@Ricci Hefft - Ricci, thanks for the extra detail — that actually clarifies the position really well, and you’re right: none of this is about avoiding payment, it’s about the way councils misuse insolvency as a pressure tool rather than a last resort. What you’ve described with the interim stay being ignored and multiple enforcement agencies being instructed is sadly very common. Councils know insolvency courts won’t look at process, so they push everything through the back door. Once you’re in the insolvency arena, the judge’s hands are tied. Liability orders = debt exists. That’s why they wouldn’t look at reconciliation, SAR failures, or the bulk‑signed schedules. Insolvency courts simply aren’t the place where those arguments get any traction. Given where you are now, the focus shifts from “challenge” to “damage limitation”, and there are still practical moves that work. 1. Is a payment plan the smartest move now? In almost every case like this, yes. Councils rarely want to spend £1,500–£2,000 issuing a bankruptcy petition unless they think you’re refusing to engage. If you open a dialogue with GK and show willingness to pay, they will usually pause the petition process. A typical structure people use is: - a small lump sum (even £200–£500 can help) - followed by monthly instalments You don’t need to clear the whole £2.5k court fee upfront — GK often accept it being rolled into the plan. 2. Can anything still be challenged separately after starting a plan? Yes — starting a plan does not close the door on: - SAR complaints - reconciliation disputes - Ombudsman complaints - Monitoring Officer referrals - banding challenges - maladministration claims Those run in parallel. A payment plan simply stops the insolvency threat while you sort the rest out. You’re not admitting the balance is correct — you’re preventing a bankruptcy petition while the council gets its house in order. 3. What’s the lowest monthly payment councils accept?

In layman terms, sort out a payment plan to stop insolvency, carryon with the SAR process, get as much as you can for GDPR non-compliance, pay it off completely, then do it all again next year 👍

@Melanie Lambert Ok well you don't need to print anything, you just need the software. Take a photo with your phone and emailing it to yourself. Then save the photo to your desktop or wherever. Open it up and click on print, When the printbox appears, click on the down arrow (top right) then select 'Microsoft print to PDF', then click print and the save box comes up, then save it to your desktop, then you can drag and drop it into the chatbot 👍

@Melanie Lambert It's just an easier way to convert documents to PDF's. Some people go on all sorts of website, but it can be done at the click of a few button, but yeah i'm glad you've sorted it 👍

Lance - Here is one of Peter's YouTube videos on the subject - SARs to Employers and Councils for Council Tax AOE - YouTube

I think there's about 5 standard letters which they send, and after letter 5, it defaults back to letter 1. Just ignore it, they can't do a thing 👊👊👊

Graham, I can absolutely help you untangle this — and I’ll do it in a way that keeps everything calm, accurate, and grounded in general procedural information, without drifting into legal advice. Let’s break this down cleanly so your member can understand what CPR 23 and CPR 27 actually do, and where the confusion is coming from. ⭐ First: CPR 23 and CPR 27 are not opposites, and they don’t “cancel” each other They do completely different jobs. CPR 23 Covers general applications — the mechanism you use to ask the court to do something in a live case. Examples include: - asking for disclosure - asking for directions - asking for a transfer to a different court - asking for an injunction - asking for declaratory relief - asking for a hearing - asking for a stay You make a CPR 23 application after a claim exists. That’s why Peter said: “It must be done on a live case where a claim number has been issued.” That part is correct. CPR 27 This is the Small Claims Track rule. It governs: - how small claims are run - what evidence is allowed - what the judge can do - what costs are allowed - how strict the rules are And yes — CPR 27 gives judges wide discretion, which can feel unpredictable. But CPR 27 only applies after allocation. ⭐ So the key point: CPR 23 is not a “weapon” to stop CPR 27. It’s simply a mechanism to make an application before the case is allocated to the small claims track. That’s why people talk about “getting in first”. ⭐ Now let’s address the specific misunderstandings in the member’s message 1️⃣ “CPR 23 is our ‘fuck you’.” Not really. CPR 23 is just the standard way to make an application. It’s not a special loophole or a magic override. It doesn’t automatically: - force disclosure - force transfer - block CPR 27 - move a case to Chancery It’s simply the route you use to ask. The court still decides. 2️⃣ “We can use CPR 23 on an N1 when filing a claim.” This is where the confusion is. ✔ You can issue a claim seeking: