Council Obtains 6900 Liability Orders In A Year
This article is old - Published: Sunday, Sep 11th, 2011
Picture: Brian Turner
Wrexham County Borough Council has obtained 6,900 liability orders in the past year against those who have not paid their council tax.
The statistics were revealed in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request that was posted on the Council Watch website.
In 2010/2011, approximately 4,500 cases of unpaid taxes were returned to the council by the bailiffs and of those, 2,500 were paid in full and 2,000 were classed as ‘nulla bona’, which is written when nothing of value could be found to satisfy the judgement.
In May this year the council said that it was chasing more than £4.5m in council tax arrears with one individual alone owing them £8,102.
At that time Cllr Mark Pritchard, Lead Member for Housing told the Daily Post: “I am flabbergasted by the amount still owed and we will have to see over time how much of that is finally collected.”
A liability order is usually issued when council tax is not paid as requested by reminders or a final notice, at this point the council makes a complaint to the magistrates court, and a summons is issued.
Wrexham Council currently charges recipients a total of £60 in costs when they are given a liability order, which is made up of £40 summons costs, and £20 liability order costs if granted.
The FOI request also revealed that 13 complaints were made against council bailiffs in total for 2010, but that only two were partly justified.
A full version of the council’s FOI response on liability orders can be found at http://www.councilwatchuk.co.uk/index.php/forum/144-wrexham-city-council/201-bailiffs-sent-in-6900-liability-orders.html#201.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email [email protected]
