help!!single mom distressed!!!

I am a single mother of two kids who has booked to go to the states in august, but never been abroad and the travel agents told me that i can go on us waiver visa free,but i have been taken to court in the past for debt and in particular a magistrates court re council tax non-payment,(uk),does that constitute a criminal record or conviction??? and am i ok to tick no on the form to enter the states without risk of being refused entry? no one can give me a difinative answer!!!!!!!I am british and live in the uk.

Council tax non-payment is a civil matter, not criminal. It will not affect your application for any kind of visa or visa waiver for entering the United States. I served as a police officer in London for many years and can safely tell you that there is no such criminal offence as you are describing. A warrant may have been issued for your arrest at some point, you may even have been arrested and taken to court, but simply because you have does not mean you have a criminal record. To get a criminal record, you would have to have been arrested, interviewed on tape, charged, had your fingerprints, photograph and DNA taken, and then bailed or kept in custody pending a court appearance. If you are still unsure, however, you can go to your local police station and ask them for a data protection form, which is a form you fill out and send off to Scotland Yard in the mail asking for a history of any criminal convictions you may have. Usually there's a small fee involved in getting this information, but it's only 10-20 pounds. In any case, the American authorities are inept in the extreme, so you shouldn't worry about something as petty as council tax!