If you cannot pay your business rates
If you are struggling to pay your business rates, let us know as soon as you can by contacting the business rates team. We can check to make sure you are getting all the discounts and reliefs you are entitled to and review your payment plan.
If you do not contact us and continue to miss your payments, we will have to take action to recover any outstanding money. This will involve the issue of a Magistrates' Court summons. We will request the court to issue a liability order.
This could lead to:
- enforcement actions (this used to be known as bailiffs)
- legal steps for insolvency if the debt is over £5,000
- imprisonment
Enforcement agent process
If the debt is passed to enforcement agents, a fee will be added for each liability order. If the agent needs to visit your property, you will be charged an extra fee, plus a percentage of any debt over a certain amount.
You can still contact us immediately after the liability order is granted and arrange payment before we send the case to an enforcement agent.
The enforcement agent process has 3 stages:
- Compliance stage: the agent will contact you and charge a £79 fee. You will have time to set up a payment plan during this stage.
- Enforcement stage: if the agent visits your home, you will be charged an extra:
- £247 fee
- 7.5% of any debt over £1,900.
- Sale of goods stage: if the agent takes items from your home, you will pay:
- more fees to cover the removal and sale of the items
- an extra fee for larger debts.
The enforcement agents contracted by us are:
|
Enforcement agent |
Contact number |
Website |
| Revenues Enforcement Service | 0121 808 0075 | Visit Revenues Enforcement Service web pages |
|
Equita |
||
|
Dukes |
||
|
Reventus |
||
|
Newlyn |
||
|
Empira |
What to do when an enforcement agent is involved
Once your account has been sent to the enforcement agent, you must make any payments directly to them, not us. If the agent is unable to collect the amount due, they may be willing to make a short-term payment arrangement with you.
If you still do not make a payment or break an agreed arrangement, the agent may remove goods from your property. These goods will be sold to cover part or all of the outstanding balance, including the agent's fees.
For further information, read:
- Taking control of goods regulations 2013
- Taking control of goods regulations 2014
- Business rates and BID recovery policy
Page last updated: 1 May 2026
