Glasgow Council Tax Arrears: Why Two Different Firms May Contact You

Two firms, not one

If you owe Glasgow City Council money for council tax and have fallen behind, the firm that eventually contacts you could be either of two companies, and both are genuine. Glasgow's own committee papers record a four-year framework, running from 1 April 2025, that splits the work by debt type rather than giving it all to one contractor. Council tax arrears sit in two placements: Scott & Co (Scotland) LLP takes the first placement, and George Walker & Co, trading as Walker Love, takes the second. A separate sheriff officer lot outside that framework also sits with Walker Love. In practice this means a Glasgow resident may hear from Scott & Co about one council tax debt and from Walker Love about another, sometimes in the same household, and neither letter is a scam or a mistake. If you have been told bailiffs are coming, that is the English term. In Scotland this work is carried out by sheriff officers, a different role under a different process, covered on our sheriff officers in Scotland page.

Before a summary warrant

Scotland's route to enforcement is the summary warrant, not a liability order, and the mechanics of that process, including the final notice and the automatic surcharge it carries, are covered fully on our council tax arrears in Scotland page rather than repeated here. Glasgow's own corporate debt policy describes offering to spread repayment of an outstanding balance across the months remaining in the financial year, which is worth asking about before a summary warrant is applied for rather than after. Glasgow's own reminder and final notice wording could not be independently confirmed directly on glasgow.gov.uk, so treat the exact cadence as a general description rather than a quote, and check glasgow.gov.uk itself for the current wording.

After the warrant: a debt management partner, not a direct instruction

Glasgow does not describe itself as instructing a sheriff officer the moment a summary warrant is granted. Its own wording is that the account passes to a debt management partner, meaning Scott & Co or Walker Love depending on the placement, and that this partner may then contract a sheriff officer to arrest wages or a bank account. That is two steps, not one, and it matters because a letter from the debt management partner asking for payment or a plan is not automatically the same thing as diligence already under way. What a sheriff officer can actually do once instructed, attachment, earnings arrestment or bank arrestment, is explained on our attachment in Scotland and earnings and bank arrestment pages, not on this one.

How to pay Glasgow directly

Glasgow's council tax payments and account pages sit at glasgow.gov.uk/counciltax, and the council's main switchboard, 0141 287 2000, can direct you to the right team if you cannot find the specific number for your case. Paying, or getting a payment arrangement agreed, before a summary warrant is applied for is the point at which you have the most control over what happens next, since the 10% surcharge the warrant carries is added automatically once it is granted rather than something a council can waive afterwards.

Complaints, and help if you're struggling

Complaints about the council itself go through Glasgow's own two-stage complaints handling procedure, published at glasgow.gov.uk, and from there to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman if you remain unhappy once the council's process is exhausted. A complaint about how Scott & Co or Walker Love has behaved is a different matter and goes to that firm directly in the first instance, not to the council. Glasgow administers a Council Tax Reduction scheme and a separate Scottish Welfare Fund for residents facing hardship, both worth contacting before arrears reach the summary warrant stage rather than after.