This letter is worth a grand

[Dace]

A grand as in ONE THOUSAND POUNDS.



Long story short my council tax bill is ****ed up and i have been asked by a supervisor type to explain my actions.

If i explain well then i don't have to pay the bill.

As such this letter really is worth a grand.

Because it's so important that it's good* i decided to post it here to get constructive criticism on it.

If you point out any illolgical arguments ive used (it's been a long day) or any grammar mistakes you spot i would be very greatful.



The following post is long so no complaints (you have been warned).























* and the fact that i have spent all of today writing it and it's 1740 words long and i want to "show off" and i don't mind GD knowing some personal stuff about me

[Phang]

in before dace

[JBOY]

wheres the letter then?

[Crackmonkey]

so... where's the letter?

[Dace]

DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

I first moved into <my address> during the September of 1999. At the time I was attending The University of Glasgow from which I obtained a letter declaring that I was a full time student studying there. I took this letter to the Council Tax office (at 45 John Street) in accordance with the procedure for student exemption. Despite my actions later that year (tax year 1999-2000) I received a bill for the full amount of council tax liable for the type of property in which I lived. I queried this and after explaining my situation was told that there was a problem with the computer system and that I was just to ignore the bill.

The following year (tax year 2000-2001) I again received a bill for the full amount of council tax liable for the type of property in which I lived. Again I queried the bill and after explaining my situation was informed that the problem with the computer system still persisted, that for some reason the system would not accept that I was a student and not liable for payment, that the problem with the computer system could not be fixed but my case had been flagged and would be sent to a supervisor who would be informed of my situation and act accordingly (ie that I was a student and not to be charged).

In 2001 I received council tax notice for year 2001/2003. The amount due was £0.00.

In December 2001 I received a final notice demanding council tax due in respect of the period 24/09/99 to 31/03/00. In August 2002 I received a summary warrant notice charging me for the council tax due in respect of the period 24/09/99 to 31/03/00 in addition to a 10% statutory surcharge. As per my previous instructions I ignored the bills but was concerned that the system was still trying to charge me tax for which I was not liable.

In February 2002 I received council tax notice for year 2002/2003. The amount due was £0.00.

In July 2002 I graduated from University and immediately started claiming jobseeker’s allowance. I received benefits in the form of jobseeker’s allowance from 18/7/02 until 23/2/03. During this time I received no housing benefits. This is because I felt there was no need to claim housing benefits as <my address> is owned by my parents who were allowing me to reside rent free. At this time I was under the impression that the fact that I was signing on would be relayed automatically from the job centre to Glasgow City council (in regards to my council tax). I thought that, in regards to council tax, being unemployed was akin to being a student, ie that you were charged a yearly amount of £0.00, and as such my situation and thus my “account” remained unchanged.

(Through talking to staff members of Glasgow Council Financial Services I have recently discovered that even unemployed people are liable for water charges. As I had never claimed housing benefits whilst unemployed I was not aware of this before.)

After receiving, in July 2003, the bills for tax year 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 I phoned your helpline and asked to be sent a rebate form. As the first instalment was due before the 28th of August I filled in and returned the rebate form in addition to my supporting documents at the beginning of August (I didn’t note the exact date but I am confident that it was during the first week. I know for a fact that it was before the 15th of August).

On the 17th of August 2003 I moved out of <my address> and returned home to live with my parents (at <my parents address>). This was due to renovation work which was to be performed on the flat. I have not lived at <my address> since that date. During the second week of September I went to the flat to see if there was any mail (I had asked the builders to inform me via my father if there was any and had heard nothing so I decided to double check). During that time I had received three letters from Glasgow council. The first of the letters was another rebate form. The second letter was a brown envelope post-dated the 25.8.03. Printed on the outside of the letter was:

IF NOT DELIVERED RETURN TO

P.O. BOX
45 JOHN STREET
GLASGOW G1 1JE

This envelope contained the documents I had sent in to support my rebate claim. The third letter was a council tax final reminder for tax year 2002/2003.

The fact I was sent another rebate form (why would I need one … I had already sent one in) and a final reminder (I had applied for rebate on the bill for that year so surely that account would be frozen until my rebate claim had been processed) confused me somewhat. Because of this and due to the nature of a final reminder I went to the Council Tax office (at 45 John Street) and inquired as to the state of affairs. I initially stated my case to a council tax officer but as my situation is somewhat complicated I was transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor informed me that there was no record of my rebate application form in the system. To be frank I got the impression that he didn’t believe that I had applied for a rebate. However when I presented him with the envelope sent from John Street containing my supporting documents he was at a loss to explain the situation. I was given the option of filling out another rebate form there and then and decided to take the opportunity.

Whilst filling in the backdating section of the form the subject of why I had not applied for rebate earlier was aired. I told the supervisor that I had not applied for rebate earlier as I had only recently received the bills. The supervisor informed me that according to your records I had been sent two letters the previous financial year (in addition to the letter stating that I was liable for a council tax payment of £0.00). One notifying me that I was no longer exempt from payment (as I was no longer student) and the second detailing the amount of council tax I was liable for. I received neither letter. The first I was aware of the bills were the letters I received on the 5/7/03.


EXPLANATION OF MY ACTIONS

I did not apply for rebate earlier as I was not aware I had any bill which needed rebate to be applied for (the only bill I received before the 5/7/03 for council tax for 2002/2003 showed that I was due to pay £0.00 whilst the first I was aware of the amount I was due to pay for both 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 were the bills sent 5/7/03).

