A barcode bungle has meant that about 45,000 council tax bills issued to households in Aberdeen will have to be sent out again – at a cost of up to £15,000.
Red-faced local authority officials admitted today that there was a mistake in the mass mailing of the annual demands.
Roughly 114,000 are sent out in total, but the error does not apply to those residents who choose to pay by direct debit, which is more than half.
Letters are being sent to all those who are affected, which the authority estimates will cost between £10,000-£15,000.
One leading councillor described the episode as “embarrassing” last night.
It comes just a week after correspondence was sent out with an advert from the Grampian Electoral Registration Office with the wrong date for the general election.
The re-billing was agreed after problems emerged on the barcode in the original bills, which can be used to make payments at Post Offices and PayPoints around the city.
The letters include a replacement council tax bill, which must be used for all future payments.
As the bills have been issued later than normal, an extra 14 days have been allowed to make the first payment – and no reminders about non-payment will be issued during April.
People who have already made a council tax payment for 2015/16 are being assured that the sums they have paid are safe and correctly allocated to their accounts.
Council tax payers are also being asked not to use the original bill to make any payment and to destroy it.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesman said: “We apologise for any inconvenience that this will cause and want to reassure people that the problem was promptly identified and corrected.
“Anyone needing more information or help can contact the City Council on 08456 080921 or 01224 219283. Lines are open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Ian Yuill said: “It is very embarrassing and very unfortunate. I am surprised that there were no checks made on the barcode before it was printed on tens of thousands of bills.
“The important thing is that the money is being paid, but clearly this is going to cost a significant amount of money.
“It is important that the council learns lessons from this.”
The council’s chief executive Angela Scott has ordered a review into the circumstances which led to the error on the barcode.
The outcome will be reported to the audit, risk and scrutiny committee.