A reminder notice will be sent to if you haven't paid the correct amount or haven't paid on time.
If you believe you should not have been sent a reminder notice, you can find out what to do on the Council Tax Reminders Disputes page.
What to do if you receive a reminder
- You must pay the Amount you owe on the reminder or Second Reminder within 7 days of its date of issue, which appears at the top of the notice
- You must make future payments on time. A maximum of 2 reminders will be sent before you lose the right to pay by instalments
To pay by phone call 0208 424 1220. You will need to have your Council Tax Reference number.
For other payment methods, see Paying your council tax.
Reminder notices will not be sent for each missing or late instalment. To avoid receiving notices in future, find out how to manage your payments.
What will happen if you do not pay the Reminder
If you do not pay the amount you owe within 7 days of its date of issue, you may be sent a summons and lose the right to pay by instalments.
When the summons is issued you will incur costs of £125. This will increase your debt, however the council has a duty to protect public funds and the summons allows more debt recovery options.
If you do not make full payment when you are sent the summons, including the £125 costs, we will ask the court for a Liability Order and a further £5 will be added. The date of the hearing will be on the summons. Payment must have been received on your Council Tax Account to stop the Liability Order. You can check this on your MyHarrow Account.
What to do if you cannot pay the Reminder
You should:
- Check if you are entitled to receive any Discount or Council Tax Support. This may not stop the summons, but could reduce the debt making it easier for you to manage payments.
- Pay as much of the arrears as you can afford to. Paying anything less than the full amount may not stop the summons, but it will make it easier to agree an arrangement after the summons is sent
- Check if you are paying over 10 months or 12. If over 10 months you can ask for your payments to be extended to March of each year. This will reduce your monthly payments. You can do this by setting up a Direct Debit. You will then be sent a new bill telling you the reduced amount to pay.
- Get debt advice and financial support. This may help you reduce other bills, enabling you to get the right support.