00:00And it's that time of year, isn't it, where we're not only maybe getting those credit card bills from Christmas
00:04that you're trying to keep on top of and pay off,
00:06but you're also getting letters about changes that are coming in the new financial year.
00:10You're being told what your new council tax rate's going to be.
00:13There's a lot to take in at the moment, and especially for people who are struggling,
00:17if you aren't managing to keep up with bills, if you are already in debt,
00:21the easiest thing in the world to do is to just push those letters to one side,
00:26either stick them straight in the bin, stick them to the back of a shelf somewhere and hope it'll go
00:30away.
00:30And it's completely understandable.
00:32We've all been in that position of thinking, oh, no, you know, this one bill might be the thing that
00:37pushes me over.
00:38But it's so important to open them and to try and face up to things at this time of year.
00:44And there are really important ones that it's important to look out for and make sure that you do open.
00:49It's important if you've got any debts that if you're getting any letters that could be from a bailiff,
00:53just to remember, they can visit your home after seven days if there's been a letter from a bailiff,
00:58so make sure you open it and address it.
01:00Council tax can be really crucial as well because that can end up as a court summons if you don't
01:05pay that.
01:06The government are sending out letters at the moment, so something from the DWP,
01:09and also HMRC you really shouldn't ignore.
01:11So at this time of year, especially if you've completed a tax return at the end of January,
01:16this is the moment that you might get a letter saying,
01:19actually, you owe a bit more than you thought you did.
01:21So HMRC have put out that information there.
01:24That number at the top is the first letter they're saying don't ignore
01:28because that's effectively a payment that's due.
01:31You still owe a little bit more money.
01:33That middle number there, that long number, is a letter,
01:36what they call a simple assessment.
01:39That's basically an extra tax bill.
01:41And more people are potentially going to be facing these who are pensioners
01:45because you may well fall into a tax bracket for the first time this year or next year
01:50because your income's risen, but the tax brackets haven't,
01:53so you might have to pay a bit more tax.
01:55You might end up with one of those bills that you haven't done in previous years.
01:59And then that last letter there is about tax avoidance.
02:02So if anything arrives along those lines, it's super important to open it
02:06and try and face reality and deal with it, even just to be aware of what's going on.
02:11Even if you can't afford to pay it, make sure that you're opening it
02:14and at least beginning the thought process.
Comments