Thousands hit by council blunder

Hull City Council has admitted taking twice the amount it should from an unknown number of accounts.

It has set up emergency cash centres in the city to refund people who are facing cashflow problems as a result of the blunder.

The council said immediate action was taken to halt the bank debits when the mistakes were spotted on Wednesday.

In a statement, the council said the error "resulted in electronic payments of council bills being duplicated and taken a second time from some customers' accounts.

It added: "Approximately 9,500 payments are involved."

"How can they just go into my account and do this?"
Debra Taylor, overcharged ratepayer

The council did not say how much money in total was taken from bank accounts or how many individuals were affected.

People with cashflow problems arising from the mistake can apply at the city treasury building or council cash offices, based in customer service centres and housing offices, from 1000 GMT on Friday.

One ratepayer, Debra Taylor, who lives on the Bransholme estate in Hull, said she was horrified to discover that seven duplicated payments were taken from her account without her authority, totalling £378.89.

"They say it's a technical problem," she said.

"But how can they just go into my account and do this without my knowledge or consent?"

Anyone who has incurred bank charges because of the error will be refunded.

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