Council Tax & Business Rates - Recovery of Unpaid Amounts
Worried About Your Debts: Council Bills
- The Council has to collect money to pay for the services we provide.
- If you owe us money we will expect you to pay it.
- We do understand that it can be difficult to make ends meet.
- When you contact us we will look at your situation.
- It is our normal practice to obtain a Liability Order at court to secure the debt before we enter into an arrangement.
- If you are experiencing financial difficulties and need help in sorting them out please contact the Citizens Advice Bureau on 0845 120 3705 or the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
- Both of the above offer free and confidential advice.
- Please let us know if you decide to get help from a third party as we will need your written, signed authorisation to discuss your details and account information with them.
- Rutland County Council takes the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates seriously and will take action to enforce payment where necessary.
Please visit out debt and money advice page for information about who to contact for advice if you are worried about your debts.
Recovery Steps - Council Tax
- Listed below are the steps we will take following a failure to pay in accordance with the instalment plan shown on your bill.
- The Council Tax flow chart below give an overview of the process.
- The other documents explain each of the steps in more detail.
Council Tax Flow Chart (pdf file)
Council Tax Liability Order - what happens next?
If you have not contacted us and arranged a payment plan by the date of the court hearing, we will take one of the following steps once a Liability Order has been granted:
Council Tax Attachment of Earnings (pdf file)
Council Tax Attachment of Members Allowances (pdf file)
Council Tax Attachment of Benefits (pdf file)
or, we will forward your details to our Bailiff company. You will receive correspondence from them and you have 14 days to respond. Failure to respond will result in a bailiff visiting your property to obtain payment or remove goods to sell to clear the debt.
If we have tried to collect payment using one of the above methods, for example an Attachment of Benefits, but your circumstances have changed, we may write to you. If this happens we will usually send you a Notice to Supply Information Form and a Budget Sheet.
If you do make a payment arrangement with us, and consequently the arrangement fails, we will pass your details straight on to our bailiff company for collection.
The Council may also take committal action, action to place a charge on your property, or action to commence bankruptcy proceedings against you once a Liability Order has been obtained.
Attachment of Earnings - Additional Information
Recovery Steps - Business Rates
- Listed below are the steps we will take following a failure to pay in accordance with the instalment plan shown on your bill.
- The NNDR flow chart below give an overview of the process.
- The other documents explain each of the steps in more detail.
NNDR Flow Chart (pdf file)
Business Rates Liability Order - what happens next?
If you have not contacted us and arranged a payment plan by the date of the court hearing, we will pass your details on to our bailiff company after a Liability Order has been granted. They will instruct a bailiff to visit your property to obtain payment or remove goods to sell to clear the debt. If you do make a payment arrangement with us, and consequently the arrangement fails, we will pass your details straight on to our bailiff company for collection.
We may also commence one of the following actions:
Rutland County Council employ external bailiffs to collect unpaid Council Tax and National Non Domestic Rates on our behalf. Information relating to bailiff action can be found on the Bailiff Action page of our website.
Corporate Debt Recovery Policy
A Corporate Debt Recovery Policy has been introduced for 2013/14.
The policy will allow the Council to:
- Provide a clear structure that allows all those involved in debt collection to adopt a consistent and timely approach
- Pursue all debts owed to the Council ensuring that those with means to pay do so
- Manage debts in accordance with legislation and best practice
- Be considerate of all customers and in particular those customers who are experiencing genuine financial hardship having regard to the Government’s Anti-poverty Strategy
- Keep write off levels to a minimum
The policy was agreed at a meeting of Cabinet members held on 22nd January 2013. For more information please visit our Council Meetings Page.
You can view the policy here.
The appendices to the policy are available to view here:
- Appendix A - Council Tax Collection Policy
- Appendix B - NNDR Collection Policy
- Appendix C - Accounts Receivable and Overpaid Housing Benefit Collection Policy
- Appendix D - Miscellaneous - includes Instalments Plans and Payment Options, Start Afresh Procedures, Court Cost information (updated version with costs for 2013/14 as agreed with HMCS), Charging Order Procedures
