The idea behind the new scheme is that warning letters are often ignored, but it is harder to ignore what finance convener George Regan promised would be “persistent” calls.

People who still can’t be persuaded to make suitable arrangements to pay off their debt will be left facing the unpleasant prospect of legal action such as sequestration.

A report on the new recovery scheme will be presented to the council’s finance committee next week and officials are keen to get the message across to the public that extra effort will be made to bring in the cash.

Mr Regan and depute chief executive David Dorward were also both at pains today to stress that the council’s record on collecting council tax has not been as bad as it has often been portrayed.

The total sum due over the 10 years from when council tax was introduced until the end of the last financial year, was £427 million. Of that, £410 million had been paid.

The outstanding amount, some £16.9 million, represented only 4.1% of the total. The authority was also still trying to collect £5.7 million owed from the old community charge, referred to as the poll tax.

Mr Dorward said that Dundee came off badly compared to other councils because there was only one official standard published by public sector spending watchdog Audit Scotland. That was the percentage of council tax collected by the end of the year in which it was due.

“Invariably that shows us in a relatively poor light compared to the other councils. The most recent figures show we were 30th out of 32 and the lower two were also deprived areas. That is a very short period snapshot but in the longer term we are above the Scottish average.

“In the Audit Scotland report it was acknowledged that councils with high-density population and relatively high levels of deprivation will have lower levels of council tax collection.”

In Dundee, around one third of council tax payers were receiving council tax benefit, most of them at the maximum rate. All these things made collection more complex, he said.

The council’s argument is that, while it collects less council tax in the year it is due, it does better than many other authorities in chasing up its debts over the next three or four years.

For example, the city has collected 95.9% of the money it was owed for the 1998/99 financial year. That compared to a Scottish average of 94.8%.

Mr Regan said, “It is the tortoise and the hare. At the end of the day it is more important that we have got a surer, more reliable system.”

What the council will be doing to make that system better includes adding 13 staff to improve its rate of debt recovery. They will work shifts from 9 am to 8 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 4 pm on Sundays to phone debtors at home.

This is aimed not at people on council tax benefit who are genuinely struggling to make ends meet, but at those who are simply refusing to pay.

New computer software is also being introduced to allow a person’s debts over more than one financial year to be totalled up and given to them as a single statement.

During 2002/03 the council managed to collect 85.7% of the council tax it was owed for that year. The hope is that the new system will see that rise to 90% — roughly the Scottish average — within the next five years, although Mr Dorward said he would be disappointed if that could not be achieved in three.

But Mr Regan said, “Because of the social structure and the amount of deprivation, we are prepared to accept slower collection. But we are not soft on making sure the debt is eventually paid.”

Calls will be made to people who have ignored their bill, reminders and final warning and have also disregarded written advice to contact the council if they are having difficulties paying.

Officials will be persuading people to avoid legal action by making arrangements to pay off their debts, which can be done by lump sum or by regular payments.