Council tax

[Vimto]

Hi i recieved a letter in today stating that i was £80 in debt in my council tax! But i know i have paid it! So i phoned them and the person i spoke to said she is not willing to do anything without proof! Cause her computer stated i was 3 months behind in payments! When i found all reciepts i then phoned them and went through the reciepts with another person! Who had found all record that i had paid upto date and that i was not behind in the council tax! so why did the first person say i had 14 days to pay the £80! So as well as already being up to date with my council tax they tried getting another £80 out of me for nothing!

I am posting this only to advise people to keep a record of what they have paid on their council tax! cause i almost paid another £80 on top of what i had already paid and i would have still paid each month and not know i had paid extra if i had not kept the reciepts! luckily i did this year as i never used too!

[Rheghead]

So, in other words, they made a simple mistake, you spotted, you complained and it was rectified. Result.

[Vimto]

But it wasnt just as simple as that, i had a lot of questions from first person i spoke to was also told that i did miss three payments even though i never, they also said there was nothing they could do, and that i would be getting charged with court charges etc if i did not pay the £80 in 14 days, but then when i spoke to someone else about it they said that they were in the wrong and not me! The second man i spoke to even said the first person should have been able to see this and should have been able to sorted it, But he didnt see why she didn't!

I aint putting this on here just cause of what happened to me cause yes thankfully it is sorted but i know another few people that has been in same situation as this and this is why i have put this on just to advice people to keep their reciepts and dont pay anything until they are 100% certain they havent paid it

[starfish]

what if this had been a pensioner ect that would have just paid it. I know some one that had housing benefit stop as they computer said they were on jsa of £1000 per week a clear mistake but the council could not see this and it took months of hear tache and letters to sort out in the end cab wrote to the council and said it was harassment and 2 days after the cab they had a letter to say it had been recitified and they owed nothing but no sorry we made a mistake

[Kodiak]

The very same thing happened to me a few years back.

I received a letter stating that I was behind in my Payments and I had to pay the Ballance in Full within 7 Days or they would take me to court.

I was at the time 1 month in advance and clutching all my receipts I phoned. What I was told was this.

The first payment had to be paid on or before the 1st April and each and every Payment after that had to be paid on or before the 1st of each month. They went on to say that in June I paid 5 Days Late, on the 5th June. This then constituted a breach of contact and as such the full amount was now due. It made no difference that I had paid one month in advance as I had not paid on the due date in June. Therefore either I paid the ballance within 7 days or they would take me to court.

So all I could do was to get a bit of help from my sons and I paid and since then I hade 100% certain that I get my payments in before the first of the month. Never had a problem since.

[Vimto]

All my payments apart from this month has been paid before the 1st of each month though, and this is the trouble i have and to say i missed 3 months although i never and then when i spoke to someone else they said its all up to date is a bit mad lol,

The very same thing happened to me a few years back.

I received a letter stating that I was behind in my Payments and I had to pay the Ballance in Full within 7 Days or they would take me to court.

I was at the time 1 month in advance and clutching all my receipts I phoned. What I was told was this.

The first payment had to be paid on or before the 1st April and each and every Payment after that had to be paid on or before the 1st of each month. They went on to say that in June I paid 5 Days Late, on the 5th June. This then constituted a breach of contact and as such the full amount was now due. It made no difference that I had paid one month in advance as I had not paid on the due date in June. Therefore either I paid the ballance within 7 days or they would take me to court.

So all I could do was to get a bit of help from my sons and I paid and since then I hade 100% certain that I get my payments in before the first of the month. Never had a problem since.

[Vimto]

Yeah i never got a sorry either although they did say it was their mistake! I totally agree with you, what if this was a pensioner, i am sure they would be in a panic, cause i know i was But as i stated before i didnt write this to have a moan about it, i just wanted to simply let people know to keep an eye on all that they had paid Cause it aint right, what if like you say a pensioner went out and paid this, that would be all or hald their pension gone, what about their food for the week etc! They would be struggling, which is not right!

what if this had been a pensioner ect that would have just paid it. I know some one that had housing benefit stop as they computer said they were on jsa of £1000 per week a clear mistake but the council could not see this and it took months of hear tache and letters to sort out in the end cab wrote to the council and said it was harassment and 2 days after the cab they had a letter to say it had been recitified and they owed nothing but no sorry we made a mistake

[clash67]

We just got a very threatening reminder saying we are behind in council tax along with the usual threats of court action etc! but we arent behind in our payments! so my wife was on the phone to sort it out, I swear the arrogance of the woman on the phone was unbelievable and she outright refused to lift the reminder notice of her computor. I'm sorry but I thought the council worked for US yet it seems they have given themselves the right to act like mafiosa gangsters collecting protection money!
And before the usual tyrade begins from the pro authority brigade, i will say this, if the council are throwing their weight around (and they are!) then this is something that needs addressed, authority tends to go to peoples head a little but unless kept in check it will only get worse. they work on a policy of "weather you can afford it or not we will get paid!".
The CAB is overwhelmed by the amount of council tax related cases dealt with throughout the country and reports of people actually commiting suicide or suffering depression are rising at an alarming rate because of the financial responsabilities heaped upon the least wealthy because of this unfair tax.

[mrsC2011]

We had the same trouble. Told us we were owe money but said they knew it was a mistake and it would get sorted. A year later it was still outstanding.
After another 3 months of empty promises, we made a formal complaint in writing to the head of finance and managed to get things fixed.

You were treated really badly by the first person you dealt with. We pay by direct debit and they still messed it up. Glad you got it fixed. Far from a simple mistake.

Costs enough money as it is without having to spend more on wasted phone calls and letters.