Thieving councils

Not content with making the bin collections every 2 or 3 weeks, some councils are talking about every 4 weeks. Yet they chase you for dropping a cigarette butt and fine you £75 whereas leaving dog shit is only a £50 fine! (just using Southwark as an example).

Rochdale council claim to have been sending mail to my French address which I most certainly haven't received. I received a letter from a debt collection agency for not paying council tax. This issue has escalated and I have a penalty enforcement notice against me. But I've never received anything from the council declaring any issue. Yes I owe some council tax, and am willing to pay it, but they want to charge me court costs of £107 as well. But I never received any letters from them about the outstanding council tax. I get other mail in France but, suspiciously, nothing about the council tax problem from them. I asked them for proof of posting and they tell me that no proof is needed!!!

They are next to useless. Last year they were sending letters to my UK address with the wrong postcode. I had a similar problem. They were taking me to court for not paying council tax. I got one letter (taking me to court) because the postal service tracked me down even with the wrong postcode (it was one digit/letter out). The council claim that because I received one letter, it meant I had received them all!!!

They just don't give  fuck.

Tell them to fuck off and get some legal advice.

I've politely told them it's incredible for me not to receive 4 letters from them about this one issue.

I just received a letter today from a firm of accountants in Manchester post marked 16 December so the system does work and quickly. 

When I send something important, I get it signed for at the other end. It costs a little more but is proof and saves a lot of hassle.

You can make a FOI request for the proof surely?

I may do that. Good idea. If I remember correctly, for a quid, I can ask them for all the data they have on me.

Barking council did the same to my Mrs caught her on cctv driving somewhere she shouldn't have then sent us a bill for £180 saying that it had doubled because we had ignored all previous correspondence. Bollocks that was the first letter we received, when we challenged them and asked for proof of posting they said they didn't need to provide it.
I paid just to get rid of them and to avoid a court judgement against me.

Bastards.