How we recover Council Tax debt

If you are unable to make your Council Tax payment, or you are late making your payment, please contact us as soon as possible in order to avoid any recovery action.

If you don't pay your Council Tax, or don't keep to an arrangement, we can take the following recovery action in order to recovery any monies owed.

• Summons: We will issue you a with a Magistrates Court Summons. We will ask the Magistrates court for a Liability Order which will incur further costs. You have a right to attend the hearing and explain why a Liability Order should not be issued against you. If you are not disputing the case then you do not need to attend but it is important that you keep to the arrangement on your summons document or contact us to discuss further.

• Liability Orders: If a court has made a Liability Order against you, we can take enforcement action to recover the debt. This could include Attaching your Earning/Benefits; referring the debt to an Enforcement Agent; Committal to Prison; Bankruptcy/Insolvency or a Charging Order.

• Attachment of Earnings: This is a legal document which has been sent to your employer and enables them to deduct a regular amount from your wages to pay the outstanding Council Tax. The amount deducted is calculated based on a percentage of your net pay as detailed in the tables below:

Table A -Deductions from Weekly Earnings

Not Exceeding £750

Table B - Deductions from Weekly Earnings

Not Exceeding £3000

More information about an attachment of earnings can be found here.

• Attachment of Benefits: We may be able to apply for deductions if your are receiving Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Income related Employment Support Allowances, Pension Credit or Universal Credit.

• Enforcement Agents: We can send Enforcement Agents to your home to seize goods to raise money towards the amount of the debt and add costs incurred. We employ the following Enforcement Agent:
  Bristow and Sutor
  Bartleet Road
  Washford
  REDDITCH
  B98 0LF
  https://www.bristowsutor.co.uk/

• Committal to Prison: If the Council have tried other recovery options they may request that the Magistrates issue a summons for you to appear before them the explain why you haven't paid your debt and to do a means enquiry. If the court are satisfied that you have the means to pay and that you have either wilfully refused to pay or that you have been found culpably negligent, you may be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 3 months. The court can in some cases postpone the imprisonment if an arrangement can be agreed and is maintained.

• Bankruptcy: If you or your company owe more than £750 and a Liability Order has been obtained we may start bankruptcy proceedings against you. Your debt would be passed to a solicitor who will issue you with a statutory demand. This demand will give you 21 days to pay in full. If you do not settle the demand, we will present a petition for bankruptcy to the County Court.

• Charging Order: If you owe more than £1,000 under the Liability Order and the Council Tax payer has a legal interest in a the property, the Council can apply to the County Court for a Charging Order on the property. If a property or other legal interest is sold the amount of the order plus costs is paid out of the proceeds.