Southend Council has warned eligible residents it is experiencing a high volume of applications for £150 council tax rebate payments.

Councils are in the process of paying out the £150 council tax rebate, with residents entitled to the money if their property falls within the council tax band A-D.

In most areas, those who pay their council tax by direct debit will have the payment made to their bank accounts automatically.

Southend Council processed payment to 42,802 households on April 29 April as part of the scheme, which should’ve been received from May 4 onwards.

Those who do not pay their council tax by direct debit are asked to complete an application form.

Read more >>> When will the council tax rebate be paid in Southend? What we know so far

The council has warned it is currently experiencing a high demand for payments via application, with thousands being received already from those who it says were not eligible for the automatic payment.

A spokesman for the council said: “Officers are working hard to ensure payment is made as swiftly as possible, but at present due to the high volume that has been received, we are unable to provide an accurate timescale upon which payment will be made.

“Applications are being processed in date order and we are aiming to meet the standard 10 working day target to process applications, but due to the high initial volume of applications that have been received we are currently processing within 14 working days.”

The council advises residents to only make contact if their application exceeds 20 working days.

Councils have until September 30, to pay the £150 rebate to all eligible residents and the one off payment does not need to be repaid.