Council Tax letter statement

A statement regarding a recent Council Tax letter issued to some customers.

We are aware that a small number of customers may have received a reminder letter relating to a balance outstanding of £25 on their accounts. This was linked to the £25 New Homes and Growth Dividend which was agreed to be paid to council taxpayers, who have a Council Tax liability, to support residents impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

In order to ensure that the dividend was produced for customers’ 2023/24 annual council tax bill, we had to process the £25 payments at the end of February 2023 in readiness for the printing of the annual 2023/24 bills the following week.

For customers who had opted to pay over 12 months rather than 10, they had a 1st March 2023 instalment to pay. When they viewed their balance online when making their final payment, the system was deducting the £25 from their balance at that time. However, the £25 dividend was to come off their 2023/24 bill.

Regrettably, this resulted in customers receiving a reminder notice for the balance of £25 outstanding on their 2022/23 council tax bill, as the £25 dividend has now been credited to their 2023/24 account.

We apologise for any inconvenience the letter may have caused for some residents and we will be sending a letter of apology to those residents over the following days.

If any residents have any queries in relation to this matter then please contact our Council Tax team by emailing counciltax@braintree.gov.uk or calling 01376 552525.

 

Published: 29th April 2023