Liability order issued

Once a liability order has been issued, we have various options we can use to recover money you owe us.

Enforcement agents

We can send enforcement agents (formerly known as bailiffs) to your property to seize property to raise money towards paying your business rates and our recovery costs.

We will only use them if you ignore all our attempts to contact you and there is no other way for us to collect the outstanding money.

At least 14 days before we send your business rates debt to an enforcement agency, we will send you a letter asking you to contact us or pay the bill in full.

You will have to pay an initial fee of £75 per liability order if we send your account to enforcement agents.

In most cases we will not become involved in payment negotiations and you must contact the enforcement agents directly. At this stage, you have no right to insist on a payment arrangement but an enforcement agency may agree to one in exceptional circumstances.

Enforcement agencies used by us

The agents employed hold a court certificate and trained to behave in a professional manner. They must always carry their identity card when working.

We use the below companies:

Marston Recovery

Telephone 0333 320 2150

Email generalenquiries@marstonholdings.co.uk

 

Jacobs

Telephone queries: 0345 601 2692

Telephone payment: 0330 008 0430

Email mail@jacobsenforcement.com

 

If you are unsure if an enforcement officer is working on our behalf, you can call us on 01903 737752 to confirm.

Bankruptcy

If you owe business rates of £5,000 or more, we may decide to take bankruptcy action against you. If we do, we will write to you first with details of your debt and explain how bankruptcy will affect you.

The consequences of bankruptcy can be severe. The Insolvency Service has information and advice about being made bankrupt.