Council Tax and Business Rates

Information about declined payments 

We are seeing an increase in the number of payments being declined. This is often due to the additional security features the payment card providers are introducing to try to reduce fraudulent payments and protect customers from fraud. Please note, that the council does not have access to any information telling us why your payment was declined. 

What to do if your payment is declined

Please contact your card issuer (which may be your bank or credit card provider) and ask them why the payment was declined. They will probably ask you a date and time you tried to make the payment and how much you were trying to pay. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer as to why your payment was declined, asking the following questions may help:

• Does my card have an upper limit on the amount I can pay for an online transaction?
• Do you try and contact me if the amount I am trying to pay online is above a certain amount?
• How are you trying to contact me – do you have my correct contact details?
• Was the payment declined because I didn’t have enough money in my account? 

Your card issuer should try and help you so you don’t have future payments declined. 

Find alternate payment methods