If you don't pay your Business Rates
If you are having difficulty keeping up with your payments, contact us as soon as you get into arrears. We will try our best to help you if we can.
Receiving correspondence
We use a third party print provider to print and despatch our letters and they can evidence notices being sent.
Returned or undelivered mail will always result in withdrawal of a recovery notice because we know that it has not been received by the ratepayer. In instances like this we will look for an alternative contact address and reissue the notice.
In the absence of returned mail, any letters sent are considered 'served correctly' according to the law.
Reminder notice
A reminder is issued when a payment is late, or when the payment made is not for the full amount due.
If you have recently made a payment then please email a copy of the remittance/screenshot of a bank statement to brates@wandsworth.gov.uk and we will ensure that the payment is allocated to your account.
We will confirm by return that we have received the funds - this usually takes less than 5 working days.
If you don't pay
If the payment is not received within 7 days of the date of the reminder, you will lose your right to pay by instalments.
If payment is not received after a further 7 days, a summons can be issued.
Final notice
A final notice is sent when an account has previously been issued a reminder and payment is again late, or not made for the full amount due.
There is no legal requirement for a final notice but we do so because it provides an opportunity for ratepayers to make payment before further recovery action is taken.
At this stage there are two options available:
- Make payment in full
- Bring the account up to date and pay the remaining balance in instalments, by Direct Debit
To pay in instalments, email brates@wandsworth.gov.uk and we will confirm the amount to be paid and provide you with a Direct Debit mandate. We will reply to you within 5 working days.
If you don't pay
If you don't make payment, or arrange for your instalment plan to be reinstated, we may issue a court summons which includes additional costs. Even at this point, we are still able to agree terms for repayment.
Summons
If you do not make payment after receiving one or both notices, we will apply to the local magistrates' court for a summons to be issued against you.
If a summons is issued you will incur extra costs. These are incurred at the time the summons is issued and must be paid in addition to the outstanding balance of your Business Rates.
What to do if you get a summons
We will be prepared to discuss a way you can pay the summons. You can:
- Return the form enclosed with the summons, or
- Contact us
If you have any sort of query regarding the summons, or you think that it has been incorrectly issued, contact us immediately.
If you can't make the full payment
If you are unable to make payment in full, we can agree repayment terms of 6 months, or until the end of the financial year, whichever is soonest.
If you would like to take this option, email brates@wandsworth.gov.uk, confirming your preferred date for instalments to be paid and the method of payment you would like to use, e.g. bank transfer, direct debit, etc. We will reply to you within 5 working days.
If payments are maintained, we will take no further recovery action.
If you don't pay or contact us
If you don't contact us, or make payment in full, we will obtain a liability order at the court hearing and this may be passed to an external enforcement agent for collection.
Liability order
If you do not pay the summons, we will make an application to the court for a liability order. Obtaining the liability order will mean you will incur further costs.
It also means we can instruct enforcement agents to visit your property to collect the money outstanding - this will also incur further costs.
Failing to act at this stage could lead to a committal to prison.
To prevent any of the above actions being taken, please ensure that your Business Rates are paid on time.
If you do get into difficulty, or believe we have acted incorrectly, contact us immediately on brates@wandsworth.gov.uk.
Enforcement agents
The last course of action in our recovery process is to ask an enforcement agent to collect the balance on our behalf.
We are not able to withdraw the account or discuss repayment terms. Our advice is to discuss the case with the enforcement agent.
If you believe that we have made an error in sending your account to the enforcement agent, call us on 020 8871 6454 (option 8) to speak a Business Rates officer.
Errors
Let us know if you believe you have received a notice to pay that is incorrect.
Email brates@wandsworth.gov.uk and we will respond within 5 working days.
You have already paid
If you have received a notice for payment but have recently made a payment, email us a copy of the remittance/screenshot of a bank statement and we will ensure that the payment is allocated to your account.
We will confirm by return that we have received the funds.
You think the liability is wrong
We are keen to resolve liability disputes, it is important that our billing is correct. Email details of the dispute and supporting evidence that you think will be useful (e.g. leases, photographs, etc).
We may ask for further information but we will keep you informed of any updates.
Problems making payment
It is really important that you inform us of your situation. We will review your account to ensure that you are receiving any reliefs to which you are entitled, this may help to reduce the amount owed.
We cannot always offer more time to make payment, but we will explain the options available. Email brates@wandsworth.gov.uk with details of your account and what you can afford to pay.
Free debt advice
The National Debtline the Business Debtline and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) offer free debt advice. The Wandsworth Citizens Advice Bureau are located across the borough.
Contact us
Email us at brates@wandsworth.gov.uk with any further questions. We will reply to you within 5 working days.