You must pay your business rates bill on or before the due date shown on your bill. If you do not, then we could take recovery action against you. You must allow enough time to make sure each payment is with us by the date it's due.
If you have difficulty paying your bill, please contact the business rates team on 01303 853223 or via business.rates@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk without delay.
You must still pay the amount on the bill we have sent if you are waiting to hear from us about a rate relief application or are in discussion with the Valuation Office Agency about the Rateable Value for the property. Once the decision has been made, you'll get a new bill that takes into account any adjustments and we will refund any overpaid amounts due.
Reminder
We will send you a Reminder Notice if you don't pay your Business Rates on time. You must pay the amount due within 7 days.
Final Notice
If you do not pay the amount stated on the reminder within the time specified you will get a Final Notice. This means you lose the right to make future payments by instalments. You must then pay the remaining full year's balance within 7 days.
Summons
We will serve a summons if you don't pay the total amount shown on the Final Notice within 7 days. This means a date will be set for a court hearing. The cost of serving the summons (£109.00) will be added to your debt. You can stop the recovery proceedings by paying the full amount on the summons (including the costs) before the date of the hearing.
If we serve a summons on you
If you don't pay in full before the date of the hearing the case will go to court and we will obtain a liability order for the debt. If you can't pay in full you should contact us to make an arrangement to pay the outstanding amount. The case will still go to court, but we won't take any further action against you if we have agreed a payment plan and you are making payments as agreed.
You don't need to attend the court hearing if you accept that you owe the amount outstanding. The court can't take account of your financial situation or discuss payment with you. It will save you time and money if you talk to us before this stage if you don't think you should be liable for the outstanding amount.
When Business Rates cases go to court, we ask the court to issue a Liability Order. The Liability Order allows us to take action to recover what you owe. The cost of making the order is added to what you owe (£65.00). You must still pay this extra cost even if you have made a payment arrangement.
After the court hearing
If we have agreed a payment plan with you, we will only enforce the Liability Order if you miss a payment. We can enforce a Liability Order straight away if we have not agreed a payment plan with you.
Actions we can take include bringing in enforcement agents (bailiffs), and starting bankruptcy or winding up (liquidation) proceedings
Enforcement action
There are three stages of business rates enforcement action;
- Stage 1 - A fee of £75 for each instruction that is passed by the council to an Enforcement Agent
- Stage 2 - A fee of £235 covers all work carried out but a further charge of 7.5% of any debt value over £1,500 will also be applied
- Stage 3 - A fee of £110 plus 7.5% of any debt value over £1,500
The regulations can be read online:
- Visit GOV.UK The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013
- Visit GOV.UK The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014
Our agents
Below are the agents that are authorised to act on behalf of Folkestone & Hythe District Council. Always quote your account number when making contact with an Enforcement Agent. Once we have instructed, the Enforcement Agent takes full responsibility for collecting the debt.
CDER
Make a payment: 0330 107 0023 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Visit CDER Group
Enquiries: 0330 107 0023
JACOBS
Make a payment: 0330 008 0430 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Visit Certificated Enforcement and Revenue Collection | Jacobs Enforcement
Enquiries: 0345 601 2692
Newlyn
General Enquiries
Contact@newlynplc.co.uk
01604 633001
Welfare Team
welfare@newlynplc.co.uk
01604 625214
Payment Line newlynplc.co.uk
01604 625136
Postal Address for
Debtors Newlyn PLC, PO Box 933, Northampton NN1 9DX
Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy can be very costly if this course of action is taken against you. If you would like further information or advice about this matter you can visit 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.
- The company is in administration, for any periods since the property has been vacated
If you have insolvency proceedings being brought against you and are paying business rates, empty or occupied, you should contact your appointed insolvency practitioner. They will be able to give further details of how to proceed.
If you think your property should be exempt, please contact the business rates team on 01303 853223 or via business.rates@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk.