CHANGE IN TAX PAYMENT DATE

From A Brigg Resident
(Name and address supplied but not printed at his request)

As a sharp-eyed journalist, I am sure you will not have missed that North Lincolnshire Council have brought forward the date when instalments of the council tax need to be paid - from 22nd of the month to the 1st day. It is appreciated that this will improve the cash flow to the council by three weeks each month from each tax payer. This change in date was indicated on the front page of the tax demand but, being in the same form as previous years, it may have been missed but all but the most observant resident. Should he or she delay payment by 3 weeks, there is the danger that the whole year's amount will be demanded in one fell swoop. This is the first change in date when payment is required from the inception of North Lincolnshire in 1996.
However, you will recall that in 1989 Glanford Borough Council employed a similar tactic by bringing forward the date for the 2nd of the two instalments from 30th November to 30th September. In this case the change was indicated on the back page of the demand and, I am told that, over 800 residents missed the date which had been fixed for the previous 14 years. They duly received court summons for late payments. When several appealed against this, they were told that the change had been notified widely in The Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph. I do not know how many of them were regular readers. At least this time the change in date is contained in the North Lincolnshire's monthly circular "Direct" so there is no excuse. Or is there?
North Lincolnshire Council has supplied Brigg Blog with a comment in response to A Brigg Resident's concerns.
Their spokeswoman said: “The council publicised this change widely. An article was in the January edition of Direct magazine that is sent to all households. Residents using direct debit that were affected were also written to individually in February. Local media also covered the issue with the council’s taxation and benefits manager responding to any questions. With specific reference to recovery, the council will follow all procedures in accordance with the legislation. This means we will issue a reminder for one instalment missed. If this is not paid or if it is paid and then a subsequent instalment is missed, then the right to pay by instalments is cancelled and full year becomes due the following month. If anyone is struggling to pay and are on low income they should the council to find out information on and apply for council tax benefits.”