why are local councils so incompetent?!

Haggisman · 7 Dec 2013 at 10:05

I've just received a court summons for non payment of council tax, despite having made payments and having evidence of this... they also want to charge me £65 costs for the letter...

This isn't the first time they've screwed up. Across 3-4 different councils I've lived in, i think I've had 1 year in the last ~10 where something hasn't gone wrong with my bill!

Am I just really unlucky, or is this standard practice? I guess there's no need for them to actually do their jobs properly since we can't exactly go to a competitor...

What are the chances of getting the "costs" removed when I wave a pile of bank statements and online payment receipts in their faces? Reckon I can also bill them for my wasted time in sorting out their screw up?

Theophany · 7 Dec 2013 at 10:11

One would assume it has something to do with their recruitment policy. And the fact that when pay is peanuts, more often than not only monkeys will work for them.

[/dick]

benjii · 7 Dec 2013 at 10:11

I'd imagine the fees will be waived once they realise they've screwed up. As for charging them, you'd have to inform them of your intentions and your hourly rate, keep records of how long you've spent and then try and claim that money through the small claims court as they're never going to go along with it.

AtreuS · 7 Dec 2013 at 10:40

You will goto court and show you're evidence and the magistrate will throw it out. Ask about how to procede for costs, they should tell you.

beamer · 7 Dec 2013 at 10:47

Inform them you will be billing them for the wasted time as early as possible. I would go with an hourly rate of either whatever your employer(s) could charge customers for your time or whatever hourly rate a contractor doing your job could achieve.

Given the £65 is charge they have made for costs, which amounts to legalised theft - have a look on this site to see how corrupt and colluding the councils across the country are being about these charges - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/search/summons charge/all - almost all those getting these charges are otherwise good tax payers who mistakenly miss a payment.

kedge · 7 Dec 2013 at 11:13

Why are local governments incompetent?, you do the maths, it's quite easy to work out these council/government simpletons.

robgmun · 7 Dec 2013 at 11:19

Theophany said:
One would assume it has something to do with their recruitment policy. And the fact that when pay is peanuts, more often than not only monkeys will work for them.

[/dick]

unfortunately I have to agree, public workers are some of the most stupidest, inept, jobsworths I have ever seen. If they were any good at there jobs they'd work in the private sector. Usually they employ fat 40+ women that have failed in life or men that have mental issues or one sort or another.

Jez · 7 Dec 2013 at 11:21

Theophany said:
One would assume it has something to do with their recruitment policy. And the fact that when pay is peanuts, more often than not only monkeys will work for them.

[/dick]

This.

Have you ever been to a public sector office? The pay and conditions are such that you will get a certain type of people working there, and a certain atmosphere within the offices which leads to very low productivity or attention to detail.

Haggisman · 7 Dec 2013 at 11:24

robgmun said:
unfortunately I have to agree, public workers are some of the most stupidest, inept, jobsworths I have ever seen. If they were any good at there jobs they'd work in the private sector. Usually they employ fat 40+ women that have failed in life or men that have mental issues or one sort or another.

Haha, its very true =P Although I usually get a more positive result from the people on the end of the phone. I do feel a bit sorry for them, they must get a lot of grief from customers, just because someone in a back office with no accountability has messed up again...

No1newts · 7 Dec 2013 at 11:41

robgmun said:
unfortunately I have to agree, public workers are some of the most stupidest, inept, jobsworths I have ever seen. If they were any good at there jobs they'd work in the private sector. Usually they employ fat 40+ women that have failed in life or men that have mental issues or one sort or another.

You've basically summed up every job centre in the UK.

DXP55 · 7 Dec 2013 at 12:27

I had same sort of problem - Bought this place in May - took till end of August to refurb - rang council and told them I move in August but had paid August bill at renter - No problem they said -starts in September - she gave me a figure and said will send a new Poll tax bill to you - never arrived so paid by BACS every month to account I had - After first month got red letter - I thought it was because on principle I never pay on first of month but 3rd or 4th -(petty I know) same next month and next - in end got letter to say they will take me to court - So bit bullet and rang - seems the new Poll tax had new account number - so she checked old one and said she would transfer and stop any debt's going against my name - I said to her doesn't your computer flag up payments to cancelled accounts --- Seemed not - so how much money does councils hold in cancelled accounts?

