I've received a council tax summons

You do not need to attend court.

At court the magistrate can only consider:

• if the bill and reminder have been issued correctly, and
• if the amount remains unpaid

The magistrate cannot:

• say if you are the correct person to be paying
• say the amount billed is wrong
• make any consideration for you to pay the debt by instalments

The magistrate will issue a liability order which allows the council to:

• contact your employer to take money direct from your wages
• make a deduction from your state benefits
• send the debt to an enforcement agent to collect the money

Enforcement agents used to be known as bailiffs. You will get extra charges if your account is passed to our enforcement agency. Our enforcement agent is Rundles enforcement agency (opens new window).

For more information and guidance visit our enforcement agent page