Once a liability order has been granted we are given extra
powers to recover the outstanding debt. These include:
Liability Order Questionnaire
The Council can now request that you, or anyone else named on
the order, provide their financial details within 14 days.
It will be a criminal offence not to supply the information
without reasonable cause, or knowingly supply information that is
false.
If you do not return your duly completed Liability Order
Questionnaire we will immediately pass your case over to Jacobs,
the Council’s bailiffs for collection.
Attachment of Earnings Order
The Council can instruct your employer to make deductions
directly form your pay and as such they will be entitled to deduct
an administration cost of £1 for each transaction. A copy of the
order will be sent to both you and your employer.
The amounts that we can take from your pay will depend on how much
you earn, the actual % levels can be found by clicking
Attachment of Earnings Order.
Your employer must follow the Attachment of Earnings Order and
may be prosecuted and eventually fined if they do not.
Deductions from your Benefit
Entitlement
The Council can request deductions directly from your Income
Support, Jobseekers Allowance or Employment & Support
Allowance.
We will make an application to the Benefits Agency to recover
by weekly deduction the full amount referred to in the liability
order, which will include the costs incurred when obtaining the
order.
If you do not return your duly completed Liability Order
Questionnaire, providing either an acceptable offer of payment,
employment details (for an attachment of earnings) or details of
your entitlement to state benefits (for an attachment to Income
Support or Jobseekers Allowance) we will pass your case over
to the Council’s bailiffs for collection.
The Council will no longer discuss settlement of your account
and you will be liable for any additional costs incurred. We will
not intervene in any action taken by the bailiff to enforce
payment, unless the circumstances are exceptional.
A bailiff is empowered to visit your property and levy
distraint against goods to the value of the outstanding debt
included in the liability order, along with any costs that they may
have incurred in the course of such a levy. The goods can then be
sold at public auction.
It should be noted, however, that certain goods are protected
from distress. These are any goods of the defaulter that fall
within the following description:-
a) such tools, books,
vehicles and other items of equipment as are necessary to the
debtor for use personal by them in their employment, business or
vocation;
b) such clothing,
bedding, furniture, household equipment and provisions that are
necessary for the satisfying the basic domestics needs of the
debtor and their family.
You will, however, normally be allowed to keep your goods in
the property but only if you sign an agreement that holds the goods
so the bailiff can leave and return at a later date: in the event
that you do not pay the debt. Please note that if the bailiff has
to return to remove goods, your presence will no longer be
required.
In such cases the Council’s bailiffs will come to your home
with a removal van and remove your furniture/belongings (these can
include cars and bikes). They will, however, put them in secure
storage before they are sold at auction.
Should you pay the money owed to the Council, along with
Jacobs’ fees, you will be entitled to collect your possessions
before they are sold.
Providing the debt is greater than £999.00 we can make an
application to the County Court to impose a security against the
value of your house, this will then be paid to the Council when it
is eventually sold.
The Council may start bankruptcy proceedings against you, or
anyone else named on the liability order providing the debt, or the
aggregate amount of debt, is greater than £749.00.
We will send a statutory demand that will give 21 days for you to
pay the full amount. If you do not settle that statutory demand we
will present a petition for bankruptcy in the County Court.
Once issued with a bankruptcy order the official receiver will
investigate your affairs and your bank account(s) will be
frozen.
If you are made bankrupt the official receiver will control your
spending, you will lose your credit rating and be blacklisted from
getting any more credit; you could even be forced to sell your home
to pay your debts.
Committal to Prison for
Non-Payment
If we are unable to recover the unpaid Council Tax by an
alternative course, such as an attachment of earnings/Income
Support or Jobseekers Allowance, or through an instruction to the
council’s bailiffs, we will have no alternative but to apply to the
local Magistrate for a committal summons. This is the first stage
of possible imprisonment.
If you receive a committal summons, you should contact
us immediately. Alternatively you should get legal advice from a
solicitor, your local law centre or Citizens Advice
Bureau.
If you pay the debt in full, you do not need to go to court.
If, however, you do not pay in full, you must go
to the court (date shown on the summons).
The court will assess your income and spending to decide
whether you should go to prison. You should bring evidence of your
income and spending to court if possible.
If you do not attend the hearing the court will issue a
warrant for your immediate arrest. When arrested you will be taken
into custody where you will have to wait for your hearing.
These are very serious matters. Do not ignore the committal
summons. Please contact us immediately. If you do not contact us
immediately, you may go to prison for up to three months.
Contact us: