Forum Topic

Claiming money back for Council Tax Summons

Dear all,Having finally left the clutches of seemingly the world's most inefficient and useless council they have decided to try and have one final bite at the apple, so to speak.Accordingly, I am looking for any possible advice about claiming money back from Ealing Council for yet another kangaroo court appearance - I am on my fourth Council Tax Summons (with a win rate of 3 out of 3 to date), and have just been Summonsed for a fourth time from the charlatans at Ealing Council.To cut a long story short, I moved out of my previous address on September 26th, and began paying Council Tax immediately in Wadnsworth, my new sole and only residence, via direct debit. I duly completed Ealing's Moving In/ Moving Out form, informing them that although I had moved out the remaining tenant was still in the property for a further month.Having heard nothing from them by way of confirmation, I received in November a 'Council Tax Reminder' with both my name and the name of the other tenant on it for the month of October, which I forwarded on to him and emailed the council with an explanation that the other tenant does not reside with me and that I left in September, receipt of the Moving In/ Moving Out form and a copy of my current tenancy agreement. Despite this I had heard nothing back until early this week, where myself and the other tenant (who I have explained to Ealing Council until I am blue in the face does NOT live with me) were named to be Summonsed.I have absolutely no doubt that I will win yet another case, as I am now well versed in dealing with their inefficiencies having done so on a yearly basis since 2016, though if there is any further advice on anything I may have missed I would be obliged to receive it(!), though my main question is that, now having to come back from Wandsworth to Ealing in February to contest this incurring transport and off-work costs in the process, is there any way I can claim this back from the council for the time spent dealing with them, their summons and general irritation?On the plus side I have had absolutely no problem with my new council - who have already been more than pleasant in all dealings I have had with them. Their Moving In form was comparably a breeze!Many thanks in advance for any insights anyone may be able to give!

Olly Rogers ● 2572d10 Comments

Intriguingly, I have today received an email confirming to me that the error has been rectified and that the court date has been cancelled...... A full two months and two days after I informed them of the issue...

Olly Rogers ● 2552d

Sir, in the famous words of Mr George Galloway, "I admire your indefatigability"!!!Go for it my son, stick it to 'em!

Rosco White ● 2569d

I would also write to all Ealing MPs making them aware of this sorry tale.  You should not expect the MP to act on a single example, this is not in their responsibility, but you do not know how many other people have been in this situation which may create a result.It would be interesting to see what council tax and business rates are being paid by developers on their empty properties and how much energy is being invested in the collection of these monies. Dickens Yard?

Libby Kemp ● 2570d

Hi Christopher,It should be noted that prior instances are not related insofar as the cases are all different.The issue arises when dealing with Ealing's 'Moving In/ Moving Out' form which assumes that once one tenant leaves all tenants leave. This works fine for families, but with student and young professionals who have rolling tenancies with changes to the tenants on an almost yearly basis the council assumes that all have left. I have raised this point with them at every court case and been told without fail that it is "being looked into and streamlined" yet every time I completed a form to inform them a tenant had left I could guarantee with a 95% degree of certainty the dreaded dehydrated yellow summons form would drop through the box.At this point you're probably wondering why I didn't call the council tax helpline to sort it out - I did, constantly - it did nothing to help as many of the operators, without prejudice, seem to struggle with instructions given in basic English, e.g:"Remove XXXXX from bill XXXXXXXX, he has moved to PPPPPP""Add XXXXX to bill XXXXXXXX, he has moved to XXXXXX""All other tenants remain on bill XXXXXXXX, their names are YYYYY, ZZZZZ and RRRRR"Which would invariably result in bill XXXXXXXX being sent to PPPPPP or some other address in a far flung part of the country. I have been informed that one of my bills turned up in Kent before, in a house I have never had any connection to yet know someone who moved to. The mind boggles

Olly Rogers ● 2570d

If they have already lost the case twice, this could be a case of attempted fraud by the chief accountant, and that should be quoted if you take the case to the small claims court. It could have the effect of halting ALL financial transactions until the judgement is made.

Christopher Bell ● 2572d

Thankyou Andy, Tony and Dennis for your prompt and succinct replies. I shall be taking this advice and am currently preparing an invoice, though I am mindful that any money taken will have a detrimental effect on Ealing services and users, so will keep it reasonable and limited to the loss suffered (time taken, letter costs, email costs and transport)

Olly Rogers ● 2572d

Have you written to Ealing Council informing them that you will be charging a service charge for every letter you have to send to them correcting them of their error? As the banks have shown, it is perfectly legal if you inform them of the charges first, and you don't get silly with the cost per letter. Type out the letter and get legal advice on it first.You have two ombudsman services watching your back, have you contacted them?Housing Ombudsman Services. (Ealing Council is on their list)https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsmanhttps://www.lgo.org.uk/

Dennis Bailey ● 2572d

. . . something else that's just occurred to me.  Once your small claims court case has been heard, and Ealing don't show, get in touch with the Daily Mail.  They love nothing else but to give any council a good kicking.

Tony Heath ● 2572d

Ditto Andy Jones' advice.  Send Ealing Council an invoice for your out of pocket expenses. After, say, 21 days of no response from Ealing, then take out a small claims court summons. 99% certainty they will ignore the summons and not represent themselves at court, and then you will have to take further advice . . . .

Tony Heath ● 2572d

What a terrible waste of your time and our Council Tax.Not being a legal expert you can't take anything I say as authoritative but in your shoes I would send an invoice to the Council for your expenses relating to this matter. Best to aim for a symbolic victory rather than full financial recompense so keep the amount asked for as reasonable as possible. If they refuse to pay or don't respond after you have contacted them three times, take them to the small claims court. It's a cheap and easy way to get justice - you can represent yourself but I'd be surprised if the council contested it. They would have to hire a lawyer and his or her time would probably cost them alot more than they would need to pay you.

Andy Jones ● 2572d