West Northamptonshire Council apologises after tax charged twice

West Northamptonshire Council said 15,558 accounts were charged twice for their monthly payments

A local authority said it had taken "urgent" action after some residents were charged twice for their monthly council tax payment.

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) said 15,558 accounts were affected - about 8% of its council taxpayers.

The council cited an "automated error" in the system hosted by its bank-to-bank transfer supplier.

It said it had taken "immediate steps" to refund those affected with a credit into their accounts on Monday.

Martin Henry, the Conservative-controlled council's executive director for finance, said: "We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and distress this error may have caused residents.

"Whilst our supplier's software system automatically duplicated payment files which was beyond our control, we've acted quickly to arrange for refunds to be made into those affected bank accounts."

The council explained that residents affected should see three entries going through their account. Two entries taking the council tax payment and one entry providing a refund. The net of these three transactions meant the correct payment would have been made, a spokesperson said.

"We would ask those residents to bear with us whilst we resolve this issue and thank them for their patience and understanding," they said.

In February, WNC approved a 4.99% council tax hike, meaning the average annual band D bill rose by £84.52 or £1.63 per week for 2024-25.

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