Some information you may find useful about the legalities of the Council obtaining liability orders, where the Magistrates Court has jurisdiction to order the recovery of the debt using current legislation. Some of the myths surrounding the issue of a liability order and whether it is legal are explored and fully explained.

Two cases have discussed the procedure for council tax liability orders with one claimant claiming the system is both unfair and unlawful.

The judge had some interesting points to make.

Some social media groups are purporting that a court has ruled council tax unenforceable. That is not true. This is dangerous misinformation. Here is an explanation of what the situation really is, and why you could be sent to prison for non-payment of council tax.

Please be informed that our telephone lines will close from mid-day on Wednesday, 20th December 2023, and will re-open at 9 am on Tuesday, 2nd January 2024.
During this period our staff will be working reduced hours but will be picking up telephone messages and e-mails.

If you do wish to discuss your case please contact us on 0800 086 9089 and leave a message using option 2.
Alternatively e-mail us at enquiries@lw-e.co.uk.

Rest assured, we will respond to your inquiries within 72 hours.
Your understanding during this brief break is greatly appreciated, and we assure you that we remain committed to providing the highest level of service.
If you have a payment arrangement set we will continue to send payment arrangement reminders during the holiday period apart from Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Day. You will be expected to maintain that arrangement, the responsibility being yours to make payment.

Payments can be made by following this link www.lw-e.co.uk/payment

If you have a mobile banking app installed on your device you can use this open link to enter a payment amount and authorise a payment-
https://paylinkv2.ecospend.com/?uid=mSYWcGqBs4Y&sc=48488&ch=3

If you choose to pay by card, note that London Warrant Enforcement Ltd (LWE) provides a safe and Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant platform to process card payments using 3D Secure 2 (3DS2). What is this-

3DS2 requires 2 factor authentication, and will ask users for pieces of information to complete their transaction. 
Usually this means the user will have to enter a short code sent by SMS by their bank or authorise the payment using their mobile banking application.
  
If you don't have the relevant security set this will affect the ability to use your card on our payment portal. You will need to rectify this with your card provider, we will be unable to help you and are not open over the holiday period to take a telephone card payment which is not subject to 3DS2.

London Warrant Enforcement Ltd has made an active public commitment to perusing high standards

LWE is has been awarded accreditation to the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB).

The purpose of the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) is to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action in England and Wales are fairly treated.

The ECB will provide independent oversight of the enforcement industry, with a special regard for those experiencing financial difficulty or other vulnerable circumstances.

Until now, there has been no independent oversight of the enforcement industry. Minimum standards, published by the Ministry of Justice, expect enforcement agents to treat those in debt fairly, but these standards are not legally binding

The ECB will be guided by the principles of independence, ambition, proportionality, collaboration, and transparency, and will focus on delivering five key functions:

• Raising standards - set out new effective standards of behaviour and supervise performance and conduct in the industry.
• Improving accountability - hold enforcement firms and agents to account, primarily through supervisory activities such as audits, reviews of firms’ policies and procedures, compliance and complaints, independent research, and a firm and fair system of operational and financial sanctions to penalise and strongly disincentivise non-compliance with ECB standards.
• Complaint handling - develop and introduce a new standardised complaints process in consultation with various existing points of contact for complaints to ensure public confidence in an accessible and independent complaint-handling system.
• Protecting the vulnerable and achieving fairness – develop and introduce new, affordable repayment and vulnerability protocols drawing on best practice from other organisations, businesses, and agencies as appropriate.
• Authorisation - work with the Ministry of Justice and wider stakeholders to develop an appropriate and workable authorisation process for enforcement agents and firms, considering the existing court certification process.

The ECB has been created with agreement between the civil enforcement industry and leading debt advice charities including Money Advice Trust, Christians Against Poverty and Step Change.

The ECB, which will operate independently of both the industry and the Government, has a mandate to ensure fair treatment and appropriate protection for people subject to action by enforcement agents.

Funded initially by a voluntary industry levy, the Government has committed to reviewing the need to provide the ECB’s oversight with full legal authority by 2024.