Hertsmere Borough Council says any resident who faced overdraft charges after it collected council tax payments a day early will be refunded.

Over the New Year bank holiday, the council says council tax direct debits were collected a day early "in error".

The council wrote on its website and Facebook page on New Year's Eve: "Due to the New Year bank holiday, we have collected the council tax direct debits a day early in error. We're very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

At a full council meeting last night (January 26), the council's finance portfolio holder Abhishek Sachdev responded to a question from the leader of the Hertsmere Labour group about the issue.

Cllr Jeremy Newmark asked: "How many residents were affected by the error that resulted in council tax direct debit payments being collected one day early in the last week in 2021 and what steps have been taken to avoid a repeat of this problem?"

Cllr Sachdev did not say how many people had been affected but he did confirm that six complaints had been received by residents, adding they have been responded to by the council's revenues and benefits manager.

The councillor added the council, as of yet, had not received any financial claims.

He continued: "Once the direct debit had been collected, there was nothing the council could have done to reverse the transaction that day as a reversal would need to be processed with a banking system which takes three working days.

"As soon as the error was noticed, a message was posted on the council's website apologising for the error and offering compensation for any resident who has been affected by this.

"Officers are reviewing the approval process to ensure such an error does not re-occur.

"Let me also just make it very clear, if any resident has been charged any kind of overdraft charge as a result of this council error, all they need to do is send us in a copy of their statement showing their charge and we will refund them. I give my personal commitment to that."