Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Am I alone in being chased for council tax I have paid?
Although I had paid my council tax in May I got a heavy letter next month demanding payment or else. The letter has no return address to respond to so I rang the Council and was told my wait time was 35 minutes and so I hung up. Then I created an online account and registered my complaint that they had my money (my bank statement confirmed) but it was not shown on my council tax account. Yesterday I received another very heavy letter telling me that twice this year I had not paid council tax. So I went to my online account and this was no loner recognised. The website told me that the system had been upgraded and essentially I'd have to recreate an account. I tried to recreate an account with my original email address but this was refused by the system saying it would send a verification code to the email address but it never did. So now I've had to set up a council tax account with a new email address simply to register the dispute with the council for not having logged my payments.
I'm wondering how anyone, old or disabled or just not able to deal with the online world can deal with this level of stupidity and inaccessibility. They are after all our local council here to serve local people. Aren't they?
I have recently spent over a year helping an elderly neighbour get back thousands of pounds wrongly charged to him by British Gas and Thames Water who likewise make themselves nearly impossible to contact when complaining about their (essentially) harassment of overcharging and threatening citizens to pay money not owed by them. Sadly, I've come to expect such from private monopolies seeking to extract profits but likewise we can only have one council and it too seems to have retreated behind an internet wall of indifference to how ordinary people get treated by them.
Rant over.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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I'm wondering how anyone, old or disabled or just not able to deal with the online world can deal with this level of stupidity and inaccessibility. They are after all our local council here to serve local people. Aren't they?
jp quethiock ~ you're not alone, but please don't try to handle this on your own!
This is a classic case where one of your Ward Councillors should be able to help. I recommend you attend their next available surgery with any and all documentation (or copies thereof) and place it their hands. They are duty-bound to help.
With the aid of a spreadsheet I acted on behalf of a resident in this way. The council staff member who was put in touch with me could not have been more helpful. In a complicated situation that had dragged on for some time, he admitted council error.
Thanks to his help, it was all resolved satisfactorily.
Don't delay!
(BTW. An elderly friend in the Borough once received a bill for water use in his flat from the Thames Water racket for £6,000.)
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Permalink Reply by jp quethiock on
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Thank you Clive but surprisingly, after two months and deleting my account, the Council have found my payments. But being unable not to try to put the blame for their mistakes on the residents their pro forma email advises me to always put my council tax reference on a payment. As if!, their systems cannot take payment unless the council tax reference is first inputted..........
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I'm glad the council has found your payments.
However it's worrying that they could not find them in the first place.
It's a small piece of evidence that the council does not know accurately what money is coming in or going out. Unfortunately, it is also consistent with the Opinions of Auditors KPMG and before them, BDO.
It's hard to keep track of the overall finances as the council does not seek to advertise Auditors' Disclaimer Opinions (six years running? longer?). And least of all, in their corporate propaganda magazine delivered ("free") to every household.
Knowing more accurately the state of the finances is both basic and a separate question as to the size of the council's huge deficit. Getting the accounting right has not had the same priority as, for example, the previous Administration's focus on Borough of Culture 2027.
Let's get the basics right first.
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