Council Tax summonses

The Council issues a summons when a Council Tax bill has not been paid. If a customer ignores their summons, the Council will ask Richmond Magistrates' Court to issue a liability order against them. The magistrates will order the customer to pay costs. More information is available from the Court Service web site at http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/

A liability order is a legal document that gives the Council the power

• To take what the customer owes directly from their earnings, their Income Support or Job Seeker's Allowance (Income Based).
• Ask bailiffs to take some of the customer's valuables and sell them to pay off what they owe.
• Make a customer bankrupt.