What happens if I fall behind with my payments?

Council Tax is billed and recovered by North West Leicestershire District Council on behalf of the District Council, Leicestershire County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Combined Fire Authority and local preceptors.

Annual Council Tax bills are sent in March each year and the charge is legally payable over 10 instalments. The instalment plan commences in April and finishes the following January. To avoid receiving a reminder, or a summons, you must pay by the instalment due dates which are shown on your bill. Block payments i.e. half year or annual payments, or, weekly / payments can be made, but they must be paid in advance.

Council Tax legislation has recently changed. You can now request to pay your Council Tax over 12 months.  Depending on when we receive your request we will spread your charge over the remaining months in the financial year. If you would like to request this, please email us at revenues@nwleicestershire.gov.uk or telephone our customer services team on 01530 454499.

If you move in after 1st April, your charge will commence from the date you move in. The charge for the remainder of the year will be spread over the number of available months left in that financial year.

The Council is duty bound to collect Council Tax in line with current regulations. If a payment is missed you will receive a reminder and will have a further seven days to pay before the whole balance becomes due. If it is not paid you will receive a summons which will cost you an additional £67.50.

If payment of the first reminder is made you can continue to pay monthly. However, the law only allows a maximum of two reminders in any financial year.

If after making payment for a second reminder your payment is late again, you will receive a Final Notice - which has to be paid in full within 7 days to avoid a court summons being issued.

A summons costs £67.50 to issue. The summons details how much you owe and tells you when a Magistrates Court hearing is to be held.

At the hearing we will ask the Magistrates to grant a Liability Order. This order, once granted by the Court, allows the Council to take further recovery action to clear the debt.

Recovery action can take the form of:

• Payment by special arrangement. We will discuss and agree an appropriate payment plan with you (see request for payment arrangement forms below. Please note: If you are working we will only make a payment arrangement if you supply us with your employer details;
• Attachment of Earnings;
• Deductions from Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance;
• An instruction to an external bailiff company to recover the debt on the Council's behalf. This option could involve significant additional costs being payable by you directly to the bailiffs.
• Committal to Prison. You could be sent to prison for up to 90 days for not paying your Council Tax;
• A Charging Order on your property; or
• Bankruptcy proceedings against you.

Anyone having difficulty paying their Council Tax should always contact the Council as soon as possible. Contact details are shown below. We are always available to offer help and advice.

Don't wait until it's too late! If you are experiencing financial difficulty please contact us as soon as possible.