Residents have been left frustrated after the council tax portal has been taken down with a new system not set to be up and running until “towards the end of this year”.

The council has said that any information residents need regarding their council tax can now be retrieved through their customer service team.

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One resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, was told he had to order a paper copy of his council tax bill after choosing to be “digital only” with this taking five days to arrive.

He said: “I have gone from having access to all of my information to having nothing.

“I had chosen to be ‘digital only’ and not receive council tax bills in the post.

“But now they have removed the digital side of things and not put me back onto a paper system.

“I had been on hold for 20 minutes waiting to get through to the council tax department to try and get a recent copy for use as a proof of address.

“Once I finally got through I was told I had to order a paper copy which would take 5 days.”

Finance chiefs confirmed that the portal had been taken down after a service contract recently came to an end.

However, after struggling to get the information he needed the resident has been left confused by the decision to allow this to happen without a new online system in place.

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He continued: “The smarter solution would have been to leave the old system up which worked great and build a new system separately.

“I am so disappointed that this has happened and would love to know more about the decision making process that has led to this service being removed.”

John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets, has explained the reasoning behind the decision revealing an “improved self-service system” is being worked on.

He said: "The former Wycombe District Council had a limited council tax portal facility as part of a service contract that recently came to an end.

“As a unitary council we are working towards introducing a new system that will provide a much better and more efficient service.

"The portal service was not widely used, and customers can still get the information they require by contacting our Customer Service team.

"Once the new system is in place towards the end of this year, customers will have access to an improved self-serve system.

“This will include details of their council tax account or benefit claim and the opportunity to sign up for paperless bills."