Reading Council Tax Bailiffs: Bristow and Sutor, Equita and Rundles

The three firms on Reading's missed-payments page

Reading's own missed-payments page names the enforcement companies it uses for council tax: Bristow and Sutor on 0871 677 0070, Equita, for which Reading prints the number 01604 208 360, and Rundles on the freephone 0800 0816 000. One caution on the Equita line: other councils publish a slightly different Equita number, 01604 628 360, so if the digits you have been given do not connect, check the number on your letter rather than guessing. Whichever of the three firms is named on your notice is the one that holds the account, and its profile explains how that particular company operates.

Court costs of £143 before a bailiff is even involved

Reading is unusually expensive at the court stage. Its page states that a Magistrates' Court summons carries costs of £100, among the highest self-published summons figures in the country, with an additional liability order cost of £43 if the case proceeds. That is £143 added to the bill before any enforcement fee exists, and it is the clearest argument for dealing with a reminder rather than a summons. The enforcement fees that follow referral are national rather than local, and our council tax bailiffs guide sets out each stage.

Reading's routes for paying and arranging

The council takes payment online through its Civica ePay service, and arrangements can be made by phone on 0118 937 3727 between 9am and 5pm. There is also an online form for requesting a payment arrangement and a separate enquiry form about recovery action, so a written offer can be made without waiting on hold. Getting an arrangement agreed while the debt is still with Reading, rather than with Bristow and Sutor, Equita or Rundles, avoids the enforcement fee stages altogether.

What Reading does not publish

The missed-payments page carries no enforcement fee schedule and no vulnerability or hardship policy of its own, so this page will not put words in the council's mouth. The national fee scale still applies to any agent Reading instructs, vulnerable households still have the protections in the taking-control-of-goods rules, and telling both the council and the firm about serious illness or disability remains the practical first step. Complaints about the council go through its own procedure and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman; complaints about a firm's conduct go to the firm and can be escalated to the Enforcement Conduct Board. Wider money trouble is covered on our get help page.