Non-payment of business rates - Print version

If you are experiencing financial difficulties and cannot afford to pay your business rates, you should contact us immediately, so that we can check to make sure you receive the discounts and reliefs to which you are entitled.

By law, we must send a reminder notice if your instalments are not up to date.

If a reminder notice is issued and you do not bring your instalments up to date within 14 days, then the right to pay by instalments will be withdrawn. If full payment is not received you will be sent a Magistrates' Court summons and you will have to pay additional court costs as well as your Business Rates charge. The Council will apply to the Court for a liability order against the account, which grants us further powers to collect the money outstanding. The account may then be issued to an Enforcement Agent, who will collect the money on our behalf, referred for insolvency proceedings or back to Magistrates' Court for committal to prison proceedings.

If you have received a Magistrates’ Court summons you should contact:

Business Rates Team
Telephone on 024 7683 2525 or email businessrates@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:businessrates@coventry.gov.uk].

After the summons hearing date you should contact:

Enforcement Team
Telephone: 024 7683 1544 or email enforcement@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:enforcement@coventry.gov.uk].

If your account has been issued to the Enforcement Agent, you should make any payments direct to them. They may be willing to make a short-term payment arrangement with you. If you still do not make payment, or default on an agreed payment arrangement, the enforcement agent may remove goods from your property. The goods will then be sold to cover the balance outstanding and the Enforcement Agent’s costs.

If the Enforcement Agent is unable to collect the amount due, we may begin insolvency proceedings, to declare you bankrupt or wind up your company, or as a last resort we may commence committal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court which could result in a term of imprisonment.

We employ two Enforcement Agents. They are:

and

The enforcement agent process

1. The Enforcement Agent administration stage is where the enforcement starts initial contact with the debtor. This results in administration fees being charged to the debtor but allows the debtor a period of notice to come to a payment arrangement.
2. The next stage, called the enforcement stage, involves visiting the debtor’s property. This attracts a set fee to cover the enforcement agent’s work at this stage plus a further percentage fee for debts over a certain value.
3. If the Enforcement Agent seizes goods, the sale of the goods stage attracts further costs including fees to cover the removal of the goods and costs of re-selling them. A further percentage fee is charged for debts over a certain value.

Relevant legislation:

• Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1894/contents/made]
• Taking Control of Goods (fees) Regulations 2014 [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1/contents/made]

If you receive a court summons

Why have I been sent this summons?

Because you have missed one or more of your business rates payments. As a result, you have lost the right to pay your business rates by instalments, and the full outstanding balance is now payable.

Do I need to attend the Magistrates' Court?

No. You DO NOT need to attend the court on the day of the hearing, however we will still ask the court for a liability order if you fail to pay the amount in full.

How can I sort this out?

• Option 1: Pay the full amount that we have requested. This is the Total Amount Now Due figure on the summons. This amount includes the payments you have missed and the court costs for issuing the summons which you must pay. See how to pay business rates [/info/14/business_rates/2283/paying_business_rates] for more details. 
• Option 2: Phone us on 024 7683 2525 if you cannot pay the amount in full. We may be able to offer you a payment arrangement, but you must be willing to discuss your income and expenditure with us.                               
• Option 3: Email businessrates@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:businessrates@coventry.gov.uk] if you cannot pay the amount in full and tell us why. Again, we may be able to offer you a payment arrangement, but you must be willing to discuss your income and expenditure with us.    

* You must have completed one of the OPTIONS above BEFORE THE DAY of the hearing.

You should ONLY call us on the day of the hearing if we have been unable to resolve your query. You must call the phone line: 024 7683 3328 between the hours of 10:00am to 11:30am. This number will be very busy, and you may have to wait a long time before you get to speak to us.  

What will happen if I do not pay in full?

We will ask the Magistrates to issue a liability order against you. The liability order gives us various legal powers that we will use if you do not pay in full, fail to set up a payment arrangement or default on the payment arrangement that we may agree to.

These powers include:

• Sending your debt to an Enforcement Agent. You will incur an immediate charge of £75 rising to a minimum of £310 if the debt remains unpaid. Enforcement Agents may take your goods or vehicles and sell them.
• Start proceedings to make you bankrupt. This may result in you losing your home and/or your home.
• Start committal proceedings which could result in you being sent to prison.

I want to attend the Magistrates' court

The court will NOT admit you on the day of your hearing. If after speaking to the Council you still wish to go before the court, we will contact them to arrange a specific time and date for you to attend. 

Independent advice agencies

Free independent and impartial advice [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/debtadvice].