Hundreds of unclaimed council tax refundspublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2021
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Hundreds of people are missing out on unclaimed council tax refunds in Coventry.
A total of 11,331 council tax refunds have been issued this financial year, with the vast majority successfully cleared.
If the council tax was paid by direct debit, the refund will usually be paid back into the bank account where payments were taken from, but 715 uncleared refunds remain, totalling £34,853.
The council said refunds not cleared will be offset against future bills if the account remains live, however refunds to closed accounts will be retained by the authority until claimed - with the onus on residents.
A spokesman said: "When the credit is generated we issue a payment to the customer by BACS, where we hold bank details, and by cheque where we do not have bank details... We currently have 87 closed accounts, where we hold no forwarding address."
Ian Rogers, chairman of Coventry Citizens Party, who submitted a Freedom of Information request, said: "The point was to help people at a time when they needed it most not offset the value against future bills."