Council tax
Failing to pay your council tax
The council has a duty to collect council tax from every resident. Under no circumstances should you ignore your bill or skip a payment - speak to us first, we may be able to help.
If you are unable to make a payment by the date shown on your council tax bill, you must contact us to discuss your options. We may be able to arrange a different payment agreement with you, or advise if any help is available.
We follow a very rigid process to collect unpaid money, any missed payment will result in the council taking action to recover the unpaid council tax. The process is as follows:
| Reminder | Action |
|---|---|
| First reminder | The first time you miss a payment in the current tax year you will be sent a reminder. You must pay the missed instalment within 7 days to bring your account up to date. If you do not make this payment, we will issue you with a summons to appear in court. You will only receive one reminder for a missed instalment before it goes to court. |
| Second reminder | A second reminder is issued if you miss a second instalment in the current tax year, even if the first missed instalment has now been paid. You must pay the missed instalment within 7 days to bring your account up to date. If you do not make this payment, we will issue you with a summons to appear in court. You will only receive one reminder for a missed instalment before it goes to court. |
| Final reminder | A final reminder is issued if you miss a third instalment in the current tax year, even if the first two missed instalments have now been paid. If you have been issued with a final reminder, we will no longer allow you to pay your council tax in instalments, unless you set up a direct debit. If you do not pay the entire year's balance or set up a direct debit within 7 days of receiving the final reminder, we will issue you with a summons to appear in court. You will receive only one reminder for a missed instalment before it goes to court. |
| Summons | If any reminder notice is ignored and no payment is made, we will send you a summons to appear in court. When a summons is issued, we will add the additional cost of this to the amount you owe. If you pay the entire year's balance along with the additional costs, the matter will not go to court. If you make a partial payment or no payment, the matter will go to court on the date shown on your summons. |
| Court | If you ignore a summons and do not pay your account in full, we will ask the court to demand payment from you. This is called a liability order. You do not need to attend court as the case will go ahead without your presence, however if you wish to dispute the case, you are welcome to attend on the date shown on your summons. Once a matter has gone to court, additional costs will be added to the amount you owe to cover the cost of taking you to court. |
| Liability order | Once a magistrate has issued a liability order against you in court, we are then free to take action against you to collect the unpaid council tax. Our options include:
|
| Enforcement Agents | If, after a liability order has been issued, you still fail to pay your council tax bill through one of the methods listed above, your account may be passed to one of the council's enforcement agents to collect the outstanding balance. The enforcement agents operate independently of the council and will add their own costs to the amount you owe. |
In the event that all of these processes prove to be unsuccessful, the council will consider any other recovery option provided by the issue of a liability order. This may include the application for a charging order to secure the debt against your property, commencing bankruptcy proceedings against you or the commencement of committal proceedings.
The council will determine each case on its merits before using any of these additional methods of recovery.
Should you have difficulties making payment or any further enquiries regarding your council tax please do not hesitate to contact us.
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