If you are having financial difficulties
If you think you will have difficulty making the payments on the
due date please call us immediately on 01394
444812. If you are hearing impaired and have a minicom
device you can call us on 01394 444211.
If you are having problems paying your bill you should talk to
us as you may be entitled to a reduction in your bill, for example,
through Council Tax Benefit which is means tested. We
may also be able to help you by rescheduling your payments. Please
do not ignore the bill completely; if you do not pay it and fail to
make an alternative payment arrangement, we will take recovery
action (see below) which will increase the amount you have to
pay by adding costs to your account.
If you miss an instalment you will get a reminder notice giving
you fourteen days to bring your Council Tax payments up to date. If
you do not do this within fourteen days, or you fall behind with
your instalments on a third occasion, you will have to pay the
outstanding balance for the whole year. If the balance is not paid
we will then start recovery action.
Taking recovery action
We can apply to the Magistrates' Court for a Liability
Order which gives us the authority to take enforcement action for
the recovery of the debt.
When we apply for a Liability Order you will receive a summons
telling you when the Magistrates will consider the Council's
application and the amount we are seeking to recover which will
include the cost of issuing the summons (currently £36). You do not
have to attend the Court hearing, however you do have the right to
appear before the Magistrates to give evidence as to why the
Liability Order should not be made. Magistrates do not deal with
liability or benefit disputes, there is a separate
appeals process.
If you do not think you are liable for the outstanding amount or
wish to make an arrangement to pay the balance please
contact us as soon as possible. You can call us on
01394 444812 or email
recovery@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
If you are hearing impaired and have a minicom device you can call
us on 01394 444211.
We would prefer to settle these matters before the Court
hearing. If you make an arrangement the application for a Liability
Order and costs (currently £22) will continue, however if you
keep to the payments you will avoid further recovery action.
If a Liability Order is granted by the Court you will be
required to provide us with certain information about your
employment and earnings. You are legally required to provide this
information as it will help us decide the best way to recover the
debt. At this stage it is still not too late for us to consider a
payment arrangement.
The Liability Order gives us several options for recovery of the
debt. The main options are as follows:
Attachment of Earnings Order
We can order your employer to make deductions from your
salary or wages and pay the amounts direct to us. The amount
of the deductions will be a set proportion of your salary or wages
after certain other deductions such as National Insurance and
Income Tax.
Deductions from benefit payments
If you are receiving Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or
Employment and Support Allowance we may be able to apply for
deductions from your benefit payments. This deduction is
currently £3.40 per week.
Bailiff action
We employ bailiffs to recover debts. You will be held
liable for the charges which can be quite considerable, it is
therefore advisable to avoid matters reaching this stage.
If you are unable to settle the outstanding balance in full the
bailiff has three options:
- A walking possession agreement can be made with you. Your
goods will not be removed as long as you make the payments agreed
with the bailiff.
- The bailiff can take close possession of your goods by staying
at your premises until payment is made or the goods are removed for
sale.
- Goods can be removed with a view to their sale.
Bailiffs can take goods up to the resale value of the
Council Tax arrears and only goods belonging to the person
named on the Liability Order may be removed. The bailiff is
not permitted to remove certain goods. These include:
- Fixtures & fittings.
- Tools, books, vehicles and other equipment that is necessary
for your personal use in your work.
- Foods, clothes, bedding and any furniture or household
equipment that is necessary to meet the basic needs of you and your
family.
Other options for enforcement action include bankruptcy
proceedings and application to the County Court for a charging
order (where Liability Orders have been obtained for at least
£1,000) to be placed on the debtor's
property.