Set up a direct debit now with your local authority to ensure you get the £150 council tax rebate

Former_MSE_James_F

About 20 million households in England - those with homes in council tax bands A to D - will get a £150 rebate in April - here's how to guarantee you'll get it on time.

Read the full story here:
'Set up a direct debit now with your local authority to ensure you get the £150 council tax 'energy rebate' in April'

Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

masonic

Seems a bit pointless to give with one hand and take back with the other. Why not use it to reduce the first couple of months of payments? That way nobody would have to claim it. If you don't want to pay by direct debit, setting one up just to receive the rebate and then cancelling before payments start getting taken seems riskier than relying on the claims route.

dales1

Hi Masonic,

I think it's because:

a) the Government wants the payments to be clearly seen by the recipients as an Energy Benefit, not as a council tax discount or credit (which could also confuse this and future years' CT increase stats);

b) for Councils, it's much easier to process a one-off batch of simple creditor payments. Putting them through the CT system would mean billing system software modifications (not worth it for a one-off event). And the format of CT bills (and the amounts of instalments) are all rigorously specified by Government regulations, which would need changing and they haven't been. So it cannot now be done this way.

(PS I used to work in council tax, inter alia).

IAMIAM

If you pay annually, can you just pay the full bill minus £150 and wait for a credit? or a form? or an online application form?

Jeremy535897

IAMIAM said:

If you pay annually, can you just pay the full bill minus £150 and wait for a credit? or a form? or an online application form?

The council tax bill will remain unchanged, so the answer is no. If you pay by direct debit, you will receive the credit automatically. If you don't, the council will contact you for details of where to pay the £150 to.

Afourteen

This is a another B****y fiddle to make people pay by Direct 'Thieving' (direct debit). The council's know they have to discount CT bills by £150 for the bands A to D so how difficult is it to just subtract the £150 from the final amount on the bill? But Oh No they have to do it the most difficult and discriminatory way possible. Like IAMIAM I pay annually - I have a bills account in my name which I pay into monthly and then pay all my household bills from. I will never pay CT by DD having been over-charged by a council in the past.  
I bet they won't pay refunds by Cheque but they will after peoples bank account details. I can foresee a bank account change coming up. 

sheramber

It is not the council's choice. The government are paying the money to subsidise energy costs and the money must be paid direct to those who are eligible.  They are not allowed to take it off the council tax as it is not a payment towards council tax/

If you pay be DD the money will be transferred direct to your bank  account.

If you do not use DD then the council will contact you or send you a cheque.

Council tax bands were used as they were the quickest way to identify people to get the money, to allow them to pay it quickly.

Nobody will be getting it deducted from their council tax bill..

masonic

As I normally pay my council tax on a cashback card, this works out slightly better for me, although we shall see how efficiently they deal with collecting bank details and/or sending out cheques. There's no risk associated with them using bank details to set up a DD without permission, that would be covered under the direct debit guarantee.

IAMIAM

Decided to pay 22/23 in full by credit card, set up a DD for the £150 and then await to cancel the DD

Patrick_David

I'm on Universal credit with LCWARA.  Will this money be stopped from my allowance?

TerryMSE

So this is aimed at helping those on low income to get through hardship with cost of living bills, just spoke to my local council Tameside who inform me my £150 will be paid any time between April and September and I already pay my council tax via DD so have an account set up.
How is this going to help the most vulnerable if they have to wait six months for the payment, they did not tell us this when it was announced did they.