Debt Recovery

The Council’s policy

  • to collect all instalments as they become due
  • to ensure that we treat all council tax payers fairly and consistently
  • to act in accordance with current regulations while trying to be responsive to individual circumstances

In 2009/2010, our collection rate was 99.03%.

Paying your bill
Annual bills sent in March automatically give you 10 monthly instalments payable from April to January, subject to a minimum instalment of £50. For example:

       Annual charge £1,000  =  ten monthly instalments of £100.

       Annual charge £250  =  five monthly instalments of £50

If the bill is sent later in the year, fewer than 10 instalments will be available. You must make sure we receive your payments on, or before, the due dates shown on your bill.

What can I do if I have trouble paying the bill?
Before you fall behind with your instalments, please contact the Business Rates Team on 01395 517445. We can discuss payment plans and check whether you are getting all the help you are entitled to.

What will happen if I don't pay?
If you fail to pay as shown on your bill (or as shown on an agreed arrangement to pay), we may take statutory recovery action against you as detailed below.

  1. Instalment Reminder
    First, we will send you a reminder notice asking for full payment of all the instalments that are outstanding at that date. This notice also warns that if you fail to pay any further instalments on the due dates, you will lose your right to pay by instalments in the current financial year.
  2. Final Notice
    If you lose your right to pay by instalments, we will send you a Final Notice which will require you to pay the full balance outstanding within 14 days from the date of the Final Notice.
  3. Summons
    If youdo not pay exactly as shown on the Final Notice, a Summons may be issued for you to attend the local Magistrates' Court. We will also add a further £40 in court costs if we do not receive payment, in full, before the Summons is issued.
  4. Liability Order
    At the Magistrates' Court, the Council will apply for a Liability Order against you for non-payment of Business Rates. If the Magistrates grant a Liability Order and you still do not pay, or you do not contact the Council, we may send the Liability Order to certificated bailiffs for collection.
  5. Levying Distress
    When the bailiffs get the Liability Order, the size of your debt will increase because their costs will be added to the amount you already owe to the Council. The bailiffs will visit you to collect the full amount you are now liable for. If you fail to pay in full, the bailiffs may seize your goods (known as "distraint") to the total value of the outstanding debt. Bailiffs can seize goods by Close or Walking Possession. If the bailiffs cannot collect payment or goods from you, they will return the Liability Order to the Council for further action.
  6. Commitment to Prison
    If the bailiffs have to return the Liability Order to us because they cannot collect the amount outstanding, we may take Commitment to Prison proceedings against you. In this case, you will be summoned to appear at the Magistrates' Court to undergo a means test to establish your ability to pay the debt, based on your financial circumstances. If you fail to appear at the hearing, an arrest warrant, with or without bail, may be granted to the Council, and we will instruct either the Police or a firm of bailiffs to find you and ensure that you appear in Court at a fixed, later date. If the Magistrates find either "Wilful Refusal" or "Culpable Neglect", they may commit you to prison for a period of up to 90 days.

Arrangments to Pay
At any stage before we send the Liability Order to the bailiffs, you can contact the Council to make an arrangement to pay. The arrangement will include any court costs if we have already sent you a Summons. Recovery proceedings will continue if you do not keep very strictly to the terms of an arrangement.

Page last updated on 10 November 2011