What happens if I fall behind with my payments
Please contact us immediately if you are going to have any difficulty keeping up with your rates instalments, either by telephone on 01595 744683 or call in person at 8 North Ness, Lerwick or email local.taxation@shetland.gov.uk
If you do fall behind with your payments, reminders will be issued as follows:
- If you have elected to pay by monthly instalments and fall behind, you will be issued with a maximum of two instalment reminders through the year. If you have not paid your account in full by 30 September, or your instalments are in arrears, we will send you a Final Notice. It will ask you to make payment of your account in full within 14 days of the date of the notice.
- If you do not pay a Final Notice issued to you, or fail to contact us to arrange payment, we may apply to the Sheriff Court for a Summary Warrant, a surcharge of 10% of your outstanding balance will be added to your account and we will issue a warrant to you. It will ask you to make payment of your account in full within seven days of the date of the notice.
- If you do not pay a warrant issued to you, or fail to contact us to arrange payment, we may pass your account to the Council's Sheriff Officers. We work with the Sheriff Officers to enforce payment of unpaid Non-Domestic Rates. They will exercise on behalf of the Council the additional enforcement measures, which may be taken against you following the grant of a Summary Warrant.