Ensuring customers are not subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs or hardship

The request was successful.

Dear Fylde Borough Council,

A council taxpayer who owes more than just the current year's liability runs the risk of incurring additional recovery costs through a further application for a liability order if payments which are intended for the current year's liability are allocated by the council's computer to the previous year's liability. This would most likely happen where a non specific payment is made and the computer software is set to automatically allocate these payments to the oldest year's debt.

Councils computer systems have the necessary flexibility to be set to allow non specific payments to be allocated to the arrears or the current year's liability.

I understand that the majority of billing authorities have their computer software set to ensure that their customers are not subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs or hardship, i.e. so non specific payments are allocated to the current year's liability.

How does Fylde Council have its computer software set to deal with non specific payments. Current or oldest year's liability?

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Gary Pangburn, Fylde Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth

Thank you for your request for information. Your request is currently receiving attention and I hope to be in a position to respond to you on or before the deadline of 21 November 2017.

Kind regards

Gary Pangburn
Legal Officer
Fylde Borough Council

DDI: 01253 658509
Main: 01253 658658

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Gary Pangburn, Fylde Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth

 

Further in this matter I can now confirm that Fylde Council Tax is set to
allocate un-matched payments to the oldest year’s liability.

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Gary Pangburn

Legal Officer

Fylde Borough Council

 

DDI: 01253 658509
Main: 01253 658658

 

 

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Dear Gary Pangburn,

Thank you for confirming that 'Fylde Council Tax is set to allocate un-matched payments to the oldest year’s liability'.

Would you please confirm whether or not any measures are in place to check that allocating an unmatched payment to the oldest debt in these circumstances would have the consequences of putting the current year's liability also in arrears, and if so, in accordance with R. v Miskin Lower Justices [1953] 1 Q.B. 533, whether the payment would be moved in respect of the current year's account to avoid unnecessary recovery action, additional costs etc.?

Yours sincerely,

Gwyn Worth

Gary Pangburn, Fylde Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth

 

Thank you for your further request and please see the following response
from our finance people:

 

The Council receives hundreds of thousands of payments each year so we
rely on automated processes to allocate payments, on the following basis:

 

·        Expressed Instruction - the debtor gives clear instruction as to
which debt(s) they wish their payment to be allocated. This is where they
have told us specifically where they want it to go, in person, on the
telephone or in writing.

·        Implied Payment - It is obvious as to which debt(s) monies should
be credited to. Payment must be allocated to its intended destination as
provided in R v Miskin Lower Justices (1953). This is where a customer
pays a specific debt amount, an instalment or multiples thereof.

·        If payments are received without express instruction or are not
implied then the Billing Authority may allocate payments as they wish as
established in Peter v Anderson (1814). With this in mind we will allocate
payments without instruction to the oldest year’s liability.

 

Using the requestors example – if a customer wants a payment to be
re-allocated then we will do so as this amounts to express instruction,
but if there is no contact then the payment will be allocated as above.

 

Kind regards

 

 

Gary Pangburn

Legal Officer

Fylde Borough Council

 

DDI: 01253 658509
Main: 01253 658658

 

 

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Dear Gary Pangburn,

I consider Fylde Borough Council has provided the information I requested, however, the purpose of this exercise was to ascertain whether or not the principles surrounding the appropriation of payments were being adhered to.

R v Miskin Lower Justices (1953)

It was held in R v Miskin Lower Justices, that where an amount obviously relates to a specific liability, it would be an unwarranted assumption to allocate the payment elsewhere.

If no instruction is given at the time of payment, then the council has a duty to allocate payment to the account which it is most beneficial to the debtor to reduce. That would be the current liability if the consequences of allocating payment to the arrears meant that the customer was subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs etc.

I understand by the council being unable to confirm that there are measures in place to ensure that unspecified payments are allocated to the account which it is least burdensome for the debtor that the laws surrounding the appropriation of payments are not being complied with. In light of this, it is considered that if the laws of appropriation were to be complied with, an unmatched payment allocated to the oldest debt (having the consequences of putting the current year's liability also in arrears) would be reallocated to the current year's liability on account of the circumstances implying that this was the debtor's intention (least burdensome for the debtor).

If it appears I have misunderstood anything by what I have stated I would appreciate if you would correct me.

Yours sincerely,

Gwyn Worth

Gary Pangburn, Fylde Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth

Thank you for your response which I will pass onto my colleagues in Council Tax to contact you further as they consider necessary.

Kind regards

Gary Pangburn
Legal Officer
Fylde Borough Council

DDI: 01253 658509
Main: 01253 658658

How are we doing? Have your say and fill in the residents survey here:
http://www.fylde.gov.uk/council/performa...

Want to be kept up to date with news from your council? Sign up here -
http://www.fylde.gov.uk/e-alerts

Visit our website for all the latest information at your fingertips:
http://www.fylde.gov.uk
Fylde Borough Council’s email disclaimer can be found at:
http://www.fylde.gov.uk/disclaimer