Council Tax/Business Rates - You said, we did
Our aim is to provide the best service possible to tax payers in East Hampshire.
We listen! Your feedback is very valuable to help us make changes to improve our customers' experiences.
Here are some recent suggestions from our Satisfaction Survey 2007 and Customer Comments System (comments received by email, phone and through the website) and what we did about them.
Comments
Automated telephone system to take moving details during out of office hours.
- This has been passed to the Customer Services Manager for further investigation.
Disappointed to receive a bill for 1p
- The Council has an obligation to inform customers of their account balance, even if the balance is zero. Although accounts for a few pence may be sent, the Council would not expect the customer to make the payment, nor would the Council take action over non-payment.
I was due a refund but it didn’t say how I would receive it
- The bill states how a credit will be refunded – either a refund cheque or BACS transfer. However it should be possible to make this clearer by using a larger font and better positioning.
Initial Bill should have had a single person discount. Should we ask customers if their first bill was correct in the next survey?
- Customer survey next year will include a question – Was the first bill you received, showing the correct charge?
Small changes in Benefit means a recalculated instalment plan – could we adjust the next instalment where the change is smaller than an instalment?
- The passing of Council Tax benefit to the customers account is an automatic process. However, we will investigate the possibility of identifying small changes of benefit and sending a more suitable bill.
Nothing on the bill to say why my payments had changed
- The reason the bill has been printed is displayed towards the bottom of the bill. The note could be made more prominent.
Moving home form on the internet only has space for one name, can this be expanded to include partner’s name?
- The form has been revised and extra boxes included for a second name.
The % change on the bill does not state whether it is a reduction or increase.
- The percentage change will show a minus sign if the change is a reduction. The customer would not have been able to compare his bill to a bill with a reduction. No proposed change.
As a new resident, a list of service departments would be useful.
- The Council is currently working on a ‘New Residents Pack’ which will include useful information and contact details.
I suggest you write to Landlords if their tenants do not pay Council Tax.
- The Occupier or tenant is liable for Council Tax, the Owner having no responsibility for the tenant’s payments. However, we do try and build good relationships with Landlords to ensure a smooth billing process.
There was a lot of white space on the bill but the payment instructions were in a tiny box at the bottom – perhaps bill could be laid out better.
- Most bills are fairly condensed, however multiple property bills do use most of the space. The bill will be revised to see if this information can be presented in a more effective way.
Letters signed, so that each query can be dealt with by a given name.
- All individual, personal letters are signed and will include the name of the Officer concerned. When bulk notices are sent, such as Bills or Reminder notices, although individual names are not used, clear contact details are always included.
Increase the number of dates available for Direct Debit
- The Council currently provides four payments dates across the month, 1st 7th, 15th and 24th. Having consulted with the Customer Services Officers it has been suggested that another date, 28th is added. This will facilitate customers who are paid after the 24th of the month but do not want to wait until collection on the 1st of the next month.
Several customers raised the issue of free or a 0800 telephone number for the Council
- This has been passed to the Customer Services Manager for further investigation.
Several customers raised the issue of extended opening hours, either on a Saturday morning or an evening or two on week days.
- This has been passed to the Customer Services Manager for further investigation.
A number of customers have suggested more staff to answer the telephones to reduce queuing time.
- The Council has recruited more staff to be employed at peak times i.e. mornings. Training is in place, and once this has been completed, customers should notice a more responsive service.
The reminder is strongly worded and was sent very quickly after the payment was due
- The reminder is a statutory reminder and must contain certain wording so that it complies with the law. The law allows for reminders to be sent, seven days after the payment is due. The Council normally waits fourteen (ten days for business rates) days to allow for late payments. The wording is reviewed on a regular basis to strike the right balance.
Where a bill is produced when a banding reduction has been made, the bill could show a better explanation.
- Banding reductions can be backdated to 1993 and therefore could result in several adjustments over a number of years. We will review the information currently sent to see if this can be made clearer.
If you have a comment, service improvement suggestion or complaint, please email revenues@easthants.gov.uk