What do I do if I can't pay?What happens if I can't pay? If you are already set-up for paying by installments and a payment is overdue, a reminder is issued for the arrears amount. If you are not set-up for payment by installment, we will issue a final notice will issue. What should I do if I receive a reminder? If payment is then made within 7 days, the instalments method of payment continues. If you cannot bring your payments up to date within 7 days you should contact your local Land and Property Services (rating ) office as it may be possible to make different arrangements. What happens if I don't pay when I receive my reminder? If payments are not brought up to date within 7 days, or you don't contact your local office to discuss your payment difficulties, we will issue a final notice. What do I do when I receive a final notice? A final notice issues 40 days after the original demand. It gives you 10 days to pay the FULL amount of rates still outstanding for the year, or to contact your local Land and Property Services (rating) office. The right to pay by monthly instalments is also lost, although a payment arrangement may still be possible by contacting us. What happens if I don't pay when I receive a final notice? Unless you make a suitable arrangement with us, or pay the whole amount due within 10 days, we will issue a Process in Debt Proceedings and charge you extra costs without any further reminder being sent. Why is a Process in Debt Proceedings sent? If the amount shown on the final notice is not paid within 10 days, or if you do not contact us, a Court Process may be sent for the balance outstanding for the year, plus additional costs. If full payment is made to your local office before the court date, including the costs, then that is the end of the matter. What happens if I don't pay when I receive a Process in Debt Proceedings? If full payment is not made the case is presented to the Magistrates' Court on the day stated. Can I make an arrangement after receiving a Process? When a Process has been issued we must request full payment. If you are unable to make full payment, unfortunately we cannot make an arrangement prior to the court hearing. However, it would be in your interest to continue to make payments in order to reduce the debt, and you must contact us again after the court date. Do I actually have to appear in court? Your appearance in court is normally only necessary if you want to dispute the amount, or if you have a legal matter to bring to the attention of the court in relation to proceedings. The court will normally award a decree in the event of non-attendance. What happens after the court date? If the Magistrate awards a decree on the date of the court hearing, this issues to the ratepayer approximately 15-16 days after the court date. At Decree stage you are still obliged to make contact with us to a suitable arrangement for repayment. Why have I received a Notice of Intention? This issues to ratepayers who have not paid or made an arrangement following the award of a Decree. The document is issued by the Enforcement of Judgements Office on our behalf and it gives you 10 days to pay your balance in full. If the case is lodged with the Enforcement of Judgements Office it will be published in Stubbs Gazette and this will have a detrimental effect on your credit rating. Who is the Enforcement of Judgements Office? The Enforcement of Judgements Office (EJO) is an independent body to which we can apply to have a decree obtained in the Magistrates Court enforced. What happens if I still haven't paid my rates at this stage? When an application for enforcement is lodged with the EJO, further substantial costs are added to the account in question, ranging from £150.00 to £250.00 on a sliding scale depending on the amount of debt. The EJO may take a range of action to enforce the judgement, the main ones are: - Attachment of Earning Order Where the debtor is in regular employment the EJO can make an Attachment of Earnings Order. Such an order legally compels the employer to deduct a given amount each week/month from the debtor's salary and to pay it to EJO. Orders Charging Land The EJO can advise us to make a "charge" against the property owned by the debtor in respect of the total amount of judgement debt. A notice of the charge will be lodged with the Land Registry or Registry of Deeds and should the property be sold the debt will be normally be discharged. Garnishee Orders If the debtor has money deposited with a bank, building society or other financial institution, then this can be accessed through a "Garnishee Order". This is served directly on the bank or building society and it compels the particular institute to hand over enough money from the debtor's account to satisfy all or part of the total judgement debt. Seizure Orders The Enforcement of Judgements Office can make a "seizure order" which gives its officers the power to seize a whole range of personal property and valuables, which are of sufficient worth to satisfy part or all of the debt. The range of items which can be seized includes not only tangible goods but also intangibles such as life insurance policies, premium bonds etc. Can I be adjudicated bankrupt? Action of this type is not associated with the Enforcement of Judgements Office, however the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 allows us to initiate Bankruptcy or Liquidation proceedings against debtors. If the debtor has an accumulated debt of £750 owing, we may serve the debtor with a Statutory Demand. Failure to comply with the Statutory Demand will result in us proceeding to a bankruptcy petition. The initiation of bankruptcy action will result in substantial costs being added to your account. |
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