Neil from Liverpool found himself £8,000 in council tax debt after a simple mistake spiralled out of control. Living alone for the first time in 17 years, he assumed his council tax was being paid automatically. 'I just assumed it was automatic. For like the last 17 years I was living with my girlfriend, and basically, I just used to give her £500 a month, and she paid everything,' he told Money Wellness.
Six months before realising the issue
It took six months for Neil to realise there was a problem after receiving letters and speaking to the council. By then, he was £350 behind on his council tax and unaware of how quickly the situation would worsen. He was later contacted by enforcement agents over another debt, pushing his total debts to more than £8,000.
The stress began affecting his work in a demanding medical support role. 'I was feeling a lot more stressed, because that was like nagging away in the back of my mind. I’m a bit of a worrier, so yeah, it was actually affecting the job I was doing,' he added.
One phone call made the difference
Neil contacted Money Wellness, who helped him arrange a Debt Relief Order. These orders freeze debts for 12 months, giving people time to pay off the balance and ultimately write off the debt if their circumstances don’t change. While Money Wellness warns these orders are not suitable for everyone, Neil said it gave him the 'kick up the you know' to deal with his debts head on.
'Rather than rely on waiting for an email or wait for the text message or something like that, I’d rather just phone someone and speak to someone, to sort it out that way,' he said. 'Not everyone is [tech] savvy and so I think, if you know who to ask for advice, you will get the help you need. It’s been such a weight lifted off my shoulders.'
Neil urged others dealing with debts and council tax arrears to speak up and find help before the situation becomes unmanageable. 'I’d probably recommend speaking to yourselves. Or just going to Citizen Advice, something like that. But yeah, there’s help there if you need it,' he said.
