I work for the council in the council tax department and I just would like to say politely that it is important you pay your council tax on time!! I get loads of abuse every day from people who have been issued a summons or simply haven't payed it on time. If they'd have payed their council tax on time like most people do none of this would happen. Simple!
I am just like you all, my council tax comes out of my wages and I feel a lot of things could be improved and the money we pay in taxes could be better spent but at the end of the day I only work for the council on the phones, I don't make decisions!
:D

I know what you are saying and like you I also get my council tax deducted from my salary because I also work for my local authority, but on the other hand you cant ignore the fact that its all down to a persons circumstances that make it difficult for them to make payments on time.

Yeah of course some try to take the **** out of the system but others have genuine difficulties.

For example my Dad was made redundant a while back and this caused him a few problems but he has since rectifyed the situation.

I know its totally out of order when you get it in the neck from the public and you have to suffer abuse and as a council worker myself I know how that feels so I really sympathise with you.

Does Sheffield City Council have a employee protection policy? and what does your first line manager do to protect you from the abuse?

I know how stressful it is working as front line staff, but then I also know what its like to be a victim of circumstance.

Regards

Joanne

I do believe that if the Council and it's agents tried to be more understanding of the difference between 'Can't Pay' and 'Won't Pay' there might be more sympathy.

I've been in the 'Can't Pay' situation and have been treated as if I was just being bloody awkward.

I'd never be rude to staff - it's not my way - but at the risk of sounding nasty do have to remind you that you chose the job you do, and somewhere along the way it must have said 'And deal with people who may be as angry as hell'...:)

You shouldn't have to cope with crap from people, however.

As for better spending of money, damn right! :thumbsup:

Joe

It's 'paid' not 'payed'.

Originally posted by karenjane39
It's 'paid' not 'payed'.

English is not my first language! I do try my best but as some may have noticed my spelling is sometimes not 100%

As for people who can't pay, the council totally understands as we always arrange a way to pay the sum owed by monthly arrangements. Believe it or not people Sheffield is the most understanding and leniant for council tax, as I said earlier I work in the call centre and we have Sheffield (I work for them) Bromley, Swindon . If you dont pay in Bromley, they dont care, they send the bailiffs straightaway!:loopy:

Are they hell understanding, they are far from it and they are incompetent beyond belief. It took us over 6 months to get our discount back after they removed it when I rang to tell them they had spelt my name wrong. I never did work out what the two had in common - name spelt wrong so remove discount?!!?

To cut a long story short - they removed our discount we were entitled too and refused to recognise the problem or look into it. After many months of the council being useless we refused to continue paying until they sorted the problem, they ignored it again (even after we sent them the relevant documents) and eventually sent us all a court summons. I'd had enough and kicked off - threatened them with legal action and gave them a few choice words - they then got someone higher up to ring me back and he couldn't apologise enough, sent us a letter of apology accepting all blame etc.

Best thing is I've moved house since then and they screwed this bill up at first as well.

Luckily I haven't had to ring the so called helpline in a while where they all seem about as useful as a handbrake in a canoe. Can anyone tell I don't like 'em much :rolleyes:

would just like to add to this its there fault too .
My sister lives in london and they have just moved her in to a bedsit on the waitingf list for a house , she is due to have a baby on 15th and is on little pay and a full time uni student , has been in her bed sit for about 4 months now and has just got a letter through saying they want 400 and something pound off her by the end off feb , I told her to phone her and tell them she was a student but because she has a partner also on a low income and her uni corse is only 20 hours or so she may not be able to get this help , she has been turned down for income support and is hopeing to recive some tax credits , all she can do is sit and wait .
All i can say is dont be to hastey you working in a office should know all this as i bet you get your phonecalls ,
like you mine comes out my partners wadges but if you aint got the money to pay you cant .(i am not talking for everyone who would rather send on other things but what about them that cant afford to eat let it know pay there bills???)

Don't get me wrong - I know that I need to pay my Council Tax as part of the 'Social Contract'.

Just finished paying mine for the current year, so I can forget about it for a few weeks.

Who knows, 2005 may be the year I pay on time without threats, summonses or Attachment of Earnings orders!! :)

Joe

i am currently on an arrangment with the council to pay off some cash i fell behind with this year.

its all ok saying pay your council tax on time but a few years ago i applied for benefits as i was on a low income and the girlfriend wasnt working so we knew we where due benefit.

to cut a long story short, after sending the forms in and being messed about endlessly, told i hadnt supplied the documents they needed three or four times, then getting a solicitor to sort it all out for me, i got my dues back onto my account TWO YEARS later (£900 smackers to be precise).

the council are quick to collect thier cash but cant stand giving it out.

