Business rate arrears should always be a priority debt to pay back. Nevertheless, if you are truly struggling financially, you may be unable to make the debt repayment at all. If you fall into business rate arrears you will be issued a ‘final notice’. At this point it is imperative that you seek advice from a debt advisory service such as CTA who can guide you through the proceedings.
SUMMONS
After the expiry of your final notice has passed, this means you immediately will have lost the right to pay instalments and you will then have to pay the entire balance for the whole year. Not paying in full will lead to a court summons. This means extra costs will continue to be added to your account. If you want to dispute your liability for paying the business rates arrears, you will be able to attend the court hearing. However, you will have to be prepared to defend your liability. The most valid defences used against liability are usually:
- The business rates have not been billed in accordance with the law
- The amount demanded has already been paid for in full
- You are not the chargeable occupier
If you lose your liability case, further action will be taken by your council to recover your debt. Receiving financial advice from CTA can guide you through any further debt recovery methods such as bankruptcy, insolvency and bailiff enforcement.
BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY NOTICES
If you or your company owe a total of more than £5000 to your council in outstanding bills, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings will be started against you in order to recover the debt. You will be sent a statutory demand where you will be given around 21 days to pay the council in the full amount. If your council begins bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against you at any one time, there are a number of processes that will be set into motion against you.
BAILIFFS
Councils have the right to employ bailiffs to recover any remaining debts that you may owe. Exactly the same as with council tax arrears, bailiffs will become involved to reclaim your business rates arrears when you have failed to make an acceptable arrangement to pay back your outstanding debt. This can be achieved by talking to an advisory service like us here at CTA. We can provide an extensive amount of advice as well as acting as a buffer between you, your council and the enforcement agents. We can even help set up a payment arrangement scheme as well as continued advice and support throughout the process.
If bailiffs are sent to your door it is imperative that you understand your rights. Initially the bailiff agency will send you a letter informing you that your debt has now been passed to them for collection and full payment will be requested immediately. A failure to pay this will result in a visit to your property with the intention of removing goods up to the value of money you owe, including costs of the visit. Any goods reclaimed will be sold at public auction.
If you are threatened with bailiff enforcement, CTA are highly qualified in providing free advice about your rights regarding letting the bailiff in and what can be taken. Bailiffs cannot force their way in if they have not already been granted peaceful entry before. You have the choice not to let the bailiffs in if you have not let them in before. Having bailiffs arrive at your business premises can be incredibly intimidating – contacting us will help you to take the correct steps to avoid further enforcement on your doorstep.