Council Tax Recovery
Council Tax payments are due to be paid by the first of each month. The only exception is for customers paying by direct debit who can choose to pay on either the first or fifteenth of each month. If you would like to pay by direct debit, please download a Direct Debit Instruction (PDF, 39KB), complete and return the form to the Council Tax Office, PO Box 10505, Wood Green, London, N22 7WJ.
What to do if you have difficulty paying
If you are having difficulties meeting your monthly instalments, it is important to contact the council tax office as soon as possible. Do not ignore the debt, as the sooner you get in touch, the more help and advice we will be able to offer. We will be able to review your account and check whether you are entitled to any reductions based on your circumstances.
If your monthly instalments are not paid or you fail to contact the council tax office and agree a suitable repayment plan, recovery action may be taken against you.
Confidential debt counselling is available from Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). There are two CAB’s in Haringey:
- Tottenham Citizens Advice Bureau – 551B Tottenham High Road, N17 6SB
- Turnpike Lane Citizens Advice Bureau – 14A Willoughby Road, Hornsey, London, N8 0JJ
Opening times and further information can be found on the Citizens Advice Bureau website (external link) or telephoning 0844 8269715.
Alternatively, you can also obtain further information regarding managing your debts at Directgov - Managing Debts (external link) or Nationaldebtline (external link)
How we recover Council Tax payments
The Council's recovery policy has been drawn up in accordance with the current regulations governing council tax collection.
There are different stages of recovery for council tax.
Recovery Process:
Once a liability order has been obtained, the following methods of recovery are available to the council
The council allow special arrangements following the granting of a liability order. This is an arrangement agreed with the taxpayer inclusive of costs.
Bill (Demand Notice)
The first notice you receive regarding payment of your council tax is a bill. The bill advises you how your council tax was calculated, any balance due and any instalments you need to pay.
The back of the bill details the payment methods available and our contact details.
If you think there may be an error on your bill, please contact us as soon as possible.
Failure to make payment of the instalments as advised on your bill will cause recovery action to commence.
|back to topReminder Notice
A reminder notice is issued if you fail to make payment of an instalment by the date due. The notice will advise you of the amount you need to pay to bring your account up to date.
If you have received a reminder notice, you need to bring your account up to date within 7 days, if payment is not received as requested on the reminder notice, recovery action may continue and a summons issued. If you are unable to pay the amount requested on a reminder notice, please contact us as soon as possible.
If you make payment of the sum requested on the reminder notice, no further action will be taken as long as you continue to make payment of the remaining monthly instalments on time.
The Council will only issue two reminder notices to you during one financial year. If you are late paying for a third time in a year, you will be issued with a Final Notice which will cancel your monthly instalments.
|back to topFinal Notice
If on a third occasion in a financial year your monthly instalments are not received on time, you may be issued with a final notice.
If you receive a final notice, your instalments are cancelled and the full balance remaining on the account to the end of the financial year becomes due within 7 days. If you are unable to make full payment as requested, please contact us as soon as possible.
Please do not ignore the final notice, if the amount requested is not paid or you fail to contact us and agree a suitable repayment plan, recovery action may continue and a summons issued.
|back to topSummons
If payment is not received or a suitable arrangement agreed following the issue of a Reminder or Final Notice, the council will apply to Haringey Magistrates' Court to issue a Summons for non-payment of Council Tax. If a summons is issued to you, you will be liable for costs of £125 which will be added to your council tax account.
A summons requests payment of the full balance plus the additional £125 costs to be made to the Council before the hearing date.
If you are unable to pay the amount requested on the summons, please contact us to discuss your account and a possible payment plan.
You do not need to attend the hearing, however, the Council will seek to obtain a liability order which allows further recovery action to be taken to collect any outstanding council tax.
|back to topCourt
You do not have to attend the court hearing, please contact us to discuss your account and agree a payment plan to clear your outstanding council tax. Please be aware, although your presence is not required at the hearing, the council will seek to obtain a liability order at the hearing to enable us to take further recovery action if necessary at a later date and the full court costs of £125 will be payable.