What annoys me is that they send a bill at the start of the year, and expect me to make 10 monthly payments. If I forget I don't a gentle reminder, I get a court summons 3 months down the line. Yes I suppose they treat everyone like a criminal when many of us are just absent minded.

It's annoying I know, but if everyone paid it on time all of this just wouldn't happen. Most of the people who work there are competent but like in everything in life you do get a few fannys..

I tried to pay my bill for over 11 months before the council managed to get it correct.

1)
kept sending me student exempt bills for 4 months even though I phoned and told them three times i wanted to pay them because I was no longer a student!

2)
Eventually 'they' managed to send me the correct bill, I paid some direct over the internet. They said they would spread the missed payments over the coming year as it was there fault for not billing me. Far enough thought it was sorted at last!

3) Sent me three different bills all with differing amounts. ARHHHH! rang again , sat on hold a lot, two months pass.

4) YIPPEEEE 7 months from the start I get a correct bill and spread payments. I ask for a direct debt form.

5) Another month later no form, more phone calls ( meanwhile get a court summons)

6) Apparently I have 'dodgy post' odd how everything else gets here ok! Now at last set up direct debt via post (they are unable to set it up over the phne like any other normal company can!)

7) phone up in complain about the court summons; I tried to pay them it's not my fault they cannot send a correct bill ( I should of ignored it and been a 'student' for the year!) Get told to write a letter of complait and address it to a certain person

8) One month later I ring ( on hold again) to ask why they have not replied, they have not recieved it!!!!! Apparentlly I sent it to the wrong person!!!! sent another letter to the 'correct' person.

9) Ring again, letter has again not arrived

I GIVE UP !!!!!!!

It's a wonder they get any Tax off anyone.

Originally posted by Sony
It's annoying I know, but if everyone paid it on time all of this just wouldn't happen. Most of the people who work there are competent but like in everything in life you do get a few fannys..

How can you pay it on time when you haven't been billed properly :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Sony
I work for the council in the council tax department and I just would like to say politely that it is important you pay your council tax on time!! I get loads of abuse every day from people who have been issued a summons or simply haven't payed it on time. If they'd have payed their council tax on time like most people do none of this would happen. Simple!
I am just like you all, my council tax comes out of my wages and I feel a lot of things could be improved and the money we pay in taxes could be better spent but at the end of the day I only work for the council on the phones, I don't make decisions!
:D
mmm...Maybe if the council were as helpful and prompt as they wish us to be when refunding money they quite clearly owe then maybe I'd consider it but until then...

I especially don't like getting a threat of court action , or whatever it is disguised as when I pay each month and due to a bank holiday ,or similar event , my regular payment is late by one day!!!!

sort it out council! catch the ones that don't pay and save a few trees by not sending a regular payer silly demands.

Isn't it amazing. Many summons have been issued and we ( the council) have sent at least 2 reminders and 99.9% of the time people tell us they've never received them. Ahhh.. Royal Mail.. as soon as they see a council tax reminder they throw it away.. Come on people!! we're not stupid!!

whats this we b-------, are you the head of sheffield council then, by the way bothered.

Originally posted by brooksy
whats this we b-------, are you the head of sheffield council then, by the way bothered.

???? what the hell are u on about????????????

Sony,

Can I try and clarify something here.
Are you actually a Sheffield City Council employee or do you work for Liberata who is the contractor handling Council tax and other affairs for SCC?

I personally think the council should: Clean my street on time, respond to my requests to sort out an overgrown bit of land near my house(it apparently doesn't belong to anybody) but is encroaching onto a public highway, talk to me with dignity and respect when I have the misfortune to have to call them, make sure my bin is emptied on time( I know this is onyx, however it is the council who contracts the muppets and should therefore take some responsibility), grit properly when it's icy and on and on...
Agreed it's not nice that you take s**t from people but when you're the voice of the organisation and complainants are looking for someone to take responsibility for a problem, in an organisation which rarely does take responsibility for it's failings, you'll do nicely to have a go at, ta very much!
People get frustrated, deal with it. Surely if you work on phones, the council provides you with the relevant customer service training to respond appropriately and not take it personally. All I ever want is someone to take ownership of the problem but this rarely happens.:rant: :rant: :rant: :rant:

Originally posted by Sony
It's annoying I know, but if everyone paid it on time all of this just wouldn't happen. Most of the people who work there are competent but like in everything in life you do get a few fannys..

what do you mean by 'paying on time'?leave it longer than a month then its missed payments when you get the summons isnt it? a few days late ie, due to loads of bank holidays and xmas and postal delays thats not paying on time...do the council tax people send you summonds if your a few days late because ive been a few days late and never recieved a summons or are they going to start doing it?

