Question about energy credit rebate and my council.

whattochoose

I pay Council Tax by direct debit and am classed as Band A. I assumed by now I would have received the £150 energy credit. However when I did a "live chat" with my local local council they told my name on my Council Tax account did not match perfectly with name of my bank account from which my Council Tax liability is debited, meaning there would be no automatic crediting of the energy rebate to my bank account.
I'm not sure, but I'm thinking this may have something to do with the fact I switched my account in early February from Santander to First Direct, without a hitch, I'd assumed.
 What has to be stressed is that on the 1st April the first instalment of my Council Tax liability for the new year was taken from my First Direct account, without any apparent issues.
So, it seems my council are fully able to debit my account where my Council Tax liability is concerned, but are unable or unwilling to credit the energy rebate into the same account.
I'm just wondering what I should do now?

MWT

whattochoose said:

I'm just wondering what I should do now?

Either make sure your name is exactly the same as they have suggested that is the problem, or your council should have a claim form you can submit to confirm the account you wish to have the money paid into...

At this point, probably best to go with the claim form.

whattochoose

I want the rebate paid into the same account they deduct my Council Tax from.

stewie_griffin

I think it's worth noting that the vast majority of eligible households haven't had the payment yet. A lot of councils haven't even started making the payments.

whattochoose

Where I live it appears that the great majority of people who paid by direct debit on the 1st April have received the credit.
The point is though if they can debit my account why can't they credit the same account?

MWT

whattochoose said:

The point is though if they can debit my account why can't they credit the same account?

Haven't they already answered that question though?

whattochoose said:

However when I did a "live chat" with my local local council they told my name on my Council Tax account did not match perfectly with name of my bank account from which my Council Tax liability is debited, meaning there would be no automatic crediting of the energy rebate to my bank account.

In the absence of a perfect name match they will need you to actively claim the payment, it will not happen automatically...

If for example, the name on your Council Tax account is Ms W. Choose and the bank has Ms W. T. Choose then the payment would not be made automatically.

whattochoose

But for over six years, Council Tax payments have been deducted by direct debit. Am I to conclude there has been a mismatch between my given name on my bank account and the name they have for me?
Is it possible any deviation could have resulted from my switching bank accounts in February?  I'm just being rhetorical I suppose, really, but I was not anticipating there being any problems since I assumed I met all the criteria for receiving payment via the credit rebate method, and I did not anticipate any misunderstandings regarding my name.
And I know I will get the payment eventually, but I could have done with it now.

facade

As said, if the bank account name doesn't perfectly match the Council Tax records, they can't refund you automatically.

Do a google search on "your council name" council tax rebate.

You should find information on submitting an online claim.  Whether they will pay by BACS or send you a cheque is upto them I suspect. You can always pay a cheque into your bank account at a Post Office.

QrizB

whattochoose said:

But for over six years, Council Tax payments have been deducted by direct debit. Am I to conclude there has been a mismatch between my given name on my bank account and the name they have for me?

The Council don't really care who is paying the Council Tax bill; your payments could be coming from the QrizB LLP Cayman Islands account and it wouldn't matter to them so long as the payments keep appearing.

To pay the rebate, they need to ensure that it goes to the resident and that nobody receives more than one payment. They do more checks and apparently the name they have on file for you is not the same as the name on your account.

gt94sss2

Could be a Confirmation of Payee issue

StartledJesus

Leeds City Council has managed to pay 25,000 people twice, whilst not paying others. Just the £3m to claw back.
 (Link not posted, as full of ads and pictures)