You may receive a summons to Court if you do not pay your Council Tax.

If you receive a summons

If you think you are not liable for the charge, contact the customer services team on 01622 602 003 as soon as possible. This will save you time and may prevent further action from being taken.

You do not need to attend court if you do not want to dispute liability for payment of the tax. If you pay the full amount before the hearing date (including the summons costs), the Court will be notified, and no further action will be taken.

The Court cannot make a financial arrangement with you for payment. Contact the customer services team before the hearing date to discuss arrangement plans and advice.

If a liability order is granted

Once the court grants a liability order, further steps can be taken to collect the money you owe. We can:

• take money straight from your wages (an attachment of earnings order)
• ask the Department of Work and Pensions to take money from your benefits
• instruct enforcement agents to collect the debt
• put a charge on your home (charging order)
• start bankruptcy proceedings

Attachment of earnings order

If a liability order has been granted, we can ask your employer to deduct a percentage of your wages and send it to us directly. You can read our attachment of earnings guide for more information.

Enforcement agents

Enforcement agents may visit your home to recover your debt. They will charge you a:

• £75 compliance fee, when they get the case from us
• £235 enforcement fee, charged when they visit your property

This fee is in addition to the money owed to us.

You should try to make a payment plan with the agent. If you do not reply to the letter from the agent or pay the planned payments, they may take your belongings to recover the debt.

Challenge a liability order

You have the right to challenge a liability order with the HM Courts and Tribunal Service. You will need to arrange this at your own cost. We will still collect the money you owe during this time (as per Regulation 57 of Section 16 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992).

If you dispute the legalities of Council Tax or the process of gaining a liability order, visit our Council Tax obligation webpage.