Originally posted by Sony
???? what the hell are u on about????????????

i think he means you're making out that the money owed in council tax belongs to you personally and you want it and you want it now! :)...i wouldnt ask you to lend me a fiver!

luv aunty witch

Screamingwitch,

My own experience is that you don't get the summons sent to you for a few days late, but only if you don't pay after you've had at least one reminder.

You then get a letter telling you you will be summonsed, and a date that the case will be heard. If you pay what's asked before that date then you don't get hit. If you fail to pay, and don't have a good reason (and not having any money is not viewed as a good reason) then you'll get a judgement against you and will be expected to pay the Council Tax and legal fees.

If you're employed, then the typical approach taken is something called an Attachment of Earnings Order - they contact your employer and take off so much of your wages each week / month until it's paid off.

I can't remember the exact details but there's a formula that is used to work out how much they take off based upon your take home pay.

I remember some years ago they f***ed up royally with me by taking 600 out of my bank account a couple of days before Christmas (not as part of an attachment order). Fortunately this took me a little overdrawn so my bank in a rare act of usefulness refused to pay up...:)

Joe

I'm thinking of moving to a place where I don't need to pay council tax, income tax, TV license fee, road tax and VAT on everything I buy.

Any ideas?

Originally posted by cgksheff
Sony,

Can I try and clarify something here.
Are you actually a Sheffield City Council employee or do you work for Liberata who is the contractor handling Council tax and other affairs for SCC?

Liberata:thumbsup:

So now I have to ask.....

Kittenkel,
Are you "Sony"?

I wonder how much of our wage goes on tax? Between income tax, vat, road tax, tax on insurance, tax on petrol, council tax, airport tax, insurance tax, tax on drink and cigarettes blah blah blah blah.... you get the picture, but I wonder just how much we really do spend each year on tax?

On another note. I think that councils spend money on really stupid things sometimes. In my area they have started to put brick that join each side of a pavement up thus looking like a continuos piece of pavement without stopping for the junctions. It looks so stupid as the bricks are bright red and 2 people have been knocked over so far as they think its continuos pavement and drivers have difficulty in seeing it! Its costing thousands for them to do it, but come on, pick my bins up on time first!?

I can also see your point about not wanting to be the person who gets shouted at. When im in a situation like that where im complaining about something and, like everyone, there are times when you can become irate my answer is always well "your the one wearing the uniform not me"! I understand its not directly your fault or something that perhaps you have caused but in reality, it comes with the territory and you are representing the company and I suppose it could be viewed as "its your job" to listen to complaints and handle them effectively.

Originally posted by Kittenkel
Liberata:thumbsup:

I'm sony's girlfriend!

Originally posted by Sony
I work for the council in the council tax department and I just would like to say politely that it is important you pay your council tax on time!!

I work in the bank, and today an old dear came in wanting to set up a standing order to pay her council tax. She'd, very sensibly, brought the tax bill, thinking that would have sufficient information on to allow her to set up a regular payment.

For reasons best known to themselves, the council don't print their bank account details on the statment. Why is this? People might want to pay by standing order, or pay through their internet banking. Get it sorted please.

I decided to try to help my customer, so I called the helpline for her to try and find the details. After being on hold for ages I finally got through to someone but they were less than helpful. I have to say if the old lady had been left to sort things out herself, she'd probably have found herself in court. Not impressed. :rant:

