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

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Dear West Devon 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 West Devon Borough Council have its computer software set to deal with non specific payments. Current or oldest year's liability?

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

Response to this request is delayed. By law, West Devon Borough Council should normally have responded promptly and by 29 November 2017

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

Response to this request is delayed. By law, West Devon Borough Council should normally have responded promptly and by 29 November 2017.

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

Response to this request is delayed. By law, West Devon Borough Council should normally have responded promptly and by 29 November 2017...

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, West Devon Borough Council should have responded by now

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, West Devon Borough Council should have responded by now.

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

Dear West Devon Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of West Devon Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Ensuring customers are not subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs or hardship'.

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, West Devon Borough Council should have responded by now.

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

Yours faithfully,

Gwyn Worth

FOI Requests Auto, West Devon Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth
 
Freedom of Information request - Ref: 640764
 
The response below was sent 18th December 2017 but didn't get through:
 
Dear Mr Worth
 
Freedom of Information request - Ref: 586797
 
Thank you for your request for information on 02/11/2017 14:17:05.
 
I can confirm that our payments system matches to existing
instalment/current year plans first and if there is no match it will
allocate the debt to the oldest debt.
 
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original correspondence and should be addressed to Legal Services, email:
[email address].
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
 
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
Yours sincerely
 
Freedom of Information Officer
West Devon Borough Council
PO Box 237
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 9DL
01803 861234
Email: [email address]
Web: [1]www.westdevon.gov.uk
 
[2][IMG]

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/
2. http://www.swdevon.gov.uk/

Dear FOI Requests Auto,

Thank you for stating that non- matching payments are allocated to oldest years 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

FOI Requests Auto, West Devon Borough Council

Dear Mr Worth

Freedom of Information request - Ref: 842963

Thank you for your request for information on 24/07/2018.

If in the course of dealing with a Council Tax account (be that by Revenue
staff looking at the account, or due to customer contact regarding it)
payments were identified as allocated to an incorrect year, then the
payments would be re-allocated to the relevant year.  Should the
allocation to the oldest debt have caused a summons to be issued, this
would be withdrawn and any associated costs removed.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original correspondence and should be addressed to Legal Services, email:
[email address].

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioners Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Officer

South Hams District Council

Follaton House

Plymouth Road

Totnes

TQ9 5NE

01803 861234

Email: [email address]

Web: www.southhams.gov.uk

[1]CSC

Disclaimer

This e-mail is strictly confidential and is intended only for use by the
addressee. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying,
distribution or other action taken in reliance of the information
contained in this e-mail is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, if you are
not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and then
delete this e-mail from your system. Incoming and outgoing e-mail messages
are routinely monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of
electronic communications. This e-mail message has been scanned for
computer viruses; however, no liability in respect of damage caused by any
virus which is not detected will be accepted.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.swdevon.gov.uk/

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Gwyn Worth please sign in and let everyone know.