Hundreds of Ramsey residents, businesses accidentally double-charged for property taxes

An error in Ramsey County’s electronic payment system accidentally double-charged nearly 700 businesses and residents last week.

Ramsey County officials posted an alert on each page of their website warning taxpayers about the error.

The alert states the issue caused customers who made an online payment between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 to be charged again on Oct. 13. The charge was the same as their original payment.

County officials say they reached out by email to all impacted residents and businesses Tuesday and the error was addressed during the county’s regular board meeting.

That email directed those impacted by the error to give feedback by contacting the county directly or filling out a form.

Officials say many began receiving refunds on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Anyone who is still encountering issues with their payment is also asked to contact Ramsey County directly.

Ramsey County released the following information on the error:

• 678 businesses/residents were impacted.   
• The total amount of the second withdrawal was $3.75M.
• Ramsey County is in possession of the detailed file with names, dollar amounts and email addresses. 
• Ramsey County has received confirmation that the file had been reversed and refunds should be issued within two business days.  

The payment system vendor, CORE, has had the new electronic payment system in place for about a year and a half, officials say. This is the first time the county has had issues with the system, and officials say they’re still working with CORE to understand the details of the error.