Before paying my council tax this year the only experience which I have had of paying tax has been income tax and national insurance. Both of these methods take the tax I owe automatically from my wages. As such I believed that the Government (and by extension Glasgow Council) knew when I was earning and in relation to my council tax “account” my details were updated automatically. I further believed that what I earned was not a “circumstance” (ie in relation to the “CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE” section detailed on the bill). I believed that the circumstances they referred to there were details such as address or a change in my name. Because of this I thought I didn’t need to tell the council either that I was unemployed or that I had gained employment. Due to my inexperience in paying council tax I believed that as an unemployed person I was not liable for council tax for tax year 2002/2003 (with the exception of the last week in February and the month of March which I assumed would be billed to me automatically).

The initial absence of a bill for the week in February and the month of March 2003 did not seem strange to me as I came to the conclusion that as it was the last month or so of the tax year there must be too much difficulty in billing me immediately and I would be charged by it being added onto my bill for Tax Year 2003/2004.

The initial absence of a bill for tax year 2003/2004 did not seem strange to me as I had previously experienced mistakes in the council tax billing process. I just figured that another system had gone awry but would eventually right itself. In addition up until this point in all my experiences with council tax bills I had been told the yearly amount which was due. Only on my latest bill (tax year 2003-2004) have monthly due amounts appeared. Before I received this bill I was therefore under the impression that everybody paid their council tax bill in a lump sum at the end of whatever year they were being charged for (I never knew any different because I have never had to pay council tax). Because of this I thought that the system had several months to right itself. It was my intention to inform Glasgow Council financial services before the end of the financial year that I hadn’t received a bill if the system didn’t manage to correct its mistake.


MY INTERPRETATION OF THE SITUATION

Problems with the council tax billing process (which served to confuse me as to what was standard billing practise) general assumptions about the situation on my behalf (which I believed to be logical in the circumstances) and some bad luck (ie post getting lost) have resulted in this situation.

I appreciate that the defence of “I didn’t respond earlier because the bill got lost in the post” is not the strongest. However, I regularly receive post at <my address> which is neither addressed to me or my flat. As such not receiving letters comes as no great surprise to me.

Finally I hope that the consideration with which I have effectively dealt with council tax bill for previous years and the fact that I have paid promptly once aware of my bill for 2003/2004 can be taken into account when you decide the merit of my case.

[Dace]

There will be a letter basically saying "Hi" and quoting reference numbers before this.

Also i will be photocopying and sending a copy of all the bills i possess (which is everyone i mention).

JUST SO YOU KNOW!

[queball]

Is this spellchecked? "instalment" is uncommon at best.

How does the letter begin and start? I'd avoid using "ie" (it's usually extraneous, perhaps instead use "that is,") "I just figured" ("I assumed that"), "didn't" ("did not" - this is a formal letter!), "had to" ("needed to" / "been required to") and this sentence is very informal:

I appreciate that the defence of “I didn’t respond earlier because the bill got lost in the post” is not the strongest.

Blame them - say you weren't sent enough warnings - or if you need to sound pathetic, use "I apologise for not responsing earlier but I believe that my mail is not delivered reliably," or whatever.
"why would I need one" is a (rhetorical) question; use a question mark, not an ellipsis. You have inconsistent date formats. Other than that it seems fine and reads well. Good luck!

edit1: "never knew any different" should probably be "did not know otherwise" formally.

[Dace]

Thanks queball.

All good points.

All things i missed :up:

[mpr0733]

tl;dr

.

[Dace]

Ohhh and ...

Originally Posted by queball

Is this spellchecked?

Yes

Originally Posted by queball

How does the letter begin and start?

I've not start that yet.

Prolly just a seperate page with "in relation to case ref no blah blah blah. I have enclosed a description of my actions and an explanation of them. I hope this is enough etc etc etc."

I'm gonna do that tomorrow morning (im too tired atm ... will prolly post that too when ive done it).

Originally Posted by queball

Good luck!

Thanks :)

[Nusselt]

hey wheres the bit about shooting them twice in the face with your cum?

[Embroglio]

Originally Posted by Nusselt

hey wheres the bit about shooting them twice in the face with your cum?

That's priceless.

[Tietäjä]

Send them a replymail with a filthy letter covered in cum?

[roadrunner_0]

sounds god to me, the council will be used to ****ing up other ppls council tax, they might still take you to court though, as they did with one of my housemates in the past. (luckliy i wasnt named in any documents for that place, so the judgement doesnt sit on my credit record )

[SilverSmoke]

I am a taxman but I can't be arsed to read your letter ahahahahahaaaha

[Dante Hicks]

Originally Posted by roadrunner_0

(luckliy i wasnt named in any documents for that place, so the judgement doesnt sit on my credit record )

Judgements on council tax are held in magistrates courts, and therefore (I think) any judgement they hand out doesn't have the same effect that County Court money judgements have. Basically not paying taxes is a criminal matter, whereas not paying most other bills is a civil matter.

[Kurashima]

Make sure you HAND DELIVER THE ****ER so they cannot manage to lose it again.

[Dante Hicks]

Originally Posted by Kurashima

Make sure you HAND DELIVER THE ****ER so they cannot manage to lose it again.

And get a receipt (they are used to doing this for HB claims which are generally administered at the same office). They should be able to write you our a slip to say what you submitted, and when, etc.

[Snurx]

good luck dacy boy!

[JBOY]

i payed triple council tax two years ago, an been paying full council tax since whilst they correct the error.
I've got receipts for about 40 odd letters and umpteen copies of correspondence.

Council tax offices are crap.

[Dace]

Originally Posted by Kurashima

Make sure you HAND DELIVER THE ****ER so they cannot manage to lose it again.

I'm doing exactly that tommorrow.

[Dace]

Originally Posted by JBOY

i payed triple council tax two years ago, an been paying full council tax since whilst they correct the error.
I've got receipts for about 40 odd letters and umpteen copies of correspondence.

Council tax offices are crap.

You have just rained on my parade :(

[cnaw]

down with taxes; up with user fees!!!