If you’re more than 14 days late paying a council tax instalment you will be sent a reminder letter.
If you make the payment within seven days of the reminder letter you can usually continue paying your council tax in instalments. If you are struggling to pay some councils may allow you to work out a suitable repayment plan, however, some council staff have a superiority complex, often “talking down” to those they feel inferior, if you feel that the staff have discriminated against you then you should complain to the chief executive.
If you do not abide by an informal agreement the council will usually send around a debt collection officer, these are different to bailiffs as they have minimal power, however, we suggest that you discuss the matter with them to try and seek a working solution. Ultimately should the debt still not be addressed they may apply to the court for a liability order. If you don’t pay then enforcement agents (bailiffs) or sheriff officers may visit your home and either work out a payment option, if this cannot be done they have the power to take goods that can be sold to pay towards your arrears.
Council tax arrears are written off in bankruptcy or a debt relief order (DRO). If you opt for an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) then the council may, or may not agree for your debt to be included. If your local authority starts court action, you’ll get a summons in the post. This will give you a date and time for a court hearing.
Most tenants understand the need to pay but simply cannot afford to, as they have no defence the tendency is to not bother to attend court and just accept the consequences. If appointed we would usually recommend that we mitigate between yourself and the council to work out a fair and affordable repayment plan, the court fee will still need to be paid, however the council will hold off seeking repayment actions while a plan is honoured. To gain our assistance simply click on the “Create a case” link at the top of this page to initiate a case.
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