'Glitch' sees council tax payments taken early

East Devon District Council has apologised after taking council tax payments early

A council has apologised for an error which saw council tax payments withdrawn from bank accounts early.

East Devon District Council said a "technical glitch" meant payments were debited on Friday, 22 December, instead of Wednesday, 27 December.

It said: "We understand the financial impact this may have on households, especially at this time of year and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused."

The authority advised residents to contact their bank in the first instance to reverse the transaction.

Any residents who are charged bank fees owing to the error are asked to provide evidence to the council tax team to be paid back.

The financial resilience team will also be dealing with emergency requests on 27 and 29 December for anyone experiencing financial difficulty, it added.

The authority said: "The council wants to assure residents that steps are being taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and East Devon District Council remains committed to helping anyone affected by this error."