Clyde man Russell Garbutt said he got a shock when he received a letter from the Otago Regional Council saying he owed just over $1000 for rates which had not been paid since late 2023.
"I’ve been paying them by direct debit for years and years and years. I’ve always done so, and probably like most people, you get your invoice or statement or whatever it is and you file it in either a file or in a round file and ignore it because you pay by direct debit," he said.
He said he paid his rates three times a year.
About a week ago he received a letter from the regional council saying he would have to pay the overdue rates, which included a 10% penalty for not paying the rates since October 2023.
He rang his bank and was told the regional council had decided in 2023 it would allow payments weekly, every two weeks, monthly or yearly but three times a year was too inconvenient.
The bank told Mr Garbutt the council had conveyed the change of payment information on the top of the yearly rates notice in 2023.
However, Mr Garbutt had simply filed that notice and was unaware of the change until he received his letter last week.
He had already met someone who had also found themselves in the same situation.
Mr Garbutt felt communication from the council could have been better.
"The people in the bank that I deal with ... were simply astonished at the lack of communication if you’re changing, basically, a formal arrangement with a customer, that they didn’t notify the customer directly.
"As I said to them, I pay my bills on time, and I pay them in full ... and if they unilaterally change that arrangement, they should at least inform you, let alone consult you."
He said the council had a rather imperious and arrogant attitude.
"It just shows up that their communication between themselves and their ratepayers is rather less than satisfactory. As I said to them, ‘it’s a great Christmas present to get — thank you very much’."
He felt a personal letter or phone call would have been better. Although he would pay the bill, he was disgruntled about the process.
Council finance general manager Nick Donnelly said all ratepayers were advised on their annual invoice they had the option to switch to monthly, fortnightly or weekly direct debit payments.
"This change was communicated directly on the rates invoice in the 2024-2025 year as this was considered to be most effective in terms of ratepayer awareness and cost. We are aware that 54 customers out of the 7000 impacted have not made a payment since the changes were made. We are following up with these people directly to provide assistance."
The overdue rates would need to be paid but staff were ensuring there were no penalties applied to any of the affected rates accounts.
The council’s rates team would communicate with the 54 ratepayers who had not contacted the council.
He said the changes to direct debit facilities were made following customer feedback.
