Recovery Steps
Reminder and Final notice
If you do not pay your business rates, we will send you a reminder notice. If you receive a reminder notice you have 7 days to make payment, or the right to pay by instalments will be lost.
If you do not pay after receiving a final notice, a court summons will be issued for the full amount. You will also have to pay summons costs of £52.00.
Issue of Summons
Summonses are issued as part of the process to recover unpaid business rates - please contact the office to discuss a payment arrangement.
Pay off the amount on the summons in full including the costs. That will end the case.
You have some options:
- Do nothing. The council will ask the court to make the liability order in your absence.
- If you accept that you owe the money, you can make an agreement with the council about how you will pay it (usually in instalments). If you make an agreement to pay with the council, they will still ask the court for a liability order. But if you stick to the agreement, they will not take any other steps (seizing goods etc). However, should you default on payment the liability order will be enforced. To make an agreement you should contact the Council immediately on 0115 9071000 rather than waiting for the court hearing. If you do that, you will probably not need to attend the court hearing as the Council will ask the court to make the liability order in your absence. Then they will collect the money as you and the Council have agreed.
- You do not have to attend court. Only if you wish to put forward a defence against the issue of a liability order. You should contact the council in the first instance to discuss any issues regarding your business rates. A Liability Order is issued by the Magistrates Court confirming liability for the debt – this enables the council to pursue the debt further, this will incur additional costs of £15.50. Telephone business rates on 0115 9071000. The following defences have been accepted by the courts as being valid:
- You are not liable for the period as stated on the demand notice
- The amount demanded has been paid
- Insolvency proceedings have commenced
If you would rather request a call-back, please use the form below:
Business Rates Call-Back Request
Enforcement Agents
We may instruct an enforcement agent (previously known as a bailiff) to collect an outstanding business rate debt from you if a liability order has been issued in your name.
We use the following three enforcement agent companies:
Enforcement stages and fees
There are three stages of enforcement:
1. Compliance stage
As soon as we instruct an enforcement agent you will be charged a fixed fee of £75 per case. The enforcement agent will write to you to arrange payment of the debt, either in full within seven days, or in instalments.
You can avoid further fees by paying the debt in full either over the phone or online:
Any payments or offers of repayment should be made to the enforcement agent and not the council.
2. Enforcement stage
If you ignore the first letter from the enforcement agent or do not keep to any arrangement made, the case will move to the enforcement stage. An enforcement agent will visit you to collect the debt. Additional fees of £235 plus 7.5% for any debt over £1,500 will be charged at this stage.
If you cannot pay the debt, the enforcement agent may make a payment arrangement with you or enter into a Controlled Goods Agreement – this means that they will make a list of your possessions that is equal in value to your debt. You cannot sell or dispose of the possessions on the list without the agent’s permission.
3. Sale or disposal stage:
If you do not stick to the terms of the payment arrangement, the agent will remove your possessions and sell them at public auction. Additional fees of £110 plus 7.5% for any debt over £1,500 will be charged and all outstanding fees will be paid from the proceeds of the sale.
Further costs, such as locksmith, storage and auctioneer’s fees may also be charged
Fees
These fees are set by the Ministry of Justice and cannot be changed by us or the enforcement agent.
| Stage | Flat Fee | Additional Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | £75 | n/a |
| Enforcement | £235 | 7.5% for any debt over £1,500 |
| Sale or Disposal | £110 | 7.5% for any debt over £1,500 |
If the enforcement agent cannot sell enough possessions to cover the amount owned or cannot gain entry to your property, they will return your case to us so we can take further enforcement action. We will either:
- apply to the Magistrates Court for a Committal Order for you to be sent to prison for up to three months
- petition for you to be made bankrupt or your business to be wound up
- charging order if you own the property
Enforcement Agents National standards
The Ministry of Justice has issued national guidelines for all enforcement agents that sets out what the Ministry of Justice, those in the industry and some major users regard as minimum standards. These standards do not replace the law, codes of practice or local agreements.
Bailiffs and enforcement agents: national standards - GOV.UK
Complaints about enforcement agents
Please direct any complaints for:
If you are dissatisfied with their response then tell us by making a complaint.