Direct Debit Delay

The Highland Council has written to 46,428 people who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by a six-day delay in collecting the payment due on the first banking day of May ie Tuesday 2 May.

Alan Geddes, Director of Finance, explained in the letter that the Council is working with its computer provider, Fujitsu Services, to establish why the failure occurred and to ensure steps are taken to prevent the failure happening again.

He said the full cost of issuing the letters had been met by Fujitsu. The Council was in discussion with Fujitsu regarding compensation for the Council’s loss of interest; the sum involved being £5.7mllion and "lost" interest is estimated to be £4,400.

The Council is also in discussion with Fujitsu regarding claims that might arise from the public, who incur bank charges as the result of the delay in collection.

Mr Geddes added: "Due to circumstances outwith our control, there was a failure within Fujitsu Services that resulted in monies not being withdrawn from bank/building society accounts on the due date. This is deeply regrettable and we can only apologise to those affected.

"Any bank charges exclusively attributable to the delay in collecting Council Tax payments will be re-imbursed upon presentation of written evidence to the Council’s Finance Service.  We are in ongoing discussions with Fujitsu concerning this matter."