THURROCK Council has appealed again for the 1,500 or so people, who received a council tax bill for the first time and not responded, to get in touch urgently.
The appeal refers to those who previously received council tax benefits or rebates under the scheme which ended on 1 April this year.
At the end of April, Cllr Phil Smith – portfolio holder for central services – said: “I would urge each and every one of the 2,200 or so households who have not yet contacted the council to get in touch”, and since that time several hundred have done so.”
However, says Cllr Smith: “Those people who do not contact us and who are not paying the tax will start building up further costs quite rapidly as we begin court proceedings.
“We have written to these people and we have tried to telephone. In the coming days we will be telephoning again, but there comes a time when the council has done all it can.
“People who were not on benefit and who have not at least started paying their council tax bills will be receiving their reminders and court dates in the next few days.
“Unfortunately the time when we hold off on the others is coming to a close too.
“One of the things to remember is that the more people who pay the bill, the smaller it needs to be – if a hundred thousand remains uncollected, that’s a hundred thousand we either have to collect from others or save in reduced services.
“The council a legal duty to collect the money and we all have a legal duty to pay it – it is one of the few bills people receive where non-payment can lead to imprisonment.”
Conservative spokesman for Central Services Cllr Tunde Ojetola said “I echo the calls to encourage those paying the Council tax for the first time to pay or get help managing their affairs.
“However I also urge the Council to stop using draconian methods to bully and harass vulnerable residents to pay. In our view where people need help making the payments the Council should be ready to assist. Other councils are offering weekly payment arrangements, flexible direct debit and other methods to help, and Thurrock should consider the same”
Thurrock Council has several ways to make payment less painful. There are various payment methods available, and all someone needs to do is contact the council so a suitable method of payment can be agreed.
The process will be that – for those who have made no contact with the council following the issue of reminders – a summons will be issued with the additional £65 costs which allows a further 14 days before the court date where a liability order is obtained, adding a further £30 costs.
Cllr Smith said: “I understand the difficulties people are facing, but if you are struggling to pay the original bill, adding another £95 to it is not going to help.
“Act quickly to prevent this from happening to you and your family.”
Anyone who wants to contact the council’s council tax team should call 01375 652875.
