Council tax and business rates payments in the Forest of Dean were mistakenly taken twice from some residents’ and businesses’ bank accounts.
Forest of Dean District Council said the issue, which may have affected up to 18,000 people, was due to a processing error by its bank and not the council itself. Duplicate payments were collected on 30 August and 1 September.
The council said the duplicate payments would be reversed automatically by Tuesday 2 September. It has apologised and urged anyone who has incurred charges to submit details so it can assist.
Cllr Nick Evans (Con, Tidenham) described the error as “very concerning” and said no resident should be left out of pocket. He has requested assurances that costs will be met by the bank and called for a report into how the incident happened.