Lewisham Council Tax Bailiffs: The Three Firms, and What Happens Next

What happens if you don't pay Lewisham council tax

Lewisham follows the standard route, though how far a particular account travels along it depends on what you do at each stage: a reminder or final notice if an instalment is missed, then a summons if the account is still unpaid, then a liability order from the magistrates if the summons balance isn't cleared before the hearing. The order, as the council's own FAQ page puts it, "allows us to deduct money from certain benefits or your wages, or to ask an enforcement agency (bailiff) to collect the money from you." What an agent can do once that happens is covered in our council tax bailiffs guide, so this page sticks to what is genuinely local to Lewisham.

Three firms, current from September 2025

Lewisham's own published contract award notice, on the government's Contracts Finder register, names the three enforcement agencies instructed for council tax and business rates, though which of them holds any particular account is not published: Marston (Holdings) Limited, Newlyn PLC and Reventus Limited. The award was made on 23 July 2025 under the Crown Commercial Service framework RM6226, with the contract running from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030. An earlier, temporary arrangement had extended a different set of agencies while this award was being finalised, so if you were told about a different firm before September 2025, it's worth checking your most recent letter rather than relying on an older name. Match the name printed on your own paperwork against these three and use our profiles to see how each one operates.

The court costs Lewisham adds

Lewisham's own council tax FAQ is specific about the price of court action: "When we issue a summons, a cost of £72.50 is added to your account", and, where the balance is still not cleared by the liability hearing, "you will also incur an extra £50 costs" once the order is granted. That is up to £122.50 in costs on top of the tax itself, so settling or arranging the debt before the hearing date is a concrete way to avoid part of the charge. The council also offers a summons surgery, a telephone consultation about a summons, which is worth booking if you're unsure what to do next.

A discretionary payment for genuine hardship

Where your circumstances go beyond an ordinary payment problem, Lewisham's FAQ page describes a one-off discretionary payment for "extenuating circumstances", applied for through a form the council publishes alongside the FAQ. This is separate from a standard payment plan: it can reduce what you owe rather than just spreading it, so if hardship rather than simple missed payments is driving your arrears, it is worth asking about before or after a case reaches enforcement.

How to reach Lewisham directly

Lewisham's council tax enforcement service, which is the point of contact where an account has already been referred to enforcement rather than for a general query, answers on 020 8690 9666. General council tax queries and payment arrangements are handled through the council's own online account and payment-arrangement forms. A complaint about how the council itself has handled your account follows Lewisham's corporate complaints procedure and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, while a complaint about the conduct of Marston, Newlyn or Reventus can go to that firm directly or to the Enforcement Conduct Board, which oversees the enforcement industry.