So we got the usual rates bill last week, business as usual.

The wifey did the usual thing and paid manually by selecting the saved payee in our Kiwibank account (The payee was one setup by kiwibank, not by us. Ie: When you search for bill payees...it's the one that came up for Auckland Rodney, as we're in the Rodney area).

She noticed that our account reference number had changed, so changed that and then made the payment.

A little suspicious, she checked other details. And lo and behold, Auckland Council have changed the bank account number as well! So she just sent almost $500 into the wrong account.

Rung the council - they confirmed the old account had been closed, and that our payment will bounce.

That was on Friday - it's now Tuesday and the money has not returned. I'm gearing myself up for some bullsh*t long winded fight with the council now.

So, with such a major change, you think they would have made a big song and dance about this to make sure everyone was aware of this, right? 

Nop. Not a word. Not a bean. Nothing.

And to verify - the cached version of the council info page that has the rates bank account numbers had the old number at least up until the 7th July when the page was cached. It has now changed with the new bank account number.

It'll be interesting to see how many thousands of people will get a surprise "We have not received your payment" letter in a few months....