Make sure you pay your rates, not someone elses!

Published on 08 October 2024

While paying it forward may be a nice gesture in a café, or at the drive through, it’s probably not what you intend to do when paying your rates, dog rego or any other Council related payment.

The next round of rates payments will be invoiced soon, and when you’re making the payment it’s really important to get the right reference for the right payment.

We know how popular paying Council is, but making sure that your money is going to the right place ensures that your accounts are up-to-date, and saves time and money on fixing misplaced payments (and avoiding letters requesting payments you swear you made already!)

• For rates, your Rates Assessment Number is what you need. If you have more than one property, or account, you’ll need to pay individually with the correct reference for each. Or you can include a detailed list of accounts being paid to remittance@waitaki.govt.nz
• If you don’t update your reference details, your payment could end up in the wrong place – like your previous property! 

You are responsible for making sure your references, and your payments, end up in the right place.

This also applies to Dog Registrations, Water Invoices, Infringement Fees, Consent Applications and more. Payment instructions including correct reference details are noted on each invoice, account or infringement notice.

By getting this right, you’re also saving time and money, as Council staff won’t have to manually investigate exactly where that payment went to, if it didn’t show up where it was meant to. So it’s a win win, you pay what you’re supposed to and your rates aren’t spent investigating misdirected money.

ENDS