Business rates - Recovery

Failure to pay your instalments as they become due will result in recovery action being taken.

A reminder notice will be issued advising you of the amount of arrears.  If your account is brought up to date within 7 days you will be allowed to continue paying by instalments.  If your instalments are not brought up to date a cancellation notice will be issued informing you that the outstanding balance is due in full.

Failure to pay the balance in full following the issue of a cancellation will result in a court summons being issued.    

In circumstances where your payments have been brought up to date but you later miss another instalment, you will be sent a cancellation notice informing you that the outstanding balance is due in full.  Failure to pay the outstanding balance in full will result in a court summons being issued.   

Should a court summons be issued then costs will be added to your account. The costs on issue of a summons are currently £40.00

If the amount including costs, shown on the summons is paid in full before the Court Hearing, no further action will be taken and proceedings will be withdrawn. 

If the balance is not paid in full we will apply to the court for the issue of a liability order which will enable us to enforce the debt.

There is no need for you to attend the court hearing unless you dispute the liability. 

Following the issue of a liability order we can enforce payment in any of the following ways: 

• instruct bailiffs to seize, remove and sell your goods to the value of the outstanding amount plus costs incurred. The bailiff will give you the opportunity to make a satisfactory arrangement for payment before considering removing your goods. If bailiffs are instructed to recover your debt further costs will be incurred which are calculated as an outstanding percentage of the outstanding debt. 
• bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings
• committal proceedings.  If the bailiff has been unable to recover the debt  we will still continue to pursue the debt.  We will make an application to the Magistrates’ Court for your commitment to prison for a maximum of 90 days.  Should these proceedings prove necessary additional costs will be incurred.         

Should you have difficulty in paying your instalments at any stage of the recovery process please contact us without delay.