Walker Love sheriff officers: what to do if they have contacted you

Walker Love are a long-established firm of sheriff officers and messengers-at-arms working across Scotland. If they have contacted you about council tax, your council has a summary warrant. Here is what to do.

Scotland By Council Tax Helpline,

In short

  • Walker Love are sheriff officers, officers of the court in Scotland. They are not bailiffs.
  • If they are collecting council tax, your council already has a summary warrant, which added 10% to what you owe.
  • They can arrest your wages or bank account, and attach goods outside your home, such as a car.
  • They cannot enter your home to take goods without a special order from a sheriff, which is rare.
  • You can agree a payment arrangement, or use the Debt Arrangement Scheme to stop them.

Who are Walker Love?

Walker Love are a firm of sheriff officers and messengers-at-arms. The firm dates back to 1946 in Glasgow, took its present name in 2006, and works in all six sheriffdoms in Scotland. It is a partnership owned by sheriff officers.

Sheriff officers are officers of the court, regulated through the courts and the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers. They are not bailiffs, and the rules for bailiffs in England and Wales do not apply to them.

Why have they contacted me?

If Walker Love are writing to you about council tax, it usually means your council got a summary warrant from the sheriff court, which added 10% to what you owe, and passed the debt to them to collect. See summary warrants.

Their first step is usually a charge for payment, which gives you 14 days to pay.

What can they do?

  • Arrest your wages, by telling your employer to take money from your pay. See wage arrestment
  • Arrest money in your bank account
  • Attach goods outside your home, most commonly a car
  • Add fees, which are set by law

What can they not do?

  • Enter your home to take goods, without an exceptional attachment order from a sheriff. These are rare
  • Have you imprisoned. There is no prison for council tax in Scotland

What to do

  1. Do not ignore the letter. Check it is genuine by contacting your council.
  2. Check the council tax is right, including Council Tax Reduction and any discounts.
  3. Contact your council or Walker Love to agree an affordable payment arrangement, in writing.
  4. Consider the Debt Arrangement Scheme if you have several debts. See Debt Arrangement Scheme.

See sheriff officers for more on your rights.

Related guides

  • Sheriff officers

    Their powers, how they differ from bailiffs, and what to do.

  • Summary warrants

    How summary warrants work, the surcharge, and what follows.

  • Wage arrestment in Scotland

    In Scotland, council tax arrears are often collected by arresting your wages. Once your council has a summary warrant, sheriff officers can tell your employer to take money from your pay each payday until the debt is paid.

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