LUTON BOROUGH COUNCIL
COUNCIL TAX COLLECTION
AND
RECOVERY POLICY
1 of 12
CONTENTS
1. Our Aims And Objectives And How We Will Achieve Them 2
2. Issuing Bills And Adjustment Notices 3
3. Paying The Annual Bill By Instalments And The Schemes On Offer 4
4. Payment By Direct Debit 4
5. Types Of Payment 4
6. Methods Of Payment 5
7. Bills Issued For Part Of The Year 5
8. Council Tax Support 5
9. Issuing Reminders and Cancellation of Instalments 5
10. Reasons Why We Need To Issue Reminders 6
11. What Sort Of Payment Do We Expect At This Stage? 7
12. Special Payment Arrangements 7
13. Summons 7
14. Costs 8
15. Joint And Several Liability 8
16. What Happens at Court 8
17. Once We Have Obtained A Liability Order 9
18. Absconders 12
19. Conclusion 12
Page 1
LUTON BOROUGH COUNCIL
REVENUES SERVICE
COUNCIL TAX COLLECTION AND RECOVERY POLICY
This document gives details of the service the Section gives to ensure that the Council Tax is charged to the correct persons and that any discounts and exemptions that are appropriate are applied fairly. It details the methods of payments that are available and the action that the Division will take and the processes it will use to recover late or non-payment of Council Tax. This is a public document and is available to view either from the Revenues Office at the Town Hall George Street Luton, or from our Web page.
We will also demonstrate our commitment to offering a quality service, at the most reasonable cost, whilst working within the parameters of the legislation covering the collection and recovery of Council Tax, the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Act, any other Act relevant to our business, or any Council Policy e.g. Valuing Diversity, Equal Opportunities and Social Inclusion.
The Collection and Recovery Policy takes account of the need to improve/maintain collection rates, the changing circumstances and needs of our residents and the problems associated with and faced by Luton Borough Council.
Our working procedures are fully documented and regularly updated
1. Our Aims and Objectives and How We Will Achieve Them
1.1 To issue documents in a timely manner and to the correct person(s). To assist us we will:
· issue enquiry forms
· our staff will make visits to properties
· use external records, for example Land Registry
Telephone Directories, other Local Authorities and Government bodies,
Tracing Agencies, Enforcement Agent Agencies, Courts
· use internal records, as appropriate e.g. Electoral Register, and as allowed for in the Local Government Finance Act or other relevant legislation
· answer all enquiries fully and within the Council's targets
1.2 To ensure that the amount of the charge is correct. To help us we will:
· encourage customers to apply for any relevant discount or exemption
· issue enquiry forms
· carry out regular discount reviews
· work together closely with the Benefits Service
Page 2
1.3 To ensure that all our documents are clear, concise, informative and produced in the most cost effective manner. To help us we will:
· write in Plain English wherever possible
· ensure that printing, enveloping and despatch/postage are produced and carried out in the most cost effective and efficient way
1.4 To make it as easy as possible for our customers to pay we will ensure that:
· we offer the Council’s preferred methods of payment
· we answer our customer's queries fully so that they can maintain their payment schedules
· we will use discretion when considering repayment arrangements in some exceptional circumstances
· Our telephone lines, operated by our colleagues in Customer Services, are open 8.30am to 6pm. They will also make appointments to see customers outside normal working hours, and make home visits
1.5 To ensure that we have well-trained and informed staff. To help us we will:
· keep all our procedures well documented
· train our staff and give regular feedback via supervision sessions and appraisal
· monitor performance and quality check input and output
· we will ensure that our staff are kept updated on Welfare Benefits changes and issues and that they promote the uptake of Housing and Council Tax Benefit
1.6 To ensure that we liaise with Advice Agencies to give our customers the best
information and assistance. To help us we will:
· attend regular meetings with various Agencies, for example Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Valuation Office
· review this policy when appropriate, ensuring that it acknowledges any changes in legislation or Council policy
· deal with specific cases as referred to us by any Agency, working together to ensure the best outcome
2. Issuing Bills and Adjustment Notices
· We issue our annual bills prior to the financial period 1 April to 31 March.
· When a customer tells us that he/she has occupied a property we will send a bill and give the statutory number of instalments.
· When a customer tells us that he/she has vacated we will issue a closing account and process any refund as appropriate.
· Where there is a change in circumstance or an amendment to the amount due or the instalment amounts we will issue an adjustment notice.
Page 3
3. Paying the Annual Bill by Instalments and the Schemes on Offer
3.1 The rules for paying by instalments are set out in the Administration and Enforcement Regulations. These say that when a bill is issued before the 30 April of the financial year for which the Tax is due, then the bill will be payable by 10 uninterrupted monthly instalments, and the Council can decide those dates (this is known as the Statutory Scheme).
3.2 However, the Council can also make an agreement with the taxpayer to pay by more or less than the statutory 10 payments. We therefore offer quarterly, half yearly and annual schemes, in which case the Council receives its money faster than by the Statutory Scheme. We will allow any taxpayer to pay by any of these methods where applicable.
4. Payment by Direct Debit
4.1 This is our preferred method of payment. We are able to offer various payment dates over 10 or 12 months, on the 1st, 8th, 15th, & 22nd of each month. We can set up a Direct Debit over the phone. It is widely accepted as being the most efficient form of payment. The costs to the Council of processing a direct debit payment are much lower than other forms payment. This method is also very secure and, once set up by the taxpayer, it means there is no chance of payment not being made because the taxpayer has forgotten to pay.
4.2 Details of the amounts and the dates that each instalment is due are set out on the annual bill and will begin on 1 April and finish on 1 January. We have selected the 1st of the month, along with most other Councils, as our payment date for the Statutory Scheme because this means that we can take prompt action within the same month if an instalment is missed. This ensures that the tax is collected promptly and our costs of collection are kept to a minimum. The costs of late payment ultimately rebound on all our taxpayers.
5. Types of Payment
5.1 Our customers can pay in a variety of ways. We will accept any of the following:
· Direct Debit
· Debit/Credit card
· Cheque
· Cash
· Bankers Standing Order
Page 4
6. Methods of Payment
6.1 We will accept payment by any of the following:
· Direct Debit
· Internet
· 24hr Telephone Payment Line
· Cash – at Automated Payment Kiosks, Customer Services, Town Hall
· Pay Point Pay Card
· BACS – via Bank
6.2 The methods and types of payment we offer are clearly explained on our bills and on the Web site. We do not issue payment books or cards. For the “Pay point“method of payment, if a card is mislaid, we can issue a replacement, free of charge
7. Bills Issued For Part of the Year
7.1 When a first bill is sent out later than 30 April, for example when someone moves in part way through the financial year, then the payment period will be shorter and there will be fewer instalments.
8. Council Tax Support
8.1 When a customer is in arrears and contacts us because they are unable to pay, we will encourage them to apply for Council Tax Support if they have not already done so.
8.2 We will apply the same recovery process whether a customer is in receipt of Support or not. If a new application for Support is made, or a customer’s circumstances have changed, we will continue to collect the instalments as they appeared on the last bill. Once Support is awarded, we will reduce the remaining instalments, or if the account is overpaid for the year, issue a refund.
8.3 We will withdraw from recovery action in cases where it is apparent that the arrears accrued whilst the customer was waiting for a Support application to be assessed, (except in cases where there is a delay due to the customer failing to provide information).
9. Issuing Reminders and Cancellation of Instalments
9.1 The instalment date of the 1st of the month reflects our commitment to maximise income at the lowest cost. It is imperative that payments are received by the due date in order to achieve this goal. Late payment causes cash flow problems, and eventually leads to an increase in the Council Tax payable by all taxpayers in the following year.
Page 5
9.2 We follow a strict recovery programme, and reminders are timetabled monthly. We can amend this timetable, adding to or removing from dates as required. This enables us to manage workloads, resources and collection requirements more effectively.
· If a customer does not pay an instalment by the due date we will issue a reminder. We will ask the customer to pay the missed instalment by a given date, normally 14 days after the date on the reminder, and to ensure that future payments are made by the due dates.
· If the missed instalment is received by the given date we will not take any further action; but if it remains unpaid then we will cancel the instalments and issue a summons for the full year's tax.
· If the instalment is received by the given date, but another instalment is not paid, then we will send a second reminder. If the missed instalment is received by the given date we will not take any further action; but if it remains unpaid then we will cancel the instalment arrangement and issue a summons for the full year's tax.
· If the account is brought up to date but falls behind for a 3rd time then we will remove your right to pay by instalments and issue a Final Reminder which states that the full years tax is payable. If this is not paid or a special payment arrangement made then we will issue a summons for the full year's tax.
9.3 Therefore we will issue a maximum of 3 reminders during any financial
year. A reminder will ask for the missing instalment(s) to be paid,
and advise customers of the consequences of not paying as requested.
10. Reasons Why We Need To Issue Reminders
10.1 Many of our customers do not make payments by the due dates. Whilst we acknowledge that late or non payment happens for many different reasons we will chase all overdue payments diligently, whatever the payment method. Wherever an instalment remains unpaid we will issue the appropriate Reminder.
10.2 Some customers wait until they receive a Reminder before making a payment, some deliberately evade paying for as long as possible and some are unable to pay because they do not have the funds available. Some customers dispute the Tax they are being asked to pay or the amount they owe and some ignore all communication from us. There are also those customers whose personal circumstances or poor health cause them problems.
10.3 It is the customer's responsibility to make sure that instalments are paid on time. We will always send a Reminder before sending a Summons, but non-receipt of either is no excuse for missing payments and cannot be used as a reason for non-payment.
Page 6
11. What Sort Of Payment Do We Expect At This Stage?
11.1 If a taxpayer receives a reminder then we will expect payment by the due date given on the notice. If the taxpayer cannot pay the missed instalment(s) then we may make a short-term arrangement for the amount to be paid later in the month or with the next instalment.
12. Special Payment Arrangements
12.1 In some very exceptional circumstances, such as cases of extreme hardship, and depending on the information available to us, we may agree to spread the amount over a longer period. We will confirm any such arrangement in writing. If these arrangements are not paid then the recovery action will continue.
12.2 When we make a special payment arrangement we look at the individual circumstances of the taxpayer, for example whether they are on Benefit, what type, whether they live alone or there are other family members present in the household. In discussing an affordable amount we will also consider whether there is more than 1 year's charge outstanding, vulnerability, those on a low income, whether there is a health problem or if the customer satisfies us that they cannot pay as requested for some other compelling reason.