What happens if I do not pay

You’ll get a reminder from us about 10 days after you miss a payment. If you pay what is owed within 7 days, you don’t need to do anything else.

If you don’t pay within 7 days of the first reminder, you will lose your right to pay by instalments and a summons will be issued.

If you pay by Direct Debit and your payment does not go through, we will not attempt to collect the payment a second time and you will be sent a reminder.

If, after receiving and paying a first reminder notice, you miss another payment and you fall into arrears again, you will be sent a second reminder notice.

This will be the last reminder that you receive during the Council Tax year.

If you continue to miss more payments and you become overdue again (or you fail to pay within 7 days) we will send you a final notice.

The third time you miss a payment we will issue a final notice, demanding the total balance outstanding for the remainder of the year.

You will lose your right to pay by instalments and must pay the full balance amount within 7 days to avoid being sent a summons.

If you do not pay your bill following a reminder or final notice, we will apply to the magistrates' court for a liability order.

You will receive a summons to attend court. This will tell you how much money you owe and when the hearing will be.

An extra cost of £90 will be added to your bill.

If you pay the full amount before your hearing date or if you agree to a payment arrangement you will not need to attend court.

If you have not paid in full before the court hearing, we will apply to the magistrate's court for a Liability Order.

This will incur a further cost of £30, making a total of £120 that is added to your account.

You will now be subject to further recovery action. This can include:

• ordering your employer to make deductions direct from your salary or wages
• applying to the Department for Work and Pensions to make deductions from your benefits
• passing your debt to Enforcement Agents. The costs to you can be quite considerable and will be added to your Council Tax debt. They can take some of your belongings to cover the cost of the debt. (Bailiff powers when they visit your home)
• a request to the court to place a charge on your home (if you own it) which means you can’t sell your property until the Council Tax has been paid
• apply to the High Court for a bankruptcy order. You will incur further costs, your assets will be sold and you will be unable to obtain credit.
• the final stage is a warrant of arrest being issued and exercising our right to bring you in for a committal hearing.

This will incur further costs and the magistrates may send you to prison for up to three months if they consider that you did not pay even though you had the money to do so.