Category Archives: Torfaen Council

Torfaen Council say no to single occupancy council tax

In January Deb Smith from Torfaen Council successfully sorted out my council tax problem when I had received a summons and demand for money for unpaid council tax on a property I couldn’t even enter. That was good, well done Deb.

However, I have just received my bill for the next year April ’08 – April ’09. The bill is for something close to £1,000 as I’ve been charged the full amount, on a house that I’ve barely seen since August.

Now, surely I should able to get some sort of discount as I don’t live there? Well, yes. If there was no furniture at all in the house I could claim a 50% discount for several months, however there is a bed, a dining room table and the odd other piece… meaning I’m not eligible for that discount.

What about single occupancy? Surely I can at least claim that? I’m not living with my ex-wife anymore am I. Well, have a listen to this phone call I just made to someone who was extremely rude, suggesting I look in a dictionary for a definition of ‘living in a house’.

If the house was empty of furniture and no one was living in there I’d get a 50% discount. If I lived in the house on my own I’d get a 25% discount. If the house stands empty but has a table in it, I get charged the full amount… even though I’m not using any of the council’s services. No waste collection, no street lighting, no police force… nothing. The full amount.

I despair at this. I really do. Looks like I may have to move back into my house, using up the resources of Torfaen Council, just to claim a 25% discount on their council tax? How messed up is that?

Deb Smith of Torfaen Council sorts out my Council Tax

If you remember the problems I had with my council tax a while back, and that Torfaen Council actually contacted me after finding this blog on page 1 of Google for a search on Torfaen Council you’ll be interested in the updates.

The news is good. Deb Smith has accepted that as I couldn’t enter my own house due to my ex-wife changing the locks and the fact that the judge had placed a court order barring anything from being removed from the house Torfaen Council have accepted that I’m not liable for the council tax during that period.

This is good to know, and I’d like to thank Deb for sorting this out. Once again the power of the Internet comes good.

Incidentally, this site now occupies positions 3 and 4 for ‘Torfaen Council’ in Google, beaten only by Torfaen Council’s own website.

Not bad eh?

Torfaen Council contact me!

You might remember my problems with Torfaen Council where they wanted to (and eventually did without my being there) go to court to insist I paid them council tax for a house I not only didn’t live in, but couldn’t even enter. Well it seems that the guys at Torfaen Council are avid Google users as they found my post on page 1 of Google for a search on Torfaen Council.

I received this email from Ben Black.

I picked up your mention of Torfaen Council on your blog about an issue you have with council tax. Can you contact my colleague *** ***** on ***.*****@torfaen.gov.uk or call 01495 ******. She will be able to check your address and look into your problem.

Once again it seems being a position to go public has paid off. I called Ben’s colleague and she seems quite willing to help out. I’ll send her the details next week by email and fax and we’ll see what happens.

I hope it goes off soon as I’ve had another letter since stating that the bailiffs now have permission to enter the house and remove property to cover the bill. I hope they don’t, they’ll be breaking a court order if they do!

Torfaen Council want to take me to court

I often ask why does this shit keep happening to me, yet it does. Constantly. Now, because of some retards at Torfaen Council it’s happening again. I just had a letter telling me that I’m to appear in Abergavenny Court on December 12th at 11:00am for non payment of council tax.

The problem is I telephoned Torfaen Council on September 3rd and explained that I DON’T LIVE THERE ANYMORE!!! Abergavenny is 200 miles away from where I live! Fuckwits.

Naturally, I recorded the phone call. For those of you wondering why I keep recording my phone calls, this another example of why it’s necessary. The idiot took down my information, understood that I don’t live there anymore and that I’d canceled my direct debit.

Yet the morons seem to have forgotten, and want to take me to court for not paying.

Fuck me!

I’m going to have make one of those infamous phone calls tomorrow to Torfaen Council, where no doubt they’ll say they have no record of me telling them I don’t live there anymore, and I point out that ‘not to worry’, I have a record of it. A recording of it in fact.