From 6 April 2014, new regulations apply, and the council can instruct an Enforcement Agent (formerly known as a bailiff) to collect the outstanding Council Tax debt from you if a Liability Order has been issued in your name. We may do this if you have not made or kept to an agreed repayment plan or have not completed and returned the request for financial information form.
Before we ask the Enforcement Agent to visit you, we will have sent you details once the court have issued a Liability Order of the fees, which may be charged to you if an enforcement agent is instructed.
If your debt has been passed to an Enforcement Agent, you will incur a fixed fee of £75 upon them issuing a letter to you by post. Any payments or offers of repayment should be made to the Enforcement Agents and not the Council.
If the Enforcement Agent visits you, there is a fixed fee of £235 plus 7.5% for any balance due above £1,500.
The Enforcement Agent will normally ask you for payment in full; however, if you cannot meet this request, the Enforcement Agent will normally make a repayment arrangement with you. The Enforcement Agent may enter into a Controlled Goods Agreement, where the agent lists your possessions equal in value to your debt.
If your possessions are subject to a Controlled Goods Agreement, you cannot dispose or sell them without the Enforcement Agent's permission.
If you do not pay as agreed and have signed a Controlled Goods Agreement, the Enforcement Agent may enter your property by force if necessary, to take the goods listed. You will be charged for the removal and sale of them. The fee for this is £110 plus 7.5% for any balance due above £1,500.
If the Enforcement Agent believes that there are insufficient items to clear the debt, we will then consider other recovery options such as committal action, bankruptcy, imprisonment or a charging order against your property.