Hambury Tilmond: Council Tax, CRAR and Forfeiture

(hamburytilmond.co.uk/ and hamburytilmond.co.uk/services/, accessed 2026-08-22) Which of those applies to a specific letter changes both the legal power behind it and what a reader can actually do about it.

Who are Hambury Tilmond?

Hambury Tilmond Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 08102055, incorporated on 12 June 2012, with its registered office at 90 London Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1PG. (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08102055, accessed 2026-08-22)

The firm has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023. (enforcementconductboard.org/directory/ and /members/hambury-tilmond-limited/, accessed 2026-08-22) It is also a listed CIVEA member at the same Southend-on-Sea address. (civea.co.uk/members, accessed 2026-08-22) Membership there is not itself a complaints route: CIVEA's own published position is that it cannot investigate a complaint about one of its members, and directs a complainant first to the firm's own procedure and then to the ECB. Its own site separately claims organisational membership of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation and certification to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/services/, accessed 2026-08-22) None of these badges are a reason to skip checking a specific letter independently.

Enforcement agent, or debt collector?

Council tax and business rates work is carried out by an enforcement agent, which is the role behind the everyday word "bailiff." A debt collection agency, by contrast, has no legal power to enter a property or remove goods; it would need to sue first and win a county court judgment before enforcement of any kind becomes possible.

By the time Hambury Tilmond is instructed, that earlier stage is already finished: a council holds a liability order, or a landlord has met the conditions for Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery, and the firm acts under Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, the statute that permits taking control of goods, fixed statutory fees, and, in narrow circumstances, reasonable force. See bailiffs and debt collectors if it is unclear which applies.

What Hambury Tilmond is instructed to collect

Testimonials published on the firm's own site describe relationships with Southend-on-Sea Borough Council going back to 2013, Thurrock Council ("over 10 years") and Rochford District Council ("over 15 years") (hamburytilmond.co.uk, checked 22 Aug 2026). These are the company's own selected client testimonials rather than an independently confirmed current instruction, so treat them as evidence a relationship has existed rather than proof it is still current; the Essex registered address is at least consistent with them. Two further services sit outside any council relationship at all: removal of travellers, instructed directly by a landowner or occupier, and a general sundry debt recovery service for cases other agencies have not managed to collect. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/removal-of-travellers/ and hamburytilmond.co.uk/sundry-debt-recovery/, accessed 2026-08-22)

Where the six-year rule actually bites

A council must obtain a liability order from the magistrates' court before Hambury Tilmond can be instructed at all. That order confirms the sum is due; it is not, by itself, permission to force entry, and reaching it is what opens the taking control of goods procedure.

The six years in regulation 34(3) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 times the council's application for that order from when the debt first arose, not anything that happens afterwards. Once the order exists, no equivalent expiry date applies, so the limitation point has already been settled by the time a case lands with Hambury Tilmond. See council tax bailiffs for the full detail.

CRAR and forfeiture: the landlord-side work

A household reader dealing with council tax is unlikely to run into this half of Hambury Tilmond's work, which sits under entirely separate rules.

CRAR is open only to a landlord chasing a business tenant, and only where two conditions hold at both the notice stage and again when goods are first taken control of: a written lease, and a minimum net unpaid rent, currently seven days' worth. A residential tenancy is out of scope entirely.

Forfeiture is a different remedy again: the landlord's right to end the lease itself for breach, most often non-payment. CRAR recovers arrears while the tenancy carries on; forfeiture brings it to a close instead. A business tenant facing either, or a possession claim, should get specialist advice quickly, since the clock on forfeiture can run short.

