Browse Sections

• Education
• Roadworks
• Shipman
• Special reports

1p council tax bill: pay by instalment?

Tom Rowley
14/ 3/2007

A PENSIONER was gobsmacked to receive a council tax bill for the princely sum of ... one pence.

Mary Flynn, of Ogden Square, Dukinfield said: "I had to laugh it said: 'Instalments must be paid on 11 March and then at the bottom of the bill: £0.01.

"Your current method of payment is cash!'.

"I did think of paying by cheque but that might have cost me more than the bill.

"I usually pay weekly so I went to the council offices in Ashton to pay at the counter and the woman there even had a joke about it.

"But I did not think it was a joke at all. Fancy sending something like that through the post to a 77-year-old widow."

The 1p bill was for Mrs Flynn's Band A property. The penny sum was arrived at after her single person 25 per cent discount, benefit entitlements and payments credited to her account were deducted from the gross £809.57 charge.

A council spokeswoman said: "Over 96,000 bills are produced at the beginning of the year.

"We do on occasion bill for very small amounts of money that remain outstanding, but usually roll this over onto the subsequent year's bill, but unfortunately on this occasion, this must have slipped through the net.

"What Mrs Flynn will have in fact received is the bill for one penny, and also a new bill for 2007/08 with the penny included."

Most recent 1 of 1 user comments