If payment is not made after reminders or a final notice, a Magistrates’ Court summons will be issued.
- The summons includes £70 court costs
- If the court agrees you are liable, a Liability Order will be granted with an additional £25 costs.
The costs are payable by you, and will be included in any special payment arrangement.
Your credit rating
Council Tax court action does not affect your credit rating.
This is a private matter between you and the council, and we do not share information with credit reference agencies.
Joint accounts
If your bill is in joint names or several names, each person will receive a summons and are jointly responsible for the full amount. The council can recover the full balance from any named person issued with a summons, not just an equal share of it. It is up to all the persons named on the summons to decide who should pay the debt.
You should pay what you can before the court date, although if we do not receive payment in full, we will still ask the court to issue a Liability Order. If a Liability Order is obtained from the Magistrate’s Court this will include additional £25 costs. The total £95 costs are payable by you.
If you cannot pay the full balance before the court date you can set up a special payment arrangement.
You will need:
- Your Council Tax reference; this can be found in the 'ACCOUNT NO.' box at the top of your Summons letter.
- The total balance outstanding as shown on your summons
- Your bank account details if setting up a direct debit.
Please note that the summons and court costs will be included in your payment arrangement.