BBC Home
Explore the BBC
BBC News
Launch consoleBBC NEWS CHANNEL
Last Updated: Sunday, 19 September, 2004, 11:51 GMT 12:51 UK
Tax dodgers face night-time calls
A council is to adopt a round-the-clock collection service to recover more than £600,000 in unpaid council tax bills.

Tendring in Essex is planning its biggest ever clampdown on tax dodgers who have been warned they could receive a night-time call from bailiffs.

Councillor Pierre Oxley believes the plan will help make a difference.

"We want to have an element of surprise and to turn up at these people's homes just as they are sitting down to watch Coronation Street," he said.

"We are rightly going to collect the money the council is owed.

"We'll have sympathy for those who may not be able to pay, but there is a hard core (of people) who can and we want to surprise them.

"We're going to crack down hard on them."

Tendring District Council covers an area in north-east Essex and includes the port of Harwich and the seaside resorts of Clacton, Frinton and Walton.


SEE ALSO:
Pair risk prison over council tax
08 Sep 04  |  Northamptonshire
Tax rebel, 86, ready for prison
06 Sep 04  |  Suffolk
One in three face council tax rise
01 Sep 04  |  Wales


RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

News Front Page | World | UK | England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales | Politics
Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health | Education
Have Your Say | Magazine | In Pictures | Week at a Glance | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific