Ensuring customers are not subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs or hardship
Dear Ceredigion Council,
Ensuring customers are not subject to unnecessary recovery action, additional costs or hardship
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 Ceredigion Council have its computer software set to deal with non specific payments. Current or oldest year's liability?
Yours faithfully,
Gwyn Worth
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priodol maes o law.
Thank you for your e-mail communication which will receive attention from
the appropriate link officer
--
Ymwadiad:
Er y cymerir pob gofal posib i sicrhau cywirdeb unrhyw wybodaeth a chyngor
a roddir yn yr ohebiaeth hon, ni dderbynnir atebolrwydd am unrhyw
golledion a all godi o unrhyw gamgymeriadau sy'n gynwysedig ac fe'ch
atgoffir o'r angen i chi ofyn am gyngor proffesiynol eich hun.
Bwriedir y neges ebost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau iddi, at sylw'r person(au)
y'i danfonwyd atynt yn unig. Os nad chi yw'r derbynnydd y cyfeiriwyd y
neges hon ato ef neu hi, neu'r person sydd gyfrifol am drosglwyddo'r neges
hon iddo ef neu hi, mi ddylech hysbysu'r anfonwr ar eich union. Oni bai
mai chi yw'r person neu gynrychiolydd y person y cyfeiriwyd y neges hon at
ef neu hi nid ydych wedi eich awdurdodi i, ac ni ddylech chi, ddarllen,
copio, dosbarthu, defnyddio na chadw'r neges hon nac unrhyw gyfran ohoni.
O dan y Ddeddf Amddiffyn Data 1998 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 gellir
datgelu cynnwys y negest ebost hon.
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reminded of the need to obtain your own professional advice.
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Dear Mr Worth
I refer to your recent request and confirm that payments are normally
allocated to the current year liability initially but our system is set to
match payments with amounts outstanding, regardless of which year they
relate to.
If you have any complaints in relation to this FOI response the Council
does operate an internal appeals procedure. If you wish to utilise this
procedure then please write to Mr Alun Williams, Head of Policy Support,
Cyngor Sir Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron, Ceredigion, SA46 0PA or via
email through [1][Ceredigion County Council request email]
Thank you
Angela Evans
--
Ymwadiad:
Er y cymerir pob gofal posib i sicrhau cywirdeb unrhyw wybodaeth a chyngor
a roddir yn yr ohebiaeth hon, ni dderbynnir atebolrwydd am unrhyw
golledion a all godi o unrhyw gamgymeriadau sy'n gynwysedig ac fe'ch
atgoffir o'r angen i chi ofyn am gyngor proffesiynol eich hun.
Bwriedir y neges ebost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau iddi, at sylw'r person(au)
y'i danfonwyd atynt yn unig. Os nad chi yw'r derbynnydd y cyfeiriwyd y
neges hon ato ef neu hi, neu'r person sydd gyfrifol am drosglwyddo'r neges
hon iddo ef neu hi, mi ddylech hysbysu'r anfonwr ar eich union. Oni bai
mai chi yw'r person neu gynrychiolydd y person y cyfeiriwyd y neges hon at
ef neu hi nid ydych wedi eich awdurdodi i, ac ni ddylech chi, ddarllen,
copio, dosbarthu, defnyddio na chadw'r neges hon nac unrhyw gyfran ohoni.
O dan y Ddeddf Amddiffyn Data 1998 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 gellir
datgelu cynnwys y negest ebost hon.
Disclaimer:
While reasonable care is taken to ensure the correctness of any
information and advice given in this correspondence no liability is
accepted for losses arising from any errors contained in it and you are
reminded of the need to obtain your own professional advice.
The information in this email and any attachments is intended solely for
the attention and use of the named addressee(s). If you are not the
intended recipient, or person responsible for delivering this information
to the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Unless
you are the intended recipient or his/her representative you are not
authorised to, and must not, read, copy, distribute, use or retain this
message or any part of it.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the contents of this email may be disclosed.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Ceredigion County Council request email]
Dear Angela Evans,
Thank you for your response.
Can you please confirm whether my understanding is correct which is that unmatched payments are normally allocated to the current year liability initially after the system has been unable to match any amount outstanding?
Yours sincerely,
Gwyn Worth
Hello Mr Worth
Yes, this is the case but there are a number of matching routines which
are gone through before this final action.
Thank you
Angela Evans
Dear Angela Evans,
I consider Ceredigion Council has provided the information I requested. 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 in the majority of cases 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 allocating unmatched payments to the current liability initially that it is the council's priority to ensure that unspecified payments are allocated to the account which it is least burdensome for the debtor, and consequently the laws surrounding the appropriation of payments are being complied with. The circumstances would imply that this was the debtor's intention as the consequences of doing otherwise would be to put the current year's liability also in arrears.
If it appears I have misunderstood anything by what I have stated I would appreciate if you would correct me.
Yours sincerely,
Gwyn Worth
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