In hindsight I wish I had gone to court just for the experience and shooting them down in flames

Dave

fastwunz · 7 Dec 2013 at 12:49

I moved into a rented flat. Landlord said they wound cover council tax. We thought great. 2 years later the council woke up to the fact that actually the landlord had not registered the premises as a residential dwelling and hence no tax had been paid. 48 hours later we get billed for two years worth of council tax.

Some landlords need putting down.

Dis86 · 7 Dec 2013 at 13:02

Op. Friends of mine have recently had the exact same issue. They even sent the council the receipts of their payments and it still wasn't good enough. Went to court and the council didn't send a representative. Whole thing was basically one big waste of tax payers money.

Haggisman · 7 Dec 2013 at 13:24

Dis86 said:
Op. Friends of mine have recently had the exact same issue. They even sent the council the receipts of their payments and it still wasn't good enough. Went to court and the council didn't send a representative. Whole thing was basically one big waste of tax payers money.

Yeah, that seems to be their standard MO, book 30 "non-payers" in one session and rely on people not turning up...

I'd rather not end up having to go to court as I could do without the half and time off work, but I guess it would be rather satisfying to utterly destroy them =P

beamer · 7 Dec 2013 at 14:11

Always get stuff like this in writing, otherwise assume it won't happen. All landlords are parasitic scum, exploiting successive government's artificial restriction on the housing supply and borderline corrupt taxation laws.

fastwunz said:
I moved into a rented flat. Landlord said they wound cover council tax. We thought great. 2 years later the council woke up to the fact that actually the landlord had not registered the premises as a residential dwelling and hence no tax had been paid. 48 hours later we get billed for two years worth of council tax.

Some landlords need putting down.

beamer · 7 Dec 2013 at 14:17

Get them to do an FOI request (via this site - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com) on the council to get the exact costs, then go public in the local newspaper. FOI request will take nothing but a little investment of time and the newspaper will lap it up, particularly if any of the current councillors are even slightly disliked by the majority of the readership.

The more this incompetence is highlighted, the better the value for money we all get from the taxes we pay.

Dis86 said:
Op. Friends of mine have recently had the exact same issue. They even sent the council the receipts of their payments and it still wasn't good enough. Went to court and the council didn't send a representative. Whole thing was basically one big waste of tax payers money.

beamer · 7 Dec 2013 at 14:19

Employers are legally required to allow you time off to attend court cases and legally can not discriminate in any way regarding that time off. Don't worry about the wages you think you will lose, you can bill them for lost wages once you've won the case.

Haggisman said:
Yeah, that seems to be their standard MO, book 30 "non-payers" in one session and rely on people not turning up...

I'd rather not end up having to go to court as I could do without the half and time off work, but I guess it would be rather satisfying to utterly destroy them =P

opstrat · 7 Dec 2013 at 14:21

Haggisman said:
Yeah, that seems to be their standard MO, book 30 "non-payers" in one session and rely on people not turning up...

I'd rather not end up having to go to court as I could do without the half and time off work, but I guess it would be rather satisfying to utterly destroy them =P

take the time off work, just more money to claim back off them.

I worked in the civil service for ten years. I'm still receiving therapy.

Edrof · 7 Dec 2013 at 14:30

My local council is pretty terrible too.

gothic_hobbit · 7 Dec 2013 at 17:32

robgmun said:
unfortunately I have to agree, public workers are some of the most stupidest, inept, jobsworths I have ever seen. If they were any good at there jobs they'd work in the private sector. Usually they employ fat 40+ women that have failed in life or men that have mental issues or one sort or another.

That sounds precisely like work programme staff.