Rate bills issued to Ballymoney and Moyle householders

The bill shows the amount owed for the billing period 2010/11 as well as any arrears carried forward from previous years.

An LPS spokesperson said: "There are 10,290 ratepayers in the Ballymoney Borough Council area and 7123 in Moyle and through the payment of their rates they have helped to fund the provision of a number of public services.

"Since 2006/07 alone, almost 45million has been collected in the Ballymoney area and 33 million in Moyle. This money has been invested in vital public services such as healthcare, education and roads as well as helping to fund a number of council services including recreational facilities, bin collection, tourism and local events."

The LPS spokesperson continued: "This year's bill has been redesigned to make it more user friendly and to allow ratepayers to see the most important information at a glance. A new booklet has also been produced which will be issued to all ratepayers with their bill. We would encourage everyone to read this booklet carefully as it contains a lot of useful information about how their bill is calculated, methods of payment, how to get help with paying your rates, as well as, answers to a number of frequently asked questions."

A 4% discount is available to all Northern Ireland domestic ratepayers if they pay their rate bill in full by 7 May.

The spokesperson continued: "If you pay your rate bill in full, in a single payment, by the discount day, which this year is 7 May, you will receive an early payment discount. Ratepayers must allow a minimum of five working days for payment to reach LPS.

"Alternatively you can pay by direct debit. This is the easiest method of payment and can help you to spread the cost of your rate bill. LPS offers ratepayers a choice of three collection dates; 7th of the month; 15th of the month; or 28th of the month.

"This year, we're also offering a new and convenient way to pay your rates with a new 'Rates QuickPay Card'. Customers who wish to use this card can simply bring it along to any Post Office or one of the 800 participating payzone outlets and pay their bill either in full or by instalments."

Responding to customer feedback ratepayers also have for the first time the option of paying their bill online. Full details of these and all payment methods are included in the booklet all ratepayers will receive with their bill or alternatively by contacting NI Direct by telephone on 101 or online at www.nidirect.gov.uk/rates

There are a range of reliefs and entitlements available to help ratepayers pay both domestic and business rate bills. The spokesperson continued: "If you are having trouble paying your rate bill we would encourage you to make contact with us to see if you are entitled to any of the rate reliefs available or to enter into a payment agreement with us."

This year, for the first time LPS and nidirect have teamed up to answer questions from ratepayers about their rate bills. LPS will hold a one hour session on www.nidirect.gov.uk on Thursday 15 April, to answer individual queries.

If ratepayers have specific questions in relation to their bill they can email [email protected] before 13 April. A response will be posted on the website, on Thursday 15 April at 2:30 pm.

At 7 March 2010 there were 10,290 ratepayers in the Ballymoney Borough Council area.

At 7 March 2010 there were 7,123 ratepayers in the Moyle District Council area.

The figures quoted include the amount collected in the 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09 years, as well as year to date figures for 2009/10.