I have received a Council Tax Liability Order

A Liability Order is granted to City of Doncaster Council by a Magistrates Court after a summons has been sent to you for non-payment of your Council Tax.

It gives City of Doncaster Council the legal power to take further action to recover the amount owed. This might include taking deductions from your earnings or benefits, use of an Enforcement Agent, Bankruptcy proceedings, obtaining a charging order, and order of sale on your property, or committal to prison.

Liability Order costs of £26.00 have been added to the amount you owe.

The Liability Order Questionnaire allows City of Doncaster Council to obtain information from you about your income and expenditure.

You can challenge the Liability Order in certain circumstances, please see the section – Defences against a Liability Order below.

If you have paid the outstanding amount in full including the Summons and Liability Order costs since this was received you need take no further action.

You may be able to set up a direct debit, this is the most convenient way to pay your Council Tax and you can choose to pay over 10 or 12 months on the 1^st, 7^th, 15^th or 25^th. You can arrange to do this over the telephone.

If you think you have already paid the amount by debit card, cheque, by Direct Debit or Standing Order, please check that the amount has been taken out of your bank account. If your payment has been sent please contact us on 01302 734454 with the details of how and when you made your payment and the account information. If you have paid by cash you will need to provide a receipt as proof of payment.

Pay your outstanding balance in any of the following ways:

By debit card over the phone or internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0333 2000 324 or at www.doncaster.gov.uk, simply look for, Pay for it, then select Council Tax and follow the instructions

You can pay by cash or Debit card at any Post Office at no additional cost using the bar code on the correspondence.

The bar code on any correspondence sent to you allows you to pay cash at any outlet where you see the paypoint sign. To find your nearest paypoint locations visit the Paypoint website. There is no cost for using this service.

Please note, a payment shows on your Council Tax account when the Council receives it. You should take this into account especially if you have paid by cheque, by Standing Order, at the Post Office or via paypoint.

You still need to pay your current instalments while your claim is being considered. This is because your claim may not be successful. If you would like to check the progress of your claim please contact the Benefits office in the first instance on 01302 735336.

Contact us on 01302 734454 at the earliest opportunity to discuss your options. You may be able to make a payment arrangement including Summons and Liability Order costs at a frequency that suits your needs and over a longer period of time. 

You must complete the Income and Expenditure Form. It is a criminal offence not to provide this information. Your income and expenditure is needed to help the Council Tax staff to make a payment arrangement that takes into account your ability to pay.

Have you considered claiming Local Council Tax Support if you are on a low income? If you would like an estimate of how much housing benefit you might qualify for, please use one of the government`s recommended benefit calculators

If specific payment terms can`t be agreed then recovery action will continue. This means that the following options may be used to clear your debts:

• Automatic deductions from your earnings
• Automatic deductions from certain types of Benefits
• A visit by an Enforcement Agent who can seize certain goods that you own and sell them at auction (Please note substantial costs will be incurred for any Enforcement Agent visit).
• An application for bankruptcy or liquidation
• An application for your committal to prison if you refuse to pay or make no attempts to resolve the issue with a member of staff. 

If further action is necessary Council Tax staff will always work with you to find the best solution to pay what you owe.

It is in your best interests to keep in contact and adhere to any arrangement you have been given. You should be aware that once a Summons and Liability Order have been obtained, if it then becomes necessary to pass your account to an Enforcement Agent for further action, the following costs would be added to your account. It is therefore in your interests to make contact as early as possible:

1. Notice of Enforcement (instruction to take action) £75.00 per Liability Order
2. First visit by an Enforcement Agent – fixed fee of £235.00 plus 7.5% of any balance owed over £1,500.00
3. Sale and removal of goods – fixed fee of £110.00 plus 7.5% of any balance owed over £1,500.00 plus reasonable storage and auctioneers fees.

City of Doncaster Council is committed to helping Taxpayers in genuine financial difficulty but will pursue those who refuse to pay. 

The award of a Liability Order gives the Council additional powers to recover unpaid Council Tax. This might include:

• making deductions directly from your earnings or certain benefits,
• referring your debt to an Enforcement Agent (where additional costs may be incurred),
• making an application for bankruptcy or liquidation,
• apply for a charging order on your home, and if required force sale,
• apply to the Court for your committal to prison.

Don’t let this happen to you, contact Council Tax now on 01302 734454.

Please look at the following list of defences, and if you think any one of these apply in your case, you can attend court on the date given on the Summons and ask to speak to the Magistrate.

You should always contact the Council Tax Office on 01302 734454 prior to the court date to discuss your case – for example, if your defence is that you have paid your Council Tax, staff may be able to trace any missing payments or advise you further without any need to attend court.

• The property does not appear on the Valuation List as a dwelling for which Council Tax can be charged for the period in question
• The Council Tax has not been properly set by the Council
• The Council Tax has not been demanded properly please see below:
• It has not been demanded properly if you have not been given 14 days` notice on your bill of any new instalments.
• You have not been sent a reminder giving you 7 days to bring your account up to date
• You have not been sent a Summons after the full balance became payable – Please note City of Doncaster Council must show that a bill has been sent by post, not that a taxpayer has received it.
• The amount outstanding has been paid – if you think the amount has been paid please contact the Council Tax Office in the first instance with the details of when and where you made your payment, how the payment was made with details of your bank account where necessary. A receipt must support any cash payments.
• This is the first time that you have been summoned to court and more than six years have passed since your first payment became due.
• The Council did not serve you with a bill for payment as soon as they were able to in accordance with Council Tax legislation.
• The sum that you owe is for a Penalty which is the subject of appeal or arbitration
• Bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings have commenced.

Yes, we will consider making an arrangement with you, but the Liability Order and costs may still be obtained from the Court.

There is no need to attend court, you can contact us on 01302 734454. You may be able to make a payment arrangement including Summons and Liability Order costs at a frequency that suits your needs and over a longer period of time.

If further action is necessary Council Tax staff will always work with you to find the best solution to pay what you owe. If specific payment terms cannot be agreed then recovery action will continue. This means that the following options may be used to clear your debts once the Liability Order has been obtained:

• Automatic deduction from your earnings
• Automatic deductions from certain types of benefits
• A visit by an enforcement Agent who can seize certain goods that you own and sell them at auction. Please note substantial costs will be incurred for any Enforcement Agent visit.
• An application for bankruptcy or liquidation
• An application for your committal to prison if you refuse to pay or make no attempts to resolve the issue with a member of staff.

You must complete an Income and Expenditure Form. This will be sent to you once the Liability Order has been obtained. It is a criminal offence not to provide this information at that point. You can provide these details in advance of the court date if you wish.

Please be aware that once a Summons and Liability Order have been obtained, if it then becomes necessary to pass your account to an Enforcement Agent for further action, the following costs would be added to your account. It is therefore in your interests to make contact as early as possible.

a) Notice of Enforcement (instruction to take action) £75.00 per Liability Order

b) First visit by an Enforcement Agent – fixed fee of £235.00 plus 7.5% of any balance owed over £1,500.00

c) Sale and removal of goods – fixed fee of £110.00 plus 7.5% of any balance owed over £1,500.00 plus reasonable storage and auctioneer fees.