Reminders
A Council Tax reminder will be issued at any time after an instalment is missed.
The law says that a reminder can be sent if your payment does not reach us by the due date. If your payment is in transit, in the post, giro system etc., a reminder will therefore be issued as the Council do not know that you have made a payment until it arrives on your account.
The Council Tax reminder asks that the payments are brought up to date within 7 days:
- If the amount owing is not paid: After a further 7 days the right to pay the year's Council Tax by instalments is lost, and the whole years charge or balance will become payable.
- If the amount owing is paid: Recovery procedures halt unless you fail to pay another instalment on time. At this point a second reminder will be sent
The second Council Tax reminder requires the payments are brought up to date within 7 days.
- If the amount owing is not paid: After 7 days the right to instalments will be lost and the whole years charge or balance becomes payable. This must now be paid within the next 7 days.
- If the amount is paid: Recovery procedures halt unless you fail to pay another instalment on time. At this point no further reminders will be sent, instead a Final Notice will be issued (although this notice is out of courtesy as no further notice has to be issued prior to the issue of a summons).
- If the amount owing is not paid in full a Magistrates Court Summons may be issued. This will incur additional costs and may result in enforcement proceedings to recover the debt
If you are unable to pay the reminder or Final Notice balance in full, a Court Summons will be issued, incurring £61.00 costs If the Court issue a Liability Order you will incur a further charge of £14.00 and we can take more powerful action to recover the unpaid Council Tax. In certain circumstances, however, we may consider making a special arrangement for you to pay the balance, including costs.
For Council Tax, all arrangements are subject to you providing your employers name and address, if you are working. If you have not made an arrangement, or the account is not fully paid, it will be passed to the Bailiff to collect.
If you are in arrears with your Council Tax and wish to discuss payments or the action being taken against you, please contact us as soon as possible.
Contact Us
Revenues
West Somerset House
Killick Way
Williton
Taunton
Somerset
TA4 4QA
Telephone: 01643 703704
Email: revenues@westsomerset.gov.uk