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Hello all,
I'll start by saying that this thread is not about council tax persay but about council services, so many apologies if I've posted in the wrong category. I wasn't able to find one that was a more appropriate fit.
Last September I moved in to a property which does not have a connection to a mains sewer. Instead, all 'waste' is collected in an underground sceptic tank. To have the tank emptied you either have to contact the local borough council, who will them arrange for it to be emptied on your behalf, or you can contact a private company directly. I live alone and decided I did not need to have the tank emptied for quite a while. One day a tanker arrived outside my house, according to neighbours and while I was at work, and proceeded to empty the tank. The driver left a 'ticket' confirming the amount of waste extracted and various details relating to a service agreement. On the ticket it had an agreement number and my address, but not my name. Under 'forwarding address if different from above' it had the name and new address of the previous tenant. It also stated in the notes section 'Agreement Term: annual agreement'. Clearly the previous tenant had an annual service agreement in place. After a month or so I received an invoice for the work which confirmed the original ticket number but had a new agreement number on it and was addressed to 'The Occupier' instead of the previous tenant. I have concluded that someone has realised the previous tenant has moved on and had forgotten to cancel the agreement. It seems a new account was set up, the amount owing transferred to the new account and, because they have no idea who the new occupier is they can't address me personally (despite me paying council tax at that address for over a year!). Since the invoice I've received a 'first' and then a 'final' reminder from the council treasurer demanding payment for the outstanding invoice. The reminders were also sent to 'The Occupier'. The final reminder states that the matter will be passed to council solicitors, incurring extra costs, and my (or 'The Occupiers' more like) credit record may be affected if I do not settle within 7 days.
So here is my question I'm hoping someone can answer; Can legal action, and credit record action, be taken against me as 'The Occupier', despite the reminders and warnings never having been sent to me personally? Is the fact they were sent to the correct address enough for them to justify appropriate warnings were given to me personnally?
I'm concerned that, despite my initial assumption the council would eventually realise their administration error and eventually stop hassling me, it has now gone too far. At the beginning it was fairly black and white to me and I thought that it would be impossible for anyone to demand payment for a service I didn't ask for. To me it's no different to a window cleaner cleaning my windows without my consent and then hassling me for payment. Am I right to assume the council haven't got any right to demand payment from me? Or, are they somehow entitled to force payment for services they've provided, without my consent, the same as they do for council tax payments that cover all the other services they provide (services such as refuge collection, etc).
Thanks in advance for any advice on this,
Bob
I'll start by saying that this thread is not about council tax persay but about council services, so many apologies if I've posted in the wrong category. I wasn't able to find one that was a more appropriate fit.
Last September I moved in to a property which does not have a connection to a mains sewer. Instead, all 'waste' is collected in an underground sceptic tank. To have the tank emptied you either have to contact the local borough council, who will them arrange for it to be emptied on your behalf, or you can contact a private company directly. I live alone and decided I did not need to have the tank emptied for quite a while. One day a tanker arrived outside my house, according to neighbours and while I was at work, and proceeded to empty the tank. The driver left a 'ticket' confirming the amount of waste extracted and various details relating to a service agreement. On the ticket it had an agreement number and my address, but not my name. Under 'forwarding address if different from above' it had the name and new address of the previous tenant. It also stated in the notes section 'Agreement Term: annual agreement'. Clearly the previous tenant had an annual service agreement in place. After a month or so I received an invoice for the work which confirmed the original ticket number but had a new agreement number on it and was addressed to 'The Occupier' instead of the previous tenant. I have concluded that someone has realised the previous tenant has moved on and had forgotten to cancel the agreement. It seems a new account was set up, the amount owing transferred to the new account and, because they have no idea who the new occupier is they can't address me personally (despite me paying council tax at that address for over a year!). Since the invoice I've received a 'first' and then a 'final' reminder from the council treasurer demanding payment for the outstanding invoice. The reminders were also sent to 'The Occupier'. The final reminder states that the matter will be passed to council solicitors, incurring extra costs, and my (or 'The Occupiers' more like) credit record may be affected if I do not settle within 7 days.
So here is my question I'm hoping someone can answer; Can legal action, and credit record action, be taken against me as 'The Occupier', despite the reminders and warnings never having been sent to me personally? Is the fact they were sent to the correct address enough for them to justify appropriate warnings were given to me personnally?
I'm concerned that, despite my initial assumption the council would eventually realise their administration error and eventually stop hassling me, it has now gone too far. At the beginning it was fairly black and white to me and I thought that it would be impossible for anyone to demand payment for a service I didn't ask for. To me it's no different to a window cleaner cleaning my windows without my consent and then hassling me for payment. Am I right to assume the council haven't got any right to demand payment from me? Or, are they somehow entitled to force payment for services they've provided, without my consent, the same as they do for council tax payments that cover all the other services they provide (services such as refuge collection, etc).
Thanks in advance for any advice on this,
Bob
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