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Council criticised over bankruptcy proceedings

Published on 8 Oct 2009 under category: legal

Manchester City Council has been criticised for the way it used bankruptcy proceedings to recover debt.

The local authority made one of its residents, known only as Mr Joseph, bankrupt because of £1,071 in unpaid council tax.

Jerry White, the local government ombudsman, commented that this action was flawed.

He stated that this was because the council used these collection methods without having the required written policy in place, bankruptcy solicitors may be interested to hear.

The case was brought to the ombudsman's attention after Mr Joseph complained about being made bankrupt for not paying his council tax in February 2007.

It has now been ruled that the local authority must pay Mr Joseph £1,000 in compensation.

In other news, it was recently revealed that former Radio One DJ Mike Read is selling his record collection after being declared bankrupt.

It is thought that the discs could fetch as much as £1 million at auction.

If you require advice on Insolvency and Bankruptcy please call us on +44 (0)20 7831 0101 and ask for Katherine Sillett.