Thousands of Swansea residents have been urged not to get into debt and make sure they pay their share of Council Tax to help fund vital services in their community.
Swansea Council has issued 6,000 reminders in the past few days to people who failed to pay April and May’s instalments.
Those in arrears are being urged to get in touch for advice or help or to pay their share before the amount they owe mounts up.
The reminders are also an early warning that failure to pay will result in future legal action and extra costs.
Cllr Stuart Rice, Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Council Tax makes an important contribution to paying for the vital services we all need such as education, bin collections, social services and maintaining our streets and communities.
“If people are struggling to pay they need to get in touch sooner rather than later so that we can try to find a way forward.
“For example the Council has a very good service to help people who qualify for support to get any Council Tax benefit they are entitled to help them pay.
“However people need to recognise that because Council Tax is vital to the funding of their services we will pursue people who persist in failing to pay through the courts if necessary.”
Cllr Rice added: “The vast majority of people recognise the importance of the services their Council provides and pay up in good time.
“There is no additional charge for paying in instalments to help spread the costs and most residents have already paid their April and May instalments.”
If you have any queries about how much Council Tax you should pay or if you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact the Council Tax helpline on Swansea (01792) 635382 or e-mail [email protected]
The Office hours are 8.30 am to 5pm Monday to Thursday or 8.30am to 4.30 pm on Friday.
Anyone wanting information or help to see if they can claim the Council Tax benefit should contact the Council’s Benefit Take Up Team on 01792 635885.
