If you do not pay your council tax, legal recovery action may be taken to get the money you owe.
If you cannot afford the payments that are shown on your council tax bill, please contact us and we can help. You may be able to pay in instalments or avoid any recovery actions.
Have you fallen behind with your payments?
If you have had a reminder letter from us because you have not paid your council tax bill, you can:
- make payment of the outstanding amount to bring your account up to date
- request that your instalments are rearranged to make them more manageable - contact us
Have you had a final notice?
Your council tax is now overdue and the amount due for the rest of the year is payable. You should make payment of the full amount on the notice to avoid further action.
If you cannot afford the full payment on the notice, please contact us.
Have you had a summons for a court hearing?
You should either:
- make payment of the full amount of the notice before the court hearing to avoid further action and additional costs
- contact our customer services to make an arrangement to pay the amount on the notice
If you feel you are unable to clear your arrears within the current financial year, contact us.
Recovery action
If the council obtains a liability order against you for non-payment of council tax and you wish to make an offer of repayment, then you can submit a payment proposal.
If you don't make a payment or a payment arrangement, we may:
- pass your debt to an Enforcement Agent for collection
- deduct money from your wages - see how much this could be with our earnings calculator
- deduct money from your Benefit entitlement
- make you bankrupt or apply for a charge against your property
If you are seeking to make a repayment proposal and have been instructed by a council officer to submit income and expenditure information prior to agreeing an arrangement please complete our income and expenditure form.
Enforcement agents
Enforcement agents, sometimes called bailiffs, are employed in appropriate cases of non-payment of monies due to the council.
Enforcement agents are instructed to collect the debt outstanding where a liability order has been obtained through the Magistrates Court and all other efforts to collect the debt have failed. Enforcement agents collect their costs directly from the charge payer and therefore the amount payable can be greatly increased.
Anyone experiencing difficulty paying their bill should contact us before the matter reaches this stage.