Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o
Ōtorohanga
The second instalment of the 2018/19 rates is due on 25 January 2019.
If you have not received your rates assessment please contact our friendly Customer Services Team on 07 873 4000 or [email protected]
There are many frequency options to pay your rates from annually to weekly, and payment options from cheque to direct debit.
If you choose to pay by direct debit or automatic payment you have the option to pay your rates off over the year.
You can pay your rates in full at any time. However, to avoid the 10% penalty, you will need to ensure payment is made before the 1st instalment due date.
If you pay the full amount of your rates by the first installment penalty date:
Rates are payable in 2 equal installments. You will receive 2 rates accounts, to be paid by the following month’s last Friday of the month. The rating year payments are due by 5 pm on the following dates:
Please note, if posting your payment, please allow enough time for payment to reach its destination by the due date.
If your payment is late, a 10% penalty will be applied.
You can pay your rates by any of the following methods:
With direct debit, you can pay your rates by weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or six monthly installments.
Advantages include:
Payments come directly out of your bank account and are transferred to your rate account. Your bank may charge you a fee for setting up the direct debit or per transaction. You will need to check with your bank about this.
We will send you an installment notice of your rate account. This is for your information only, you do not need to pay on this as your direct debit will cover the payments.
The amount of your direct debit may change after the rates are struck for the new rating year, or if a payment is missed. You will be notified in writing at least 10 days before this takes effect.
Setting up a direct debit agreement:
A new form needs to be completed each time there is a change to the bank account, whether it is a complete change of account or just a suffix. Contact us with the new details, and we will complete the form and send it out for you to sign and return.
Contact us with the new details, and we will complete the form and send it out for you to sign and return.
Please note, all new forms must be returned to us, not your bank. If you have returned your form to your bank, please contact them and ask them to forward to Council for actioning
Cancelling Direct Debit Agreements
You must allow us two days notice to cancel your direct debit. You will also need to advise your bank. Call us and we can arrange the cancellation over the phone.
Direct debit agreements are property-specific and cannot be transferred to other properties. If you move or sell your house, you will need to cancel your existing agreement and complete a new direct debit agreement form. Contact us to do this.
You will need to notify your lawyer as well as we cannot action the new agreement until we are formally notified of the change of ownership.
Please contact your bank to organise payment for your Rate Account. When you are setting up a rate payment, you need to tell your bank your rate valuation reference number, from the top right-hand corner of your rates assessment. If you have more than one property you need to advise your bank of each rate reference number.
No agreement will be entered into for these methods of payment as it is up to the individual to monitor their rate account - penalties will apply if the account is not paid by the penalty date. We do not accept Credit or Charge cards.
If you sell your property you need to contact your bank to cancel your automatic payment.
If you sell your property and purchase another within the District, you need to contact your bank and make sure that the bank has your new rate reference number(s) as this refers to the property, not the person. This is really important because if this is not done payments will continue to be credited to your previous (sold) property rates rather than the current property.
We take no responsibility for payments credited to rate accounts in error.
Most banks are set up for this and know our bank account number and the required format for information. If you have any problems or your bank does not hold our bank account number, please see following:
Bank Name: Otorohanga District Council Branch: Otorohanga Bank Branch Account Number Suffix 02 0392 0018241 00
Internet Banking Reference Make sure you include all the necessary information. For example:
Particulars: Rates Code: 0565099999 (valuation number) Reference: A Smith
We cannot accept: A Smith $300.00
No agreement will be entered into for these methods of payment as it is up to the individual to monitor their rate account - penalties will apply if the account is not paid by the penalty date.
We accept personal, business and bank cheques over the counter or in the post.
If the cheque is post-dated please ensure the date is highlighted or a note is attached advising the cheque is post-dated. As we process a lot of cheques during rating time it has been easy to miss a post-dated date if it does not stand out.
As we process a lot of cheques during rating time it has been easy to miss a post-dated date if it does not stand out.
Please note, if posting your payment please remember to include your remittance slip for all properties you are paying.
Please also allow enough time for payment to reach us by the due date. If your payment is late a 10% penalty will be applied.
You can pay by Money Order by visiting your local Post Shop. Please ensure you have the valuation reference, ratepayers name and a contact phone number on the Money Order. This is to ensure it is receipted to the correct account and if there are any problems we can contact you.
Please note, if posting your payment please remember to include your remittance slip for all properties you are paying.
Please also allow enough time for payment to reach us by the due date. If your payment is late a 10% penalty will be applied.
Eftpos payments will be accepted at the Otorohanga District Council office only.
Cash payments will be accepted at the Otorohanga District Council office only. Please ensure you retain your receipt. Please do not post Cash.
Click here to pay via credit card
If you have a direct debit agreement operating on your property you are subdividing, once new titles have been issued a new valuation reference will be created for the new allotments. You will need to complete a new form for any new properties as these will not be automatically added and you will not be notified that these accounts are not on direct debit.
Please let us know if you are having problems paying your rates or clearing arrears because of financial hardship. We may be able to help solve them.
If your account has an arrears balance (as at 30 June of the previous rating year) and you would like to set up a direct debit to pay off the arrears, please contact us.
If you want to miss a direct debit payment, you need to contact us at least two days before the due date with the details so we can make arrangements with you.
If you have missed a direct debit payment, then your bank will advise us of the dishonour. We will send you a letter advising that the payment has been dishonoured and ask you whether you would like the direct debit increased to cover the payments or make a manual payment to bring the direct debit up to date. When you come in, you will need to mention that the payment is a direct debit repayment.
If you have missed payments and have not brought them up to date you may incur a penalty which will apply to any balance as of 30th May.