If you have not contacted us to arrange payment of your council tax or business rates bill or obtain support if you are struggling to pay, we may pass your debt to an enforcement agency, which is the official name for bailiffs.
If an enforcement agency has contacted you, it is important that you contact them immediately to agree an arrangement to pay so you can minimise the fees you will be charged.
Contact us for support
If you are struggling financially and need support, please contact us – the help we offer is online.
Enforcement agency contact details
The enforcement agencies we use and have contracts in place with are:
- Newlyn PLC: tel: 01604 633 001, email contact@newlynplc.co.uk
- CDER: tel: 0330 460 5295, email info@contactcder.co.uk
- Marston Group Limited: tel: 0333 320 2530, email: information@marstonholdings.co.uk
- JTR Collections: tel: 01933 623 380, email info@jtrcollections.co.uk
Enforcement agent legal powers
You should be aware that enforcement agents:
- have the right to peaceful entry to your home
- can force entry if they have signed a Control of Goods Agreement
- have the power to remove certain goods to clear the debt, if you are not able to pay the debt in full
- can't remove goods belonging to your landlord. You will need to provide proof of ownership if you are a tenant
- will charge you for recovery costs
You can view government information about Bailiff powers on GOV.UK.
You can read independent advice from national charities:
Statutory fees
The enforcement agents will charge you a fee of £75 once we instruct them to collect your debt. If you don't contact them within 7 days of receiving the Notice of Enforcement the law permits an enforcement fee of £235 to be charged to you. If you owe more than £1,500, you'll be charged an additional 7.5%.
Enforcement agents can seize some of your personal possessions and sell them at public auction. The money collected from the auction will be used to pay the enforcement fees and the Council Tax that you owe.
| Fee stage | Fixed Fee | Percentage fee (% of sum to be recovered exceeding £1,500) |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | £75 | 0% |
| Enforcement | £235 | 7.5% |
| Sale or Disposal | £110 | 7.5% |
Enforcement agent conduct
Enforcement agents must abide by a strict code of conduct which includes:
- referring cases back to the council if the person with the debt is vulnerable
- wearing body-worn video and audio recording equipment on every visit
All 4 suppliers that we use have received accreditation from the Enforcement Conduct Board, which is the independent oversight body for the debt enforcement sector in England and Wales, and are responsible for the National Standards.
Find out more on the Enforcement Conduct Board website.
Organisations need to apply for accreditation annually, and the framework and expectations evolve over time.
If you experience any behaviour that falls short of the National Standards (external PDF, 226KB), please contact us immediately on 020 8489 1000 or make a complaint online.
Stages of enforcement agency action
1. Compliance letter
You will be sent a compliance letter by the enforcement agency that will give you the option to contact them to set an arrangement on how the debt will be paid. You will receive a £75 statutory compliance fee for each liability order against you. The fee will be added to the balance the service has been instructed to collect from you.
You are encouraged to pay the total sum due in full.
2. If you do not respond to the letter or make an arrangement
You will be charged £235 if:
- you do not respond to the letter within 14 working days
- you do not make an arrangement to pay the debt
You can be charged more than once if you have more than one liability order and enforcement takes place on different days. An extra 7.5% can be charged for liability orders or warrants where the total is over £1,500.