Recovery procedures

The annual council tax bills are usually issued in March and are payable in instalments - the amount of each instalment and the date on which each one should be paid is set out on the bill. Normally, there will be 10 instalments for a full year (April through to the following January) but that number will be reduced if the bill is issued after the end of April. If for any reason the amount of your council tax changes during the year e.g. you become entitled to a discount, you will be sent a revised bill showing the amended amount for the year and the revised instalments that you have to pay.

What if I have trouble paying?

As soon as you realise you are having a problem paying please talk to the Council Tax Section: you may be entitled to a reduction in your bill, for example, through council tax benefit or it might be possible to help by rescheduling your payments.

What if I fail to pay instalments?

You will be sent a reminder shortly after the due date where an instalment remains unpaid. A maximum of 2 reminders will be issued in any financial year. However, a second reminder will only be issued where you complied with the terms of payment contained in the first reminder but then subsequently failed to pay a further instalment on the due date. Reminders require payments to be brought up to date within 7 days and if they are not, the right to pay by instalments is lost and you will have to pay the full amount due for the rest of the year in a lump sum payment.

Again, if experiencing payment difficulties you should contact the Council Tax Section as a matter of urgency since it may be possible to make a mutually acceptable payment arrangement to clear the bill. In making such an arrangement you could be required to provide full details of your income and expenditure and in some cases the Council may still need to apply for a liability order (see below) which will result in you incurring additional costs.

What if I still fail to pay after reminder?

If you fail to pay after a reminder or do not contact the Council Tax Section to make an arrangement, an application will be made to Woking Magistrates' Court for a liability order. You will be sent a summons which will show the date of the court hearing and the amount which the Council is seeking to recover from you. The amount will be for both the outstanding council tax plus additional costs of £87.30 incurred by the issue of the summons.

If you do not consider you are liable or dispute the amount of the summons you should immediately contact the Council Tax Section. Should the matter not be resolved you have the right to attend the court hearing and offer evidence as to why the liability order should not be granted. The following are valid defences against the issue of a liability order:

There was no entry in the Valuation List for the period of liability
The tax has not been properly set
The tax has not been demanded in accordance with statutory provisions
The amount demanded has been paid
More than 6 years has elapsed since the day on which the sum became due
The council failed to serve notices "as soon as practicable" in the relevant year
The outstanding sum is in respect of a penalty subject to appeal
Bankruptcy or winding up proceedings have been commenced

The fact that you are awaiting the outcome of an appeal over the banding of your property is not a valid defence against the issue of a liability order.

If, because you do not dispute the amount shown as due on the summons, you decide not to attend court (although you should be aware the hearing will proceed in your absence) you should still speak the Council Tax Section. Attempts can be made to agree a reasonable payment arrangement even at this late stage and providing you then stick to it you will avoid any further recovery costs.

The court will issue a liability order against you if they are satisfied that the amount shown on the summons is due from you and has not been paid.

What happens if the Council obtains a liability order?

A liability order gives the Council the right to demand information from you about your employment and earnings in order to help decide what course of action will be taken to recover the outstanding debt. The courses of action available to the Council for recovery are as follows :

Attachment of Earning Order
The Council can order your employers to deduct amounts directly from your wages or salary and pay it direct to the Council. The amount will be a set percentage of your earnings which are left after certain other deductions, such as income tax, have been made.
Deductions from Income Support / Job Seekers Allowance
If in receipt of either of these benefits, the Council can make arrangements for the Benefit Agency to deduct preset amounts from your entitlement
Distress
The Council can employ bailiffs to collect the debt and/or remove your goods for sale at auction in order that all or part of the outstanding amount can be cleared from the sale proceeds. You will be given advance notice if the bailiff is going to be instructed to take action and should be aware that you will be liable for their charges, which are set out in legislation and can prove to be a considerable amount.
Bankruptcy
The Council can commence bankruptcy proceedings against you under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986.

What happens if I am still not able to pay?

If all efforts to collect the amount due from you have failed and the bailiff has been unsuccessful in trying to levy distress then as a last resort the Council can apply to the magistrates' court for a warrant committing you to prison.

Before such a warrant can be issued the court must hold a means enquiry with you present and they will only issue a warrant if satisfied that the failure to pay is as a result of wilful refusal or culpable neglect. The maximum period of imprisonment is three months. Having fixed a term of imprisonment the court can postpone the warrant on certain conditions and normally these relate to payment of the outstanding amount being made by regular instalments over a period of time. The court also has the power to cancel all or any part of the outstanding amount where they do not fix a term of imprisonment.