| Making Payments Online
It's easy, and safe to make payments to Cheshire County Council online.
Making a payment over the Internet
You can pay over the internet when ordering goods and services on the Cheshire County Council website. This facility will be expanded as more of the Council's goods and services that are for sale are placed onto the internet.
At present you can:
Credit/Debit Cards
The following cards are accepted:
Visa, Delta, Mastercard, Solo, Maestro
Your card details will be taken when your order is placed over the internet or either by telephone or face to face.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which cards do you accept?
You can pay by Visa, Delta, Mastercard, Solo, Maestro cards.
We do not accept American Express, JCB and Diners Club.
When will my payment be processed?
Payments are authorised immediately but sometimes it takes time for us to process the payment into our various systems, this depends upon the type of service you are paying for:
- Payments for services, such as photocopies from the Record Office are acknowledged immediately.
- Payments for school transport may take 3-5 days for the administrative procedures to update our records
- Payments of invoices normally take 7 days to be applied to our records.
Can I have a receipt?
Yes. You will receive a confirmation of your payment on your screen after you make the payment. You can print this out as confirmation.
Is it safe?
Cheshire County Council has taken precautions to keep your credit card details safe, using state-of-the-art encryption.
In technical terms we use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) server technology to ensure that the information transmitted from your computer to our web site is encrypted. This is so that the chance of someone being able to intercept and decrypt the secure communication is extremely slim.
Traditional website addresses begin "http" - the address for a secure site will always begin with "https".
What information is being collected?
In order to complete a sale we have to have the name and address of the card holder which will be verified, and details of the order. The only payment card details stored by us are the last 4 digits of the card number, this helps us – and you – if there are any queries about which card was used. The transactions are handled for us by SecPay on their own servers.
What if I start to make an online payment but change my mind (or lose my internet connection in the middle of making a payment)?
The transaction does not exist until you click on the ‘Pay Now’ button. You can disconnect at any time up to that point and no order is placed. If you intentionally or unintentionally disconnect form the online payments session, all details will have to be re-submitted.
If in doubt call the contact centre who will arrange for somebody to confirm if the payment was processed or not. Please email us at info@cheshire.gov.uk or telephone 0845 11 333 11 if you have a query or experience any problems.
What if I get problems when entering the secure site?
The Pay Online home page is a normal web page which any browser will be able to view.
However, in order to make an on-line payment your web browser must be capable of handling https protocol. If you are unable to view Cheshire County Council’s secure site you will need to update your encryption bit, in order to complete the transaction.
This is very easy to do and will not cost you anything. Follow the instructions under 'How do I check to see if my browser supports 128-bit encryption?' to update your encryption bit to 128 in either Netscape or Internet Explorer.
How do I check to see if my browser supports 128-bit encryption?
In order to make an online payment to the Council, your browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) must support 128-bit encryption. In order to check if your browser supports 128-bit encryption please follow these instructions:
Internet Explorer Users: On the menu bar click Help then About Internet Explorer. There should be a reference to the Cipher Strength. If it less than 128-bit please click on the Update Information link to download the Internet Explorer High Encryption pack. Alternatively, whilst in the payment page, hover your mouse over the Security Pad-lock in the right-hand corner of your browser. This should display a pop-up of 'SSL Secured (???bits). If it is less than 128 bits (or the padlock does not appear) please download the Internet Explorer High Encryption pack. This should only take a few minutes to download from the Microsoft website.
Netscape Users: Click on the Security Padlock in the right-hand corner of your browser. The Personal Security Manager should display a message in the centre of the page stating 'Connection Encrypted' and the encryption level. If this is below 128 bit please upgrade to the latest version of Netscape at Netscape Products.
If your browser does not support this level of encryption, click on the appropriate icon below to upgrade your browser.
What if my card is refused?
Cards are not refused by Cheshire County Council but payment may be refused by your bank or building society. If this occurs we advise you to contact your bank or building society directly.
How do I get in touch with you about paying online?
Please email us at info@cheshire.gov.uk or telephone 0845 11 333 11 if you have a query or experience any problems. If you feel you want to let us know what you think of this facility please use our feedback form. |