Council Tax, is this right?

[youvegottobekidding]

I usually pay the council tax each month by debit card, so then I get Feb & March as my ‘free’ months.

I’ve heard that if you ring council tax office now & arrange to pay the same amount by 10 mths direct debit, you can defer April’s & May’s payments to next year Feb & March. So the first payment will be June, effectively helping some out at this time.

I always thought that if you pay by dd, you pay a little less each month over 12 months?

I hope I’ve made sense!

Where did you hear that? Was it from a reliable source? It would certainly be handy if its true.

I think you can choose how much you pay if by direct debit. We pay it over 12 months but I know others do it over 10 months.

Not sure if you can delay payments though if over 10 months.

Hi , I called my council yesterday & deferred 2 months council tax payments, so I don't pay again until June.

Yes I've just done this this morning. We usually pay 12 months, but I've changed it to 10 and first payment due June.

Yes, it's true. My council are offering this to everyone.

Depends on your local council. You can usually choose to pay over 12 months if paying over 10 puts you into financial difficulty.

Yes, it’s true OP

It's an annual charge, and Councils allow people to pay over 10 months as per the legislation. Paying over 12 is usually to help people out by spreading the payments; we always preferred it over 10 months when I was a CTax Officer.

Our council aren’t doing that
It’s pay up as normal - and they’ve just increased it too

Mine did it for me, took about 5 mins on the phone and no payment until June

Heatherjayne1972
Have they simply refused when you asked? What is there reasoning for refusal?

Well I’m having no luck trying to get through by phone since Thursday! I’ve sent a couple of emails, I know they’ll be busy, my first payment is due tomorrow & I’ve waited nearly an hour to get through in the phone this morning! Looks like i’ll just have to manage & pay as normal.

Youvegottobekidding

Email them?

Though if you’re on DD the payment will have been called some days ago and the only way you could stop it was to contact your bank - but I wouldn’t suggest stopping a DD for a council tax demand

Email and ask if the other payments can be pushed back 2 months and you won’t pay again until july

I’ve heard that if you ring council tax office now & arrange to pay the same amount by 10 mths direct debit, you can defer April’s & May’s payments to next year Feb & March. So the first payment will be June, effectively helping some out at this time.
**
Ialways thought that if you pay by dd, you pay a little less each month over 12 months?

Both of these are options. You can pay over 12 months to make your payments smaller or some councils are letting you defer for 2 months so you pay the same amount over 10 months still.

, I know they’ll be busy, my first payment is due tomorrow & I’ve waited nearly an hour to get through in the phone this morning!

Cancel it if you really need the money. All that happens with a missed payment is they apply for it again a week later, giving you time to make an arrangement.

Sorry bold fail above

Even if you have to pay this month, can't you change the direct debit date to the end of April? We can choose our date. You won't be in trouble presumably as long as they receive April's in April. It gives you time to look into deferring til June. Are you eligible for a discount due to low income?

I don’t have a direct debit set up with them anyway, I usually pay by debit card. I’ve not yet made the payment today, I’m hoping I can get through in the phone today. I’ve sent two emails since last Thursday so far & had no reply.

Is there a reason why you don't want to do this online by direct debit? Create an online account and it might give you an option to start in June. Or ask them on twitter if they aren't picking up the phone.