Changes to online payment system

9 Mar: The Council is changing its system for taking online payments. As part of this process, we regret it will not be possible to make payments on 9 March. The new system should be available from 10 March so please check later. We apologise for any invconvenience this may cause.

Questions

 

Answers

Q) What is e-billing?

  • E-billing (electronic billing) allows you to view your council tax or business rates bills via a secure website. Once registered, we will send you an email each time you have a  bill ready for viewing. All you need to do is log on to view it. You will also be able to view all the other documents, which are normally sent with your bill.

Q) Will I still receive a paper copy of my bill through the post?

  • No. If you register to receive your bills via e-billing, we will not send you paper copies of bills in future for that account.

Q) Can I see what payments I have made on my account?

  • Yes. If you register as an e-citizen as well as for e-billing, you will be able to view the following details on your account:
    • payments made
    • previous notices sent
    • your council tax band or business rates rateable value
    • any reductions or additions made on your account, and more.

Q) Will I still receive instalment slips through the post?

  • No. From this year, the Council is no longer sending out instalment slips with any of its bills. Instead, barcodes will be printed on bills. This barcode allows customers to pay at outlets displaying the PayPoint logo or at Post Offices.
  • However, if you register for e-billing, you will not receive a barcode separately.
  • You can still pay at a cash office, or send in a cheque quoting your council tax or business rates account number.
  • As an e-billing customer, we would encourage you to pay by direct debit, or to use our online payment facility.

Q) My bill is normally sent out to me and my partner / me and other people jointly; do we all need to register?

  • Yes. Each of you will need to register for e-billing. You will each receive an email when your bill is ready to view. You can all register with different email addresses or the same one, the choice is yours. If you do not all register for e-billing, you will still receive a bill through the post.

Q) If I forget to make a payment, will I receive an electronic Reminder Notice?

  • No, by law, only bills can be sent electronically. Reminder notices and any other recovery notices will be sent through the post.

Q) How do I benefit from being an e-billing customer?

  • There are many benefits to becoming an e-billing and e-citizen customer:
    • No more bills to file or shred
    • Your bills and all the information on your account are securely available at the touch of a button or with a few mouse clicks
    • You will no longer need to contact or write to us for information on payments, reductions etc.
    • You can contact Revenues and Benefits with your e-billing enquiries. We will reply within two working days.

Q) I want to register for e-billing; what should I do?

  • Register your details (you will need your Council Tax or Business Rates Account Number), and ask for a PIN to be posted to you (this is to keep your account secure).
  • When you receive this PIN number you are ready to go - just log into the Interactive Services system and follow the instructions for activating your account.
  • The whole process takes about 3 – 4 working days.

Can I look at my account at any time?

  • We aim to make the e-billing system available as much of the time as possible. However, there will be times when you will not be able to look at your account:
    • The system is usually unavailable for several days in February while the bills for the following year are calculated.
    • The system may also be unavailable for up to 90 minutes usually during the night or on Sundays while routine tasks are carried out. If you try to access your account at these times, you will receive an error message, in which case, please try again later. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

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