Road traffic debt and the Traffic Enforcement Centre

An unpaid council parking or traffic penalty is registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, which is where the council obtains a warrant of control. Someone who never received the original penalty charge notice, already won an appeal, or was not the registered keeper at the relevant time may have a route back. For an ordinary council parking penalty anywhere in England, or a council bus-lane or moving-traffic penalty outside London, the usual route is a witness statement on form TE9, with TE7 if the deadline has passed. For a TfL Congestion Charge, LEZ or ULEZ penalty, the statutory-declaration route uses PE3, with PE2 if late. London-borough or TfL bus-lane and moving-traffic cases sit under separate London legislation, so check the form enclosed with the order rather than assuming either route. See the Traffic Enforcement Centre and PE3 and TE9 forms.

Can Hambury Tilmond force entry?

Not into a private home, for council tax, business rates or a traffic penalty, on a first visit. Entry has to be peaceable: through a door someone chooses to open, or one that was already unlocked, and there is no obligation to answer at all.

That changes on business premises, where Schedule 12 gives wider entry powers than it does for a home, and it changes again once a controlled goods agreement has been broken, since paragraph 19A can then permit reasonable force on re-entry. A letter about an ordinary council debt at a private address sits under the household rule; a letter about a business tenancy does not, and it is worth asking specifically which power is being relied on. See when bailiffs can force entry.

What each Hambury Tilmond stage costs

The fee scale is set by regulation, so it stays the same whichever certificated firm happens to be at the door.

These figures apply to instructions taken on under the scale in force from 1 May 2026. An older instruction may remain on the earlier scale.

Several debts, one visit

Regulation 11 splits what happens once more than one power is in play: it lets the £79 compliance charge apply separately to each power, but confines the £247 enforcement charge and £116 sale charge to a single instance, provided the debts can reasonably be handled on one visit. Three council tax years and a business rates bill dealt with together should therefore add up to four £79 charges plus one £247 charge, not four full sets.

The 14-day notice, and what stops the clock

Nothing can be taken into control until a Notice of Enforcement has reached the debtor, and for instructions from 1 May 2026 onward that notice must give at least 14 clear days. Where a recognised debt advice provider requests more time, and the debt is not a non-eligible business debt, the floor rises to 28 clear days, subject to the statutory conditions being met.

Two days never count towards that total: the day the notice arrives, and the last day of the period itself. So the real deadline sits a little further off than the headline number implies.

What cannot be taken, and where a vehicle stands

Only goods belonging to the debtor can ever be taken into control. Something belonging to somebody else on the premises, whether that is a partner, a housemate, or a third party at a business address, is not fair game purely because it happens to be there.

Regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 lists what stays protected regardless of the debt: ordinary clothing and bedding, the equipment a household actually needs day to day, anything required for medical care or for looking after a child, a disabled person or an elderly relative, and pets, assistance dogs or a vehicle displaying a valid disabled person's badge. Tools of the trade sit in a separate bracket entirely, capped at £1,350 in total rather than per item claimed.

A car on the drive is usually the quickest thing for an agent to deal with, since nobody has to be let indoors for it. Whether it can be taken comes down to who owns it: on hire purchase or PCP, the finance company can hold the title until the agreement is settled; a Motability vehicle is leased, never owned by the debtor; and a car registered to another household member was never the debtor's asset to lose. See what bailiffs can take and can bailiffs take my car.

Sorting out payment with Hambury Tilmond

Its own debtor guidance sets out a specific route: fill in an income and expenditure statement, then upload it, together with recent bank statements, wage slips and any proof of benefits, through the "Customer Uploads" facility on its website, or call 01702 436032 to talk it through directly. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/debtor-resources/, accessed 2026-08-22) Whatever route is used, an arrangement usually becomes a controlled goods agreement, under which listed goods remain in place provided the terms agreed are kept to. Check every item on the list is genuinely owned, that nothing exempt has been included, and that the balance and fees add up before signing anything.

Missing this agreement is treated more seriously than an ordinary missed payment, since a breach is what allows the paragraph 19A power of re-entry, covered above, to be used. Speak to Hambury Tilmond before a payment is about to be missed, not once it already has been.

If the figure is simply too high

Its own guidance points toward MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice and the National Debtline for building an honest income and expenditure picture free of charge. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/debtor-resources/, accessed 2026-08-22) An offer backed by real figures is taken far more seriously than one picked at random.