There are only 8 valid defences against the council obtaining a liability order at the hearing:
- the property is not listed with the Valuation Office Agency for the period council tax is being charged
- that the tax had not been properly set
- that a bill and subsequent recovery notices were not issued correctly
- that the amount demanded has been paid
- that more that six years have passed since the day the bill was issued
- that the billing authority was in breach of the duty to serve notices 'as soon as practicable 'in the relevant year
- that the amount outstanding is for a penalty which is being appealed
- that bankruptcy or winding up proceedings have been initiated.
If you feel your circumstances meet one of the above valid defences, please contact us to discuss your account as we may be able to resolve the matter before the court hearing.
If your circumstances do not meet any of the above valid defences, there is no need to attend Court. If you do attend Court, you will be asked which defence you are using and you must satisfy the Magistrates that the defence applies in your case. If you cannot identify a defence, the Court will issue a liability order against you without further discussion.
|back to topLiability Order
If a liability order is obtained at Haringey Magistrates court, a letter will be sent to you to confirm. The notice of liability order also advises of the recovery action that may be taken to recovery the outstanding council tax.
Enclosed with the letter is a Financial Statement (PDF, 21KB) which you are required to complete and return to Benefits and Local Taxation, PO Box 10505, London N22 7WJ. Once the completed form is returned the recovery team can assess your income and outgoings and make an arrangement with you to clear your council tax based on your personal circumstances.
If you receive a notice of liability order please contact us to discuss repayment, do not ignore the notice. Failure to contact will result in the council taking one of the following methods of recovery to collect the outstanding council tax:
- Bailiffs
- Attachment of Earnings
- Attachment of Benefit
- Bankruptcy / Liquidation
- Charging Orders
- Committal to Prison
If you receive a letter or notice advising one of these recovery actions is being taken against you, do not ignore it, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your account.
|back to topBailiffs
Your account may be passed to one of the four bailiff companies used by the council tax recovery team.
Once your account has been passed to the bailiffs, you will incur further bailiff costs (PDF, 17KB) and will need to contact the bailiffs directly to arrange a payment plan to avoid the bailiffs visiting your property with the intention of removing your belongings for sale at auction to clear your outstanding council tax.
|back to topAttachment of earnings
An order may be sent to your employer to make deductions directly from your wages to pay your council tax. The amount deducted is a percentage of your daily / weekly / monthly wages and differs depending on the amount you earn. The percentages are set by Central Government and are detailed in the Deductions to be made under attachment of earning tables (PDF, 12KB). Further information is available within the Attachment of Earnings guide for employers (PDF, 55KB)
|back to topAttachment of Benefit
If you are in receipt of Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credits, an attachment of benefit order may be issued to the Department for Work and Pensions requesting they make deductions from your benefits to clear the Council Tax balance.
|back to topBankruptcy/liquidation
If you owe council tax of £750 or more, insolvency proceedings may be commenced against you in accordance with the Insolvency Act 1986 as amended.
These proceedings may be either bankruptcy proceedings against an individual or winding up proceedings against a limited company.
|back to topCharging Orders
If you owe council tax of £1,000 or more and own a property, the council may apply to the County Court for a charging order. Once the order is granted the Council will be able to enforce the sale of the property in order to clear the council tax owed.
|back to topCommittal to Prison
If your council tax remains outstanding after bailiffs have tried to recover the debt, the Council may apply to the Magistrates' Court for a warrant committing you to prison. If the court determines the outstanding debt is due to wilful refusal or culpable neglect, they may commit you to prison for a maximum of three months. The court may decide to postpone the period of imprisonment on certain conditions, normally relating to payment of the debt over a period of time.
|back to topBailiff Companies used by Haringey Council Benefits and Local Taxation
| Name: | Reventus Limited (external link) | Equita Ltd (external link) | Newlyn (external link) | Phoenix (external link) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Address: | PO Box 1103 Enfield Middlesex EN1 9JL | 42 - 44 Henry Street Northampton NN1 4BZ | 180 - 188 Northolt Road South Harrow Middlesex HA2 0LT | PO Box 2160 Bolton BL6 9BR |
| Tel: | 020 8443 7018 | 0870 558 1581 0870 556 6665 | 01604 633 001 | 0844 824 3884 |
Useful External Links
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Lütfen bu bağlantıları kullanmadan önce yasal uyarımızı okuyun.
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