Council Tax recovery/enforcement information

Collection of Council Tax
What you need to know about reminders
What this means to you
Bailiff
Committal
Breakdown of costs
How to contact us
Recovery process
What you need to know if you receive a Liability Order

Collection of Council Tax

it is our aim to collect all instalments as they become due
if instalments are overdue we will attempt to make mutually acceptable arrangements where possible
the Council's recovery policy has been drawn up in compliance with current regulations whilst incorporating the our Customer Care policy
recovery policy for Council Tax is agreed in advance and ensures that all taxpayers are treated fairly
all complaints will be dealt with in seven days and depending on the nature of the complaint, recovery action may be suspended

You must contact us immediately if you are experiencing difficulty in paying. If you wish to make an offer of payment please complete the attached financial enquiry form (Excel 37kb) and post or e-mail this back to the Recovery Team.

What you need to know about reminders

The first stage of recovery on a late instalment is a Reminder Notice. We deal with 41,000 taxpayers and therefore, due to the number it is not possible to check each Reminder before issue. The legislation currently specifies:

a bill is issued for an estimated annual charge and you have the right to pay by instalments
a reminder will be issued shortly after an instalment becomes due and is unpaid
non compliance with a reminder will result in the loss of the right to pay by instalments and no further reminders will be issued. The balance remaining will become due in one lump sum payment
a maximum of two reminders will be served in any one financial year. (You will only receive a second reminder if you have complied with the terms of the first reminder and have again fallen behind with your payments)

We usually send a discretionary final notice after two reminders and before the issue of a summons in order to give the taxpayers a further opportunity to pay and avoid costs and potential court action.

Following a reminder notice we may be able to make an arrangement to clear the arrears. Provided you set up a Direct Debit with your bank we are usually prepared to spread any arrears over the remaining instalment period.

If you cannot agree to pay by Direct Debit you may be asked to complete a financial enquiry form (Excel 37kb) providing details of your incoem and expenditure so that a mutually acceptable arrangement can be made. In some cases we will make an arrangement with you but the Council will still need to apply for a Liability Order at an additional cost.

Summons and beyond

What this means to you

If you have not complied with a reminder, contacted us to make an arrangement or where an arrangement has been made on the understanding that a Liability Order will be obtained but held pending full payment of the arrangement, a summons will be issued. A summons is a legal notice requiring you to appear at the Magistrates Court if you dispute liability. Below is a list of valid disputes:

no entry in valuation list for period of liability
the tax has not been properly set
the tax has not been demanded in accordance with the statutory regulations
the amount demanded has been paid
that more than six years have elapsed since the day on which the sum became due
the sum is in respect of a penalty which is subject to an appeal
that bankruptcy or winding up proceedings have been initiated

If you know the Tax is correct but in arrears you do not need to appear at court. Costs will usually be incurred with the issue of a summons - if you have not done so you should contact the Council to see if an arrangement is possible.

An outstanding appeal against your band value is not a valid defence against the granting of a liability order.

The Council will request a Liability Order at the hearing and you will be notified of this within a week (provided you have not previously made an arrangement to pay), further costs will be incurred with the granting of a Liability Order.

Once a Liability Order (Pdf 1.3mb) has been granted and provided you have not entered into an arrangement to pay, the Council is entitled to enforce payment by either:

attachment of earnings - deducting direct from your wages an amount set by legislation
attachment of benefit - this currently includes Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance. Again the deductions are preset by legislation
bailiff action, usually a course of last resort as the debtor will incur bailiffs fees. Once the bailiffs have become involved any arrangement must be made with them
bankruptcy action/charging order where appropriate

Bailiff

Once a Liability Order has been issued, it gives the Council the power to recover the unpaid Council Tax in a number of ways (see above).

Unless you contact the Council within 14 days, the Council will pass the liability order to the Council's bailiffs. If this happens you will incur additional charges from the bailiffs.

The bailiffs act on behalf of the Council to recover the debt whether by arrangement or by removing the goods (known as distress) and selling them at auction.

They do have a code of practice agreed by the Council as follows:

the bailiff may call between 6am-9pm Monday to Saturday
the bailiff will carry identity cards at all times together with an authorisation from Spelthorne Council
the bailiff will be smartly dressed, act politely and discreetly
arrangements are at the discretion of the bailiffs but will not go beyond nine months without the consent of the Council
correspondence to the bailiffs where a written reply is required, will be dealt with in 10 working days
they will make an initail visit to the taxpayer within 15 working days of receipt of the liability order
they will not distrain upon goods belonging to children or remove any protected goods e.g fridges, beds, tools of the trade
they will leave a signed copy of any goods where walking possession has been taken at the taxpayers request and will provide a breakdown of fees where requested
they will issue a receipt of all monies requested
the bailiff will operate within the code of practice of the Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies (ACEA) (external website)

For further information, you should contact Chandlers Bailiffs (external website)

Committal to prison

If the bailiffs have returned the Liability Order endorsed as 'no effects' and the Council has not been able to collect the money in any other way, the Council can ask the Magistrates to consider sending you to prison for non payment of Council Tax.

A committal summons (Pdf 35kb) will be issued and at the court hearing, the Magistrates will decide whether you have deliberately refused or neglected to pay and enquire into any other reasons there may have been for non-payment.

They will enquire into your means for the period between the date of the original liability order and the present time and you must be prepared to give full details of your income and expenditure at this hearing. The magistrates will then determine the next stage. This may be a suspended Committal Order pending payment OR ultimately could mean your committal to prison for up to 90 days.

If you do not attend this hearing, a warrant for your arrest may be issued.

You can get independant advice from the following organisations:

A duty solicitor may be available at Staines Magistrates Court but you should contact the Court direct before the hearing date to confirm this.

If the debt still remains outstanding following bailiff action the Council will issue a legal notice requiring you to attend a Committal hearing.

At the Committal hearing you declare your means in front of magistrates who then determine the next stage. This may be a suspended Committal Order pending payment OR ultimately could mean your committal to prison for up to 90 days.

Breakdown of costs

Summons	£63
Liability Order	£32
Bailiffs Fees 1st levy 2nd levy Each van call (in excess of)	£24.50 £18 £80

Committal costs

Bail warrant	£135
No bail warrant	£195
Committal warrant	£240

The Council has no power to write off the Council Tax liability on the grounds of hardship.

How to contact us
If you have received a reminder, summons or notification of Liability Order or Notice of Committal Hearing please telephone 01784 451499 from 8am-6pm Monday to Thursday and from 8am-5pm on Friday.

Recovery Process - Word 47kb

Up to the committal hearing mutually acceptable arrangements may be made. It is usually not appropriate to make arrangements once a taxpayer has been seen by the Magistrates at the committal hearing as the matter is taken over by the Court.

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