Direct Debit change notification

Brie

I know there's a regulation that says that notification of a change to a regular DD payment needs to be made at least 10 working days before the payment is taken. But is that the organisation sending out the notification or the account holder receiving it?

Problem is that our council tax has gone up by a substantial amount, higher than is standard for the rest of the country. Add to that some parts of the area now have parish councils and there's a charge for those that is added to the council tax. I normally pay my council tax on the 2nd of the month which is now 9 working days away. I don't know if my area has one of these new parish councils. So basically I don't know how much I will be expected to pay in April.

I know that some people in the area have received their notices but no one in my neighbourhood has. But we have a problem with postal delivery and haven't received any post for well over a week. I had hopes yesterday when I saw the posties park their vehicle across the road but there was nothing for us. Having done our neighbourhood they are unlikely to be back for another week to ten days or longer.

Have considered cancelling my DD and then waiting to see what happens. Likely it would take until May for me to receive any further correspondence at which point I could clear the arrears by credit card.

No worries about my credit history as I'm not in need of any more credit and won't be for the next couple of decades.

la531983

Have you not received the new "bill" yet?

Mine comes via email every year. This could be notification enough.

By cancelling the DD in an attempt to make a stand you may become liable for the whole year becoming due in one go, depending on how strict they want to be,

NanookOfTheNorth

I received my new bill by email on 16th March with first payment on 5th (Sunday) so next working day. You would think councils would be able to issue new bills sooner given its an annual thing.

@Brie why not register with your council and you'll be able to see your bill online, probably next week if it has to go through an approval process. When I registered my mom recently I seem to remember it was just the reference from a previous council tax bill to link it to the 'MyCouncil' account.

MyRealNameToo

Your council doesnt have an online portal you can see the details on?

My understanding is that they must send it such that you receive it with 10 working days notice however they are entitled to use reasonable assumptions on when receipt will be and won't be held responsible if Royal/UK Mail or whoever they use are delayed in delivery. Similarly if it's delivered whilst you are away, your kids hide your post or dog eats it etc that isnt on them,

Most these days send via email so its reasonably assumed its delivered in under 1 hour. If they notify by multiple channels they just need one to be with 10 days notice.

Brie

@NanookOfTheNorth & @MyRealNameToo

I can't register with my council as I need the details on the bill to do so. Which also means I can't give them an email address at this point.

And while there are general details on their website I can't match them up with what I have been paying. Plus I don't know whether my area has a parish council and hence an additional charge for that.

Not worried about kids or dogs eating my post.

NanookOfTheNorth

On my own direct debit when I look at the details for it (not the transaction, but in the direct debit listing on the bank account) it has a reference there which matches my council tax account number so yours is probably the same - I cant imagine councils will work differently, they'll need a reference to link the payment on the direct debit to your council tax account.

Dont you have the previous year council tax paper bill to get a reference?

friolento

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931159#Comment_81931159

What happened when you tried phoning your Council?

NanookOfTheNorth

Does going to the UK Gov web site help to identify which council/parish is responsible for your council tax? From there as well as saying what band your in (which you already know), it says the authority with a link to their web site where you can then find the new council tax rates, then make your own calculation for the amount of direct debit in April (based on your 10 or 12 monthly payments)

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands

I dont live in a parish as the link above for my council is the one that does the council tax, but some councils have multiple areas with different rates. As you're not sure if/what parish, maybe just take the highest for your band at that council and make a best guess for the first payment in April to ensure enough funds are available in your bank account.

Brie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931263#Comment_81931263

I know which my council I live in and is responsible for taxing me. But this year they decided to bring in parish councils within the overall council and there are charges for those above the normal council tax. But it's not obvious which parish council I've got or even if there is one for my area.

I haven't rung the council as they take forever to answer and then generally don't know the answers.

I'll have a look on my bank statement and online banking to see what it says. Thanks for the suggestion.

retiredbanker1

Where I live we have not received our 2026 council tax bills yet.

However I know broadly that the cost is going up by around 5% so not too difficult to work out how much to expect to pay.

Also, it might not be a council problem that you have not received notification of your new amount; here loads of complaints that people don't get mail delivered for days on end, then get loads of mail in a single day.

Posties seem too busy delivering parcels and not mail.

huw01

its the date of the notice, not the date the notice is received.

it will be dated in time for the first installment to be taken. The date you receive the notice the council cant be responsible for this. And will be different in post codes within the local authority area due to RM working practices. Not all households within the same borough will receive the mail on the same day.