Debt passed to an enforcement agent – what to expect
If your council tax account remains unpaid after reminders, notices and court action, the debt may be passed to an enforcement agent to recover the outstanding balance.
Who we work with
We currently work with Bristow & Sutor and Equita to recover unpaid council tax debts.
We process each council tax year separately (the council tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March). If you owe money for more than one year, different balances may be passed to different enforcement agents.
What happens next?
When a debt is passed to an enforcement agent, they will first write to you to give you the chance to:
- pay the balance in full, or
- agree a repayment arrangement.
At this stage, a compliance fee of £75 (£79 from May 2026) is added to each debt, in line with UK regulations.
What to do if you get a letter
Do not ignore it. Follow the steps in the letter, which are usually to go online and access your account - with the case reference in your letter.
You will be able to make payment, set up a payment arrangement and ask questions of the enforcement agency's customer services team.
You can also ask for support if you are struggling to pay.
Do not ignore letters
We recommend you do not ignore any letter you receive from an enforcment agent.
If you do not respond, or you do not keep to an agreed payment arrangement, the enforcement agent may then visit your property.
This is known as the enforcement stage, and a further fee of £235 (£247 from May 2026) may be added, plus an additional percentage on larger debts over £1,900.
These fees are set by law and are added by the enforcement agent for the work they carry out in recovering unpaid balances.
We understand that contact from enforcement agents can feel worrying or upsetting, and causing distress is never our intention., however, visits are part of the normal recovery process when council tax remains unpaid and no arrangement has been made.
How enforcement agents must behave
All enforcement agents must follow strict regulations and a national code of conduct. This means they must:
- treat people fairly and respectfully
- act professionally
- clearly explain fees and the balance owed
- consider any vulnerability or additional support needs
- follow legal rules when making contact or visits
Further information is available from the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA), the professional body for enforcement agents.
If you are unhappy with how an agent has acted
Please raise your complaint directly with the enforcement agent first, as both companies have formal complaints procedures:
If you remain dissatisfied after this, you can ask for the complaint to be escalated - this is detailed in their complaints process.
Important - keep paying your current council tax
If you are paying off older debts through an enforcement agent, you must also continue to pay your current year’s council tax bill to avoid further recovery action.
Struggling to pay and meet essential living costs
As a council, we have a duty to collect unpaid debts as the money we collect helps to fund vital local services – not just ours but services delivered by the county council, fire and police services.
As such we do employ the services of enforcement agents to help collect unpaid debts and we select the companies we work with based on their proven ethical approaches to debt collection - including offering vulnerable people the opportunity to seek help and advice as part of the process - for example speaking to the CAB or applying for a Breathing Space.
In some circumstances it is possible for us to recall debts from our collection agencies if you are willing to enter a payment arrangement with us that you will then follow.
To discuss this, please call our customer services team on 01543 308000 (Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, not including bank holidays). You can also WhatsApp us.