Pay us. Now Pay us again.

[ukbob]

On a monthly basis, my girlfriend would pop into the local office to pay her council tax in cash, something you now cant do. Her organisational skills and general record keeping are excellent.

The day came though, that she couldnt find her receipt which I think was stamped (IIRC) each month. Low and behold, a letter arrived in the post, saying "You naughty scrotes, you not paid your council tax all year, and owe us £600, which must be paid in full immediately!" We were not amused.

But there was absolutely nothing we could do to prove that we had paid, and had to stump up the cash and pay the entire amount all over again, without delay, and the obvious consequences if we refused to comply.

I wondered for the first time today if it might have been possible for a thief inside to have kept her receipt on the day of the last transaction, and deleted the payments from the system. And somehow taken the cash? You would have thought the system would have been thief-proof in that respect.

[Pulsatingstar]

Since when cant you do cash in the council office? It was fine a couple of months back when I did it.

[andy mac]

I would have thought that it would have all been registered on their own system, without you relying on keeping then reciepts as the only proof you payed. Cluster feck local government ineptitude

[silversun]

I would not have paid it all again. I would have gone down to their offices and kicked up a major stink about that.

[ukbob]

Pulsatingstar said:

Since when cant you do cash in the council office? It was fine a couple of months back when I did it.

This is all IIRC. Its been years since we last discussed the matter. Im sure Im right though, locally anyway.

silversun said:

I would not have paid it all again. I would have gone down to their offices and kicked up a major stink about that.

She made phone call after phone call, and got no where. The bottom line (in their eyes) was that quite simply we hadnt paid, and didnt have the receipt to proove we had

[T5-R]

Sod's law isn't it? The one time you need a receipt to prove payment, you can't find the bleedin' thing!

Makes you think it's all a conspiracy

[ukbob]

T5-R said:

Sod's law isn't it? The one time you need a receipt to prove payment, you can't find the bleedin' thing! Makes you think it's all a conspiracy

Yeah, its typical. Frustration levels hit an all time high.

[simpo two]

Must be great to be the Government. You can be totally incompetent, yet get a big salary, big bomb-proof pension, demand money with menaces from people and put them in prison if they dare protest.

Ah well, when there's no war the Govt turns on its own people for job justification