Payment Problems
Payment Problems
Your Business rates bill is normally payable in ten monthly instalments with the last instalment in January. The due date by which you must pay each of your instalments is shown on your bill, but is usually the 1st of the month.
If you have a change in your circumstances, it may affect the number of instalments you can be given in which to pay your bill.
You must pay your Business Rates bill on or before the due date shown on your bill. If you do not do so, we will take recovery action against you.
If you have difficulty paying your bill, we may be able to help you by making a more suitable payment arrangement. It is also possible that you may be entitled to a reduction in Business Rates. See Am I entitled to any Relief?.
Please contact Business Rates on (0114) 273 4325 to discuss and arrangement or to gain more information on reliefs.
The Beginning of the Recovery Process
Reminders
You are required by law to pay your business rates instalments on time. We are also required by law to make sure these payments are made. The first time that you fail to pay an instalment on time, we will send you a reminder asking you to bring your account up to date within 7 days. Sending a reminder notice means that we can take court action against you if your account is not brought up to date and maintained.
If you receive a reminder you should pay the amount shown on the reminder immediately. Details of how to pay can be found on this website or you can make a debit card payment here.
If you are unable to make payment immediately, staff are available to discuss any financial problems that you may have and in many cases we are able to agree alternative payment arrangements. If you think you have already paid the amount on the reminder, do not ignore this notice. Please contact us at Business Rates straight away.
If you fail to make contact and don't bring your account up to date, we will not issue any further reminders. You will lose your right to pay by instalments and we will take court action against you.
If you pay the amount required by the notice, and you are late with your payments again, you will be issued with a final notice. This means that you have lost your right to pay by instalments and the remainder of your full yearly amount becomes due and payable. If you do not pay in full, we will take court action against you.
Summonses
If you receive a summons, you must pay the amount shown on the summons (including the court costs) if you are able to do so
If you are unable to pay the amount shown on the summons, or you think the summons is wrong, you should contact us at Business Rates immediately to discuss your account.
We will be able to advise you on the best course of action and may be able to make a payment arrangement.
If you have not paid the amount shown on the summons including costs, or you have not agreed a payment arrangement with us, we will take further recovery action.
If you fail to contact us your case will be presented to the magistrates on the hearing date shown on the summons. The council will ask the magistrates to grant a Liability Order whether you attend or not, and this will incur further costs.
The reason for the court hearing will be to determine that you are liable and you have not paid your bill as requested. If the magistrate agrees with us that you are liable for the charge, that we have issued your bill correctly, and that you have not paid they will grant the council a Liability Order.
You do not need to attend the Magistrates Court if you do not wish to do so, but there will be Business Rates staff in attendance should you wish to make an arrangement to pay.
If you wish to attend, you will have the opportunity to offer your defence for non-payment.
After the court hearing date we will send you a notice informing you that the magistrates have granted us a Liability Order.
Methods of Recovery
Bailiff Visit
In some circumstances we may decide to send a bailiff to visit you. The bailiff may either accept payment in full from you or make a payment arrangement. Alternatively, he may value the goods in your premises - if he believes that your goods could be sold at auction to reduce the debt he may decide to levy distress. There will be additional costs involved with this process.
If the bailiff calls and you are not at your business address or at home, he will leave a card with his contact details. You should either pay your bill in full (including the costs), or contact us at Business Rates to discuss a payment arrangement or to arrange a second visit at a time when you will be at home.
Bankruptcy
If you owe more than £750 and a bailiff has previously visited your business it is now possible that you will be served with a Statutory Demand. This document should not be ignored as it may lead to a bankruptcy petition and further substantial costs may be added to your debt. Your assets are at immediate risk if this happens.
Please see The Insolvency Service website for more information.
Charging Orders
If you own your business premises and are intending to sell this property, we may seek your agreement to obtaining a charge over it. This means that you agree that we will be paid any rates owed from the proceeds of the sale of your property. We will not attempt to recover any amount due which is covered by the agreement for a specified period. This period cannot be more than three years.
Any amounts covered by the agreement may be subject to interest charges.
Please Remember
If you receive any notice from the City Council regarding the non-payment of your business rates please do not ignore it as this may mean that further action will be taken against you, with additional costs being incurred. Please contact us at Business Rates immediately to discuss ways of settling your debt.
For independent advice on debt problems contact Sheffield CAB Debt-line on Free-phone 0808 800 2237, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
The Cost of Recovery Action
The cost of recovering any outstanding debt is extremely high. It involves a large number of people and court time. Recovery costs will be added to your rate account. This is so that the costs of recovery are not shared by those who pay their business rates on time.
Reminder/Final Notice
There are no costs for receiving a reminder or final notice.
Summons
If you are summonsed to the Magistrates Court the cost is £51.00
Liability Order
The council will obtain a Liability Order on the hearing day. This costs £31.00
Bailiff
Costs are incurred if a bailiff visits you. The cost of the first visit is £24.50. Additional costs of £18.00 per visit will be raised if any further visits are required.
Distress
If the bailiff believes that your goods could be sold at auction to reduce the debt he may decide to levy distress. The bailiff has the right to compile a list of goods and possessions that they can legally seize to sell at public auction to repay your debt.
The bailiff can take your goods with them right away and you cannot legally stop them from doing this. More usually, the bailiff will leave the items in your home under a walking possession order. This means that the goods have technically been seized to repay your debt but the bailiff is leaving them at your home until a later time. You are allowed to continue using your goods, but you are not allowed to dispose of or sell them if they are listed on the bailiffs walking possession order. The bailiff can come back at any time to retrieve the items.
Removal and sale of your belongings
If your belongings are removed for sale at auction, removal costs will be charged. The costs are calculated on a sliding scale depending on the value of the goods removed. Fees will also be charged by the auctioneer for storage and sale of the goods.
You may recover your goods if you pay the outstanding debt and costs within five days.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Bankruptcy
This method of recovery can incur substantial costs to yourself if this action is taken against you. If you would like further information or advice about this matter you can look at The Insolvency Service website .
Insolvency proceedings
An empty property is exempt if:
A Bankruptcy order is in place, or
A trustee has been appointed under a deed of arrangement, or
A company is subject to a winding up order, or
In some cases, where a liquidator has been appointed
If you are subject to insolvency proceedings, and are paying Rates, empty or occupied, you should contact your appointed Insolvency Practitioner for further details of how to proceed.
If you think your property should be exempt, please contact us at Business Rates