Cardiff Council's Lying Policy

Arnold Layne made this Freedom of Information request to Cardiff Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was refused by Cardiff Council.

Dear Cardiff Council,

I have good reason to believe Cardiff Council lie to members of the public who bring about complaints in regards the council's bailiff contractor 'Ross & Roberts'.

I personally have evidence of a local authority requiring staff dealing with queries and complaints to be obstructive, lie and misinform residents about its contracted bailiff firm's malpractice, and I have reason to believe Cardiff council is no different.

By defending bailiff charges, council staff dealing with complaints are abetting their contractors to thieve from the public.

Fraudulent gains, for which councils are responsible, could easily run into millions for bailiff firms.

Aggrieved residents receive dismissive responses as a matter of course. Issues raised are closed without further investigation, based merely on the contractor's assurance that charges are set down in statute and they are governed by National Standards for Enforcement Agents.

Councils refute allegations of crime, simply on the grounds that their bailiff firm is contracted to a level of standard and there are statutory fees. This is clearly no guarantee they're put into practice or adhered to.

The council's policy to lie in such circumstances makes it no better than a mafia organisation, and serves to aid its contracted enforcement firm to defraud £millions from the public.

Q.1. In regards Cardiff Council's bailiff contractor, whose responsibility within the council is it to decide policy requiring staff dealing with queries and complaints to refute allegations of maladministration without first making preliminary investigations into their validity?

Q.2. If it is nobody's responsibility within Cardiff Council to decide policy detailed in Q1, is this decided by central government? i.e., is the council given guidelines?

Q.3. With regards the council's hierarchy, what level (if any) would an issue involving an allegation of bailiff malpractice need escalating, before council's policy allowed staff to consider that a complaint may be investigated, rather than dismissed?

Q.4. With regards the council's hierarchy, what level (if any) would an issue involving an allegation of bailiff malpractice need escalating, before council's policy allowed staff to uphold a complaint?

Yours faithfully,

Arnold Layne

FOI, Cardiff Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Lane,

 

Please find attached, a response to your Freedom of Information request.

 

 Regards,

 

Improvement & Information Team

Gwella a Gwybodaeth

Room 356, County Hall, Cardiff.  CF10 4UW

Ystafell 356, Neuadd y Sir, Glanfa'r Iwerydd

Caerdydd.

TEL :      029 2087 2087

Email  :   [1][email address]

 

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Mae'n bosibl bod gwybodaeth gyfrinachol yn y neges hon. Os na chyfeirir y
neges atoch chi'n benodol (neu os nad ydych chi'n gyfrifol am
drosglwyddo'r neges i'r person a enwir), yna ni chewch gopio na
throsglwyddo'r neges. Mewn achos o'r fath, dylech ddinistrio'r neges a
hysbysu'r anfonwr drwy e-bost ar unwaith. Rhowch wybod i'r anfonydd ar
unwaith os nad ydych chi neu eich cyflogydd yn caniatau e-bost y Rhyngrwyd
am negeseuon fel hon. Rhaid deall nad yw'r safbwyntiau, y casgliadau a'r
wybodaeth arall yn y neges hon nad ydynt yn cyfeirio at fusnes swyddogol
Cyngor Dinas a Sir Caerdydd yn cynrychioli barn y Cyngor Sir nad yn cael
sel ei fendith. Caiff unrhyw negeseuon a anfonir at, neu o'r cyfeiriad
e-bost hwn eu prosesu gan system E-bost Gorfforaethol Cyngor Sir Caerdydd
a gallant gael eu harchwilio gan rywun heblaw'r person a enwir.

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1. mailto:[email address]

Dear Cardiff Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Cardiff Council's handling of my FOI request 'Cardiff Council's Lying Policy'.

It is clear to anyone who has needed to engage with Cardiff Council over the issues raised in the request, that it has a policy which requires staff to fob-off members of the public.

This however, doesn't seem to have been reflected in the response.

Is the Council's lying policy being engaged in this FoI request also?

Your answer to these questions may be the best way to determine whether or not Cardiff Council has a policy described in my request for information.

A householder having alleged outstanding Council Tax is pursued by Cardiff Council's bailiff contractor 'Ross & Roberts' for payment.

The account holder complains to the authority that the bailiff has imposed several spurious fees. These are discovered to be

- two fees of £160, for attending with a view to removing goods when only one is allowed in law. The vehicle used for attendance was the bailiff's regular transport and could not possibly have incurred a cost of £160, which must in law be reasonably incurred.

– unlawful fees in respect of advertising and returning levied goods to the debtor which had never been removed in the first place.

Presented with all this, how would Cardiff Council respond to the complainant?

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ca...

Yours faithfully,

Arnold Layne

Graham left an annotation ()

Hi Arnold,
Good for you for pursuing this with Cardiff City Councill.

However, I have to say that I very much doubt that they have a policy of lying and if they did, they would not, of course, admit it.

From my personal experience that what they do is to pass the complaint over to Ross and Roberts who then reply on the councils behalf. The councils officials appear to have no idea of the law and are happy to be led and spoonfed by Ross and Roberts, even to the point of accepting facts that they could have and should have verified independently!

You will be aware of my FOI request which they accidentally submitted to me the answer to your FOI !! Now let us see what they come back with in respect of my request - which was a straight forward question about figures. I will say no more at this point.
Graham.

FOI, Cardiff Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Layne

Further to your email dated 4th May 2013, please find attached the Council's Internal Review Report into the handling of this request.

The Council upholds the original response provided. If you remain unhappy with the Council's handling of this request you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner as set out in the attached report.

Yours sincerely

Dave Parsons
Principal Information Governance Manager / Prif Reolwr Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth
Cardiff Council/ Cyngor Caerdydd

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