Enforcement Agency To Collect Unpaid Debt

[buffymad]

Hello, question on behalf of a friend (I swear it's not me!).

He's just received a letter from an enforcement agency saying his local council has referred him to them over unpaid council tax fees. I think he's been in arrears before and the order took out some kind of order whereby the money was taken direct from his wages before he actually received them, at a rate that he could afford. That was paid off.

For some reason this time (and not sure why this wasn't just tagged onto the last set of arrears - last payment was taken in July 2014), they've passed it on to an enforcement agency.

The letter says he needs to pay around £180 a month. He can't afford this. He's spoken to them but they say as the amount is for so little (£500 odd), that's the least they would take. They say he CAN afford it - but I know he can't.

Obviously if he doesn't pay, they send the bailiffs out. BUT ... all his correspondence goes to his parents address. He sometimes stays there and sometimes at mine. He doesn't have any "goods" for them to take at his parents address.

What happens then?

He does have a car but it's never really parked at his parents, so could they find it any other way?

Any clues as to what he should try next? He's happy to pay the arrears, but just can't do it at the rate they say. And they won't go any lower.

[atalanta]

Best place to start is the Citizens Advice Bureau

[andy-hughes]

You do not specify who the 'enforcement agency ' is in this case.

If it is from High Court enforcers - sherrifs - then it needs to be addressed forthwith.

In any case of debt, the creditor is looking for payment with as little grief as possible.

That means, they will always accept genuine intention to pay - which is grief free - over the need to seize and sell goods and property - which is not.

He needs to contact the enforcement agency immediately with a detailed and verifiable list of his incomings and outgoings, which proves that lower payments are more reasonable.

Because they have no personal interest, enforcement agencies are usually keen to reach an agreed settlement, but it needs to be done right away, and then the payments set up and adhered to.

Hope this helps.

[New Judge]

Council Tax is treated differently to any other debt. Non-payment is a criminal matter which carries a prison sentence (and, unlike being sent to custody for non-payment of fines, the debt remains when the debtor is released from prison).

The normal procedure that Councils adopt is to firstly approach the Magistrates’ Court to obtain a “Liability Order”. This is rather like (though not entirely the same as) them gaining a County Court Judgment in their favour. It gives them the opportunity to attempt to recover he debt by a number of means (including the use of bailiffs if they think it is appropriate). This seems to be where they are at now. Your friend would have been sent paperwork to his last known address and the fact that he has not picked it up for whatever reason usually makes little difference to the process. (It has been ruled a number of times that debtors have a duty to keep in touch with their creditors. Of course they don’t because very often they keep on the move precisely because there are people with whom they have no wish to keep in touch).

If there is no success is securing payment the Council will return to the Court to obtain an “Enforcement Order”. This is where it begins to turn a bit nasty. Your friend will receive a court summons. Assuming he attends (I’ll explain later what happens if he does not) he will be asked to explain his finances in some detail to the court. The Magistrates will want to know what money has passed through his hands and what he has done with it. They will expect evidence to show this and if it is not forthcoming or if they believe they are being told porkies they can make such assumptions as they think fit. After these enquiries the court will decide whether your friend has demonstrated “wilful refusal to pay” (fairly self-explanatory); “culpable neglect” (he had the money to pay but chose to spend it on something else) or that he simply did not have the funds. If they decide he did not have the funds they have the power to write off some or all of the sum owed. However, if they decide that one of the first two is relevant they will make an order for payment (which should be within his means and will probably involve instalments). This will be accompanied by a suspended prison sentence (the length of which will depend on the sum owed). If the payments are made as ordered that will be the end of the matter. If they are not he will be summonsed to court again and unless a good reason for non-payment is forthcoming the suspended sentence will be activated (and bear in mind the debt remains when he is released).

If he fails to attend on the first occasion it is likely that the Magistrates will issue a warrant for his arrest. This may be backed with “bail” which means he will be arrested, taken to the police station and bailed to appear in court. If he fails to answer his bail he will be arrested and taken to court in custody. If he fails to attend having been summonsed for not paying as ordered a warrant without bail will almost certainly be issued and he will be arrested and held in custody before being brought before the court (and he should hope that does not happen on a Saturday afternoon or he will find himself banged up until Monday morning).

Your friend should not hope this will go away. It will not. Even if the process takes some time eventually he will be found. He will now have to wait until the bailiffs return the matter to the council (assuming they are unsuccessful in their efforts). He should then try to engage with the Council and the Court. Councils are not really interested in seeing people sent to prison. Their overriding aim is to secure payment of the money owed and that becomes more difficult when somebody is inside. They will have an official at the court who will try to negotiate a settlement before the matter is heard. But at the end of the day the ultimate sanction of prison remains.

[buffymad]

Thanks for that.

Well I told him to phone the council again and explain what the enforcement agency had said and that they weren't willing to accept a lesser amount per month. I said to say surely it was better for the council to be getting SOME money rather than no money and the matter dragging on. They saw his point of view and said they'd accept £25 per month. They would get in touch with the EA to let them know and he'd need to phone the EA on pay day to pay the first instalment. A DD would be set up thereafter.

That all sounds good to me. Hope it's as clear cut as that!

Think they were called Bristow someone or other ...