Disputing what Hambury Tilmond says is owed

A dispute about the debt itself belongs with whoever is actually owed the money: the council or the landlord, not Hambury Tilmond on its own. An enforcement agent has no power to rewrite a council tax account, a rates bill or a rent ledger; it collects what it has been instructed to collect, and only the creditor can correct the underlying record.

Request a full account history: when and for how much the liability order, CRAR notice or warrant was made, plus an itemised breakdown of the balance and every fee added to it. Put the dispute in writing to Hambury Tilmond at the same time, so there is a record that the amount was challenged and when.

When the letter names someone who has moved on

Deal with it promptly, and back it up with something that shows who actually lives there now, a council tax bill, a tenancy agreement or a recent utility bill in your name will usually do it. Paying somebody else's debt to make the letters stop achieves nothing, and neither does ignoring it, because an address query left hanging can turn into a dispute over the current occupier's own belongings if an agent assumes the named person is still there.

Vulnerability, and how Hambury Tilmond says it responds

Its own guidance states that it works to the BS 18477 standard for identifying consumers in vulnerable circumstances. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/debtor-resources/, accessed 2026-08-22) Circumstances decide whether someone is covered, not a fixed checklist: serious illness, disability, bereavement, pregnancy, age-related difficulty, a language or literacy barrier, recent trauma and a household crisis can all be relevant, sometimes more than one together. Put it in writing to Hambury Tilmond and to the creditor as soon as it is practical to do so, on 01702 436032 or by email.

None of this cancels the underlying debt. What changes is how enforcement is carried out: a referral to Hambury Tilmond's welfare team, more time to pay, a change in how contact is made, a revised and more realistic arrangement, or a short pause on enforcement altogether.

Making sure a Hambury Tilmond letter is real

Find the firm's contact details independently, either through its own website or the council's published list of the enforcement agents it uses, rather than trusting a number printed only on a letter that arrived unannounced. Every council has to publish that list. If the person named on the letter has no connection at all to the address, Hambury Tilmond's own guidance is to call 01702 436032 or email info@hamburytilmond.co.uk directly. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/debtor-resources/, accessed 2026-08-22)

Before handing over any money, confirm which debt it settles, what stage the case has reached, which fees are included, and get a reference and a receipt. Someone at the door can be paid without being let inside.

Complaining about Hambury Tilmond

Start with its own complaints procedure, by emailing complaints@hamburytilmond.co.uk or calling 01702 436032. (hamburytilmond.co.uk/debtor-resources/, accessed 2026-08-22) Set out the date and time, the agent's name if it is known, the case reference, exactly what happened, and the specific rule said to have been broken; naming the regulation carries more weight than describing how the visit felt.

Then take it to the creditor, the council or the landlord who instructed Hambury Tilmond in the first place. This step gets missed more often than it should, given that the creditor is usually the one able to pull a case back or correct an account that the firm has no power to touch itself.

Third, the oversight route. Hambury Tilmond has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board since October 2023, but its separate CIVEA membership is not a complaints channel in its own right: CIVEA says it cannot investigate a complaint about one of its members, and that job sits with the ECB once the firm's own process has been exhausted. (civea.co.uk/complaints, accessed 2026-08-22) A dispute over an individual agent's certificate is a separate application to the county court that issued it.

Keep a note of dates, correspondence, any photographs taken, and the name of everyone spoken to along the way.

Next steps

1. Work out which debt and which power is actually in play: council tax, business rates, a traffic penalty, or a commercial rent or forfeiture matter.
2. For a home and an ordinary council debt, check the stage reached and the fees due against the tables above.
3. For a business tenancy, get specialist advice promptly, since forfeiture timescales can be short.
4. If the debt itself is wrong, write to the creditor today, not only to Hambury Tilmond.
5. If it is correct but unaffordable, put together real figures and make a realistic offer.
6. If vulnerability applies, say so now, in writing.