So this morning I was most alarmed to find my bank account had been emptied close to the amount of 480 pounds by the District council. We all know they are a pointless in between pencil pushing failed tory experiment designed only to waste and take public money.
It was quite clear on my statement that the council had my money, so like any reasonable person I got angry as hell and I wasn’t going to take it anymore! I got to work and picked up the phone only to find the internet and phone systems were down so skip an hour and a half and some trouble shooting I called the council tax office (which rang for 5 minutes). The lady politely asked for a reference number, of course I didn’t have any reference number because no one had told me they were going to steal all my money. After some computer saying no issues she eventually found my account and said, “ah yes, did you receive that letter about a year ago where the government set up a third party group to assess people that claim the 25 percent council tax discount for living alone?”, I was forced to say I don’t know because… I don’t. I actually can’t remember the name of who is doing the assessment but it’s a third party set up by the hate mongering Tories, in the same way they set up the benefits assessment system for getting people back to work.
To my astonishment she continued to tell me that there was nothing the council could do (even though they hold the money) and gave me a number to call. Surly the body responsible for setting up the accounts should be able to self govern themselves? NO. Ill explain why later.
So I called the number, I was given three IVR options (automated voice thingy), 1 for something I didn’t need, 2 for another thing I didn’t need and 3 for single persons who have had their 25% discount removed and have just had to pay an astronomical amount of money in one go to appease… well no one as far as I can tell. A lady answered and I explained what had happened and gave her my council tax account number, she asked me if I lived alone, I said yes, she said the money will be returned and my discount applied.
That was it. So back to my can they govern themselves question. Personally I think we would all be better off without a district council, they seem to fuck up even the most basic of tasks like picking up the rubbish. But this seemed to me like a blanket money taking scheme. If you didn’t get the letter or respond to it, at some point in the future we will take all your money, and not tell you but, and here is the clincher, you can’t get it back from the people that took it directly, the people who actually handle it all, you have to call a third party who wont assess you in any meaningful way and then THEY will contact the council to say it’s ok to give you your money back…
So it’s not a disaster but then think about the back to work assessment system, compare it to this (same people setting it up) and draw your own conclusions as to why people are dying because they have no means to work and have had their benefits stripped. I’m ok I can survive easily and I know what to do in these circumstances but there is a large amount of elderly and disabled peoples out there who don’t and rely on the state to help and take care of them. It’s one thing to have a government you disagree with and another thing to have a government with blood on it’s hands.
Tom Brown
