment letter to your Freedom of
Information request

 

Lynne Bush

Information Governance Officer (FOI & SAR)

Medway Council

Gun Wharf

Dock Road

Chatham

Kent

ME4 4TR

01634 332066

[1][Medway Council request email]

 

If this email is personal, it is not authorised by, or sent on behalf of
Medway Council and is the personal responsibility of the sender.

 

This message is intended only for the use of the person(s), (“the intended
recipient(s)”) to whom it is addressed. It may contain information which
is privileged and confidential within the meaning of the law. If you are
not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as possible.
The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the views
of Medway Council.

 

This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
contain sensitive or protectively marked material up to RESTRICTED and
should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or
authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or
disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this transmission in
error please notify the sender immediately. This email has been scanned
for viruses and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that
none are present. Medway Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss
or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments. Any views
expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and not
necessarily those of Medway Council unless explicitly stated. Please be
aware that emails sent to or received from Medway Council may be subject
to recording and/or monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Medway Council request email]

freedom, Medway Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Williams,

 

Thank you for your recent request for information. Please find attached
the response letter in regards to your request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Sophie Jordan

Information Governance Officer 
Information Governance Team 
Legal and Corporate Directorate

Medway Council

Gun Wharf

Dock Road

Chatham

Kent ME4 4TR

 

[1][email address]

 

[2][Medway Council request email]

 

Visit our website: [3]www.medway.gov.uk

 

This message is intended only for the use of person(s) ("the intended
recipient(s)") to whom it is addressed.  It may contain information which
is privileged and confidential within the meaning of the law. If you are
not the intended recipient, please contact the sender as soon as
possible.  The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily
be the views of Medway Council.

 

 

This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
contain sensitive or protectively marked material up to RESTRICTED and
should be handled accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or
authorised to receive it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or
disclose it to anyone else. If you have received this transmission in
error please notify the sender immediately. This email has been scanned
for viruses and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that
none are present. Medway Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss
or damage arising from the use of this email or attachments. Any views
expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and not
necessarily those of Medway Council unless explicitly stated. Please be
aware that emails sent to or received from Medway Council may be subject
to recording and/or monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Medway Council request email]
3. http://www.medway.gov.uk/
http://www.medway.gov.uk/