[imc-scotland-discussion] draft article Re Council Tax clamp-down in Edin for indy news-sheet

Wed Sep 3 03:17:12 PDT 2008

not a bad article considering its by Embra Mike, but i think would be improved by insertion of this paragraph before STOP THE SHERIFF subheading to give some wider context

Edinburgh Council is a Lib Dem - SNP coalition - both avowedly in favour of abolishing the Council Tax, but in practice hounding those who can't pay it.  Politicians  = hypocrites? 

cheers Mike, Embra
-------------------
Please note this is the only functioning e mail address I now have - if you have any others please delete from your address book as they will no longer work.  Thanks.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike92 at riseup.net 
  To: imcscotland discussion 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 10:36 AM
  Subject: [imc-scotland-discussion] draft article Re Council Tax clamp-downin Edin for indy news-sheet

  draft article Re Council Tax clamp-down in Edinburgh for new indy news-sheet under preparation

  is a bit longer than intended but is pretty important topic i think

  we have a major problem in funding the news-sheet, as a temporary measure are there any folk could join me in putting in a fiver or a tenner to get this issue out until we can raise some funds?  (Past issues have been funded largely out of the pockets of one or two very skint folk, which is not really fair...)

  for the longer term has anyone any fundraising ideas?  

  cheers mike, edinburgh

  ps will send this to you Tom as attachment

  Don't be intimidated by Sheriff Officer bullies

  Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty write:  

  We are organising opposition to a Council clamp-down against people who owe council tax.  People are contacting us who have been subjected to outrageous treatment by sheriff officers Scott and Co, collecting council tax arrears for the City of Edinburgh Council. 

  - A young man was threatened by sheriffs at his door that unless he paid nearly £200 in cash immediately, they could come in and take his possessions.  (A lie - they can only force entry if a special court hearing grants an Exceptional Attachment order). Terrified, the young man and his girlfriend paid on the doorstep in cash, leaving themselves with no money even to buy food for their baby.  When they got advice, it was proved the amount demanded was wrong, and the sheriffs had to repay much of the money.
  - People who have been paying their current Council Tax, and also paying a regular agreed sum every month to their arrears, suddenly facing demands to drastically increase their payments. When people have provided evidence that this was impossible, some have been threatened with sequestration and thus the potential loss of their home.

  We have discovered that the Edinburgh City Council meeting of 29 January adopted a new recovery plan for council tax arrears. This branded 2,673 people as "can pay, wont pays" and aims to force them to pay their arrears within a year. Since many people allegedly owe thousands of pounds, this is often impossible. 

  STOP THE SHERIFF

  If sheriff officers turn up at your door - don't let them in, don't speak to them, and don't give them any money. They have NO legal right to force entry into your home without a court hearing granting an "Exceptional Attachment Order" - you would have known of the court hearing, as you can contest the application.

  If you get a threatening letter from sheriff officers or the Council, don't panic and pay more than you can afford. Contact us for advice and support.  We have many successes in opposing unjust demands.  We can back you up in your negotiations with the Council or Sherrifs - and ultimately we can call on our solidarity phone tree to muster physical support where needed.

  Remember Council Tax debt is a civil matter, NOT a criminal matter.  It is nothing to do with the police, you cannot be arrested or charged for council tax debt.  Sheriffs have threatened people with the police - more lies.

  Join our opposition to the Sheriff and Council bullies, resist the unjust Council Tax.  Take posters and leaflets to distribute, join us in actions to fightback.  We meet at ACE the second Tuesday each month at 7.30pm or drop in any Tuesday 1-4pm.

  Find us

  EDINBURGH COALITION AGAINST POVERTY and Edinburgh Claimants run an open advice and solidarity session on debt, benefits and other problems every Tuesday 1-4pm at the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh (ACE),

  Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty c/o ACE, 17 W Montgomery Place, Edinburgh EH7 5HA 0131 557 6242  (ACE also open Sat 11-6pm and Thurs 6-8pm)

  link to bigger article on site, aim to post today, just need to check something

  E MAIL ADDRESS?????  Have we got/ do we need one rather than ecap at lists.riseup.net ???

  Website??? Or leave till more developed?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  _______________________________________________
  imc-scotland-discussion mailing list
  List-Unsubscribe: imc-scotland-discussion-request at lists.indymedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
  http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/imc-scotland-discussion
  http://scotland.indymedia.org
  http://www.imcscotland.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-scotland-discussion/attachments/20080903/1053ca52/attachment.htm 