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What happens if the bailiff visits
for unpaid Business Rates?
If payments are not made as prescribed on the rate demand, or
you have missed an installment payment, a reminder is issued demanding
payment of the arrears. If you do not pay this amount within
7 days, then within a further
7 days the entire balance
of the full years rates must be paid in full,
and you would have lost the right to pay by installments. If you
fail to pay, a Summons will be issued against you in the Magistrates
Court to seek a Liability Order
for the amount outstanding together with the costs of the application.
As the average Liability Order for unpaid Business Rates (NNDR)
is £2,900, this can cause enormous cash flow problems for
small businesses to find in the event that a bailiff is
instructed,in particular as many bailiffs will insist on being
paid in cash if removal of the assets is to be avoided.
It should be noted that only 1 reminder notice
will be issued to you by the local authority.
A point that must be made here is that; unlike arrears for Council
Tax, when a Liability Order is raised, a first letter of notification
by the bailiffs is never given to
alert the owner to a pending bailiff visit….this is because
of the fear that a business owner….if aware of a visit…..could
remove valuable items from the premises.
For this reason…a bailiff visit is nearly always a
surprise visit.
When a bailiff calls to collect arrears of Business Rates, it
is normally the case that entry
to the premises is easy…..this is because if the business
trade from a shop or an office, the door is usually open to the general public. Therefore a bailiff can easily claim that he has
gained peaceful entry, and in so doing…he
is now in a position of strength.
He will be able to demand payment, often a lump
sum, or very high installments over a very short period
of time.
If the bailiff does arrive at your business premises, insist
that he shows you a copy of his Bailiffs
Certificate…..this is not his ID card. He must by law be Certificated.
By gaining entry, the bailiff can remove goods or items from
the business premises. The only way to stop them doing this is:
to either pay the full amount of the
debt together with their charge for
a first attendance, or to sign what
is known as a Walking Possession agreement. The bailiff will identify
goods that can be levied upon and
these items will then be listed on the Walking
Possession. By signing this document, you must be aware
that if you default on any arrangement
made….the bailiff is then legally
allowed to return to the property to remove those goods, and, as
he has previously gained peaceful entry
he is able by law to then force
entry if need be into the premises if you do not allow
him back to remove those goods listed. Remember….he can
only take those goods listed….nothing else.
If payment arrangements are agreed, you must ensure that
this is a priority debt that must be paid to avoid the bailiff
returning to remove those items listed for sale by auction. With
collection of business rates, just being one day late in your
payment will normally result in a further bailiff visit, which will result in more bailif fees.
Under Council Tax legislation, the bailiff collecting Council
tax arrears must by law be a Certificated
Bailiff if he levies on goods.
This means that he if he gains entry
into your business premises, and lists items on a Walking Possession
Form, he must, by law, be Certificated.
This would apply also where he listed a vehicle etc that was outside
the business. If however, you pay to him the outstanding amount
due and his fees without a Walking
Possession being signed he does not need to be certificated. The
bailiff in these circumstances can only charge a “fee
for a visit where no levy takes place”.
As there are many problems with signing a Walking
Possession, we have dedicated an entire section to this
which you can be accessed from our front page.
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