I'm a full time student, so exempt from council tax, from october last year my housemate paid it after my reduction. My housemate moved out this month, told the council and told them I was staying on, alone in this house. On saturday I recieved a bill for over £200 to be paid by 31st Jan!!!!
I phoned the council on monday morning, to be told (after 3 attemts at looking) that they had no record of my student status and I would have to fill in the relevant forms and get a letter from my university etc again!!!
I was ever so slightly annoyed at this, and told them so. I also sent them an email AND filled in a complaint form about it.
The next day I got a nice polite phonecall, saying that my student status and all the paperwork is atached to my file, and the council woman couldn't see where the problem was in the first place!!!???!!!! She sorted it, and told me to ignore the bill, thankfully, and a new one would be sent.
Why is it that some people are completely unable to sort things out, when all the information is there, they can't see it!!!??? The first person I spoke to was adamant that it was not there and I'd have had to go out of my way to correct one of their mistakes again (I had this prob with them as an undergrad student too)!!!!
Grrrrrrrr
I wish the Council would employ people who are capable of the job they are in, especially when they are answering enquiries from even more confused people!!!! :rant: :rant: :rant:
ok rant over
:D

Regarding student council tax exemption. Got all the relevent letters, but how do we apply for it?

:confused:

Council tax can now be paid over 12 (previously 10) monthly instalments.

i over paid last year by about £30, does anyone know how i can get it back? also i have paid last 3 years my council tax at start of the year but this time i am having to pay it monthly, if you do it by direct debit you can pay it over 12 months instead of ten:D

Sony - totally agree that no-one should be abusive to you but I can fully understand why some people trying to pay their council tax get fed up with the Council tax dept. I personally haven't shouted or sworn ( not my style) but oohhhh some of the staff are pushing there luck.

We have had 3 letters in the last 2yrs telling us it will be a court date because we haven't paid. We have paid but we confused the staff because we have paid 2months in advance ( due to hols etc..).

Phone calls to them to explain we have paid but we paid you really early are never understood. Must be a real one off to pay early in Sheffield. So several phone calls later it's always left with a fed up ' just recheck our records/account and we'll have to meet up in court where you'll look really stupid and be wasting time and money'

Get an apology for their error? No chance.

We don't pay by direct debt because I don't trust the council tax dept cos' if they can't work out 2 months payment in one go then god help them - they don't get my bank details.

Wish they would bother about those who don't pay their council tax and stop sending their red letters to those whom do.:rant:

Hook - This might help http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/council-tax/students-and-council-tax

but otherwise if you are a student living in accomodation that is let as student accomodation then you don't ususally have to do anything because the landlord will sort it all. We never did anything with council tax when we were students it just seemed to sort itself.

Originally posted by mjlacey21
Hook - This might help http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/council-tax/students-and-council-tax

but otherwise if you are a student living in accomodation that is let as student accomodation then you don't ususally have to do anything because the landlord will sort it all. We never did anything with council tax when we were students it just seemed to sort itself.

Our landlord doesn't appear to be that great, everytime we've got in touch with him he's forgotten we're meant to be meeting him. He did mention that he'd sort it out, but I just wanted to be aware of what we had to do incase he didn't!

Thanks you :-)

Originally posted by Sony
Isn't it amazing. Many summons have been issued and we ( the council) have sent at least 2 reminders and 99.9% of the time people tell us they've never received them. Ahhh.. Royal Mail.. as soon as they see a council tax reminder they throw it away.. Come on people!! we're not stupid!!

I understand your situation, but I was in this situation and no reminders were sent. Having dealt with the council several times, I feel it is more lightly that the council made the mistake not the royal mail. Do you not feel that the '99.9%' may actually be telling the truth.

I do agree however, if you pay your council tax on time then you are ok. However it was a massive shock to the system, every other bill, water, electricity and gas are so understanding.

Any organised person would know when their council tax is due and not have to wait for 'reminders' which cost the council more thereby probably increasing our council tax! Council tax is a harsh reality

Originally posted by karenjane39
It's 'paid' not 'payed'.
How incredibly pedantic of you to post that in this thread.

Originally posted by Jennie80
Any organised person would know when their council tax is due and not have to wait for 'reminders' which cost the council more thereby probably increasing our council tax! Council tax is a harsh reality

But when you don't get these reminders, they inform you that you must now pay much more.:(

Hopefully the government’s ongoing review of local taxation will recommend local income tax then most of these problems (that is to say problems with local admin) will be taken care of when the Inland Revenue take over.

Originally posted by Sony
Bromley, Swindon . If you dont pay in Bromley, they dont care, they send the bailiffs straightaway!:loopy:

But let's be honest, there will be very few folk who reside in Bromley and cannot afford to pay their Council Tax - the majortiy of them will have more disposable income than most have had hot dinners.

Bromley borough = Ranmoor, etc, etc.

(Apart from a couple of housing estates tucked away).