The Enforcement Team is located on the 4th Floor of Colonnades House, Duke Street and is made up of an Enforcement Manager, 2 Principal Enforcement Officers, 5 Recovery Officers, 6 Investigators, an Enforcement Supervisor, 3 Bailiffs, 5 Visiting Officers and 9 Support Staff.
Recovery of unpaid Council Tax and National Non-Domestic Rates
One of the main roles of the Enforcement Team is to recover unpaid Council Tax and National Non-Domestic Rates. We are able to recover the debts owed to the Council through a variety of options that include;
Attachment of earnings and benefit where payments will come directly out of your earnings or benefit
Instructing a bailiff to visit your property and remove goods to the value of the debt
Place a Charging Order on your property where the debt will be recovered from the proceeds of the sale of your property
Instigate Bankruptcy or Insolvency proceedings
Take action through the Magistrates Court where an application for your Committal to prison will be made
Investigate potential Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Fraud
Another of the Team's main duties is to investigate any discrepencies or allegations relating to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Claims.
Where fraud is proven, the Council have the responsibility of delivering a sanction to the offender.
Discrepancies and allegations can come from;
Anonymous allegations made over the fraud hot line (01302 735343)
Discrepancies referred from Benefit processing staff for investigation
Regular data matches received to cross check the Council's data against data held by the Jobcentre Plus, Inland Revenue, Royal Mail and many other agencies
Sanctions include;
Prosecution
Administration Penalty - This is a fine for committing an offence
Local Authority Caution - This is a formal caution delivered by the Council
If someone is found guilty of benefit fraud this could result in a criminal record.
