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Council sends pensioner 10-page demand for 93 PENCE of unemployment benefit he was overpaid more than 20 years ago
A pensioner has been sent a bill demanding he repay 93p authorities claim he was overpaid in unemployment benefit more than twenty years ago.
Mike Gardiner was left shocked after he received a 10-page letter from Barrow Borough Council ordering him to repay the debt, from way back in 1993.
Mr Gardiner, 72, joked: 'I don't know how they want it paying. I was thinking of giving them it in instalments'
Retired welder Mr Gardiner says the savings made by not posting the letter could have almost wiped out the debt.
He said: 'It's just baffling that someone could sit there and work it out years later. Where has this been for the last 21 years?
'You hear of all sorts of money that the council loses, I couldn't believe this is a top priority.
'It's easier to write the debt off. It probably cost them more than 93p with all the postage and paper they've sent.
Mr Gardiner, of, Barrow, Cumbria, received a letter from Barrow Town Hall dated April 15 2014, telling him he'd been overpaid in 1993.
The former contract worker was briefly unemployed that year and received unemployment benefit.
But Mr Gardiner has questioned why Liberata - which works with Barrow Borough Council to manage the authority's revenue and benefits service - sent the printed 10-page document through the post as he believes the cost of postage and processing the case will be more than the overpayment itself.
The bill of 93p is in relation to an overpayment in benefits between April 1, 1993 and April 4, 1993.
The letter, from the director of resources at Barrow Town Hall, tells Mike that he must pay off the tiny debt within 14 days, and he must pay it separately to his council tax.
The bill can be paid off in several ways, including by cheque, by cash at any post office, or by direct debit, the letter states.
Mr Gardiner's wife, Susan, said the letter could easily confuse people 'without their wits about them'.
She said: 'Anyone could read the letter and get confused and worried. It wasn't until the last page we realised it was only 93p Mike owed. There is no point contesting it as it's such a small amount. It's very peculiar.
Commenting on Mr Gardiner's case, John O'Connell, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It's likely that a computer chucked this demand out automatically, but it's a bit silly that it was then actually sent out as the demand and will have cost taxpayers more than they lost out from the unpaid bill.
'The reason these overpayments occur in the first place is because the benefits system is too complicated, so a drastic overhaul is badly needed.'
A joint statement from Barrow Borough Council and Liberata stated: 'We are aware that an issue has caused a number of erroneous council tax invoices and notifications to be produced.
'We have identified the customers affected and have sent them a letter today to apologise for the error.
'We reviewed our procedures in light of the error and are introducing measures to ensure it does not happen again.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...years-ago.html
- Retired welder Mike Gardiner told he was overpaid the tiny sum in 1993
- The former contract worker, 72, was briefly unemployed at that time
- But he is baffled why it has taken authorities 21 years to find the debt
- He says the council could have saved the money by not sending the letter
A pensioner has been sent a bill demanding he repay 93p authorities claim he was overpaid in unemployment benefit more than twenty years ago.
Mike Gardiner was left shocked after he received a 10-page letter from Barrow Borough Council ordering him to repay the debt, from way back in 1993.
Mr Gardiner, 72, joked: 'I don't know how they want it paying. I was thinking of giving them it in instalments'
Retired welder Mr Gardiner says the savings made by not posting the letter could have almost wiped out the debt.
He said: 'It's just baffling that someone could sit there and work it out years later. Where has this been for the last 21 years?
'You hear of all sorts of money that the council loses, I couldn't believe this is a top priority.
'It's easier to write the debt off. It probably cost them more than 93p with all the postage and paper they've sent.
Mr Gardiner, of, Barrow, Cumbria, received a letter from Barrow Town Hall dated April 15 2014, telling him he'd been overpaid in 1993.
The former contract worker was briefly unemployed that year and received unemployment benefit.
But Mr Gardiner has questioned why Liberata - which works with Barrow Borough Council to manage the authority's revenue and benefits service - sent the printed 10-page document through the post as he believes the cost of postage and processing the case will be more than the overpayment itself.
The bill of 93p is in relation to an overpayment in benefits between April 1, 1993 and April 4, 1993.
The letter, from the director of resources at Barrow Town Hall, tells Mike that he must pay off the tiny debt within 14 days, and he must pay it separately to his council tax.
The bill can be paid off in several ways, including by cheque, by cash at any post office, or by direct debit, the letter states.
Mr Gardiner's wife, Susan, said the letter could easily confuse people 'without their wits about them'.
She said: 'Anyone could read the letter and get confused and worried. It wasn't until the last page we realised it was only 93p Mike owed. There is no point contesting it as it's such a small amount. It's very peculiar.
Commenting on Mr Gardiner's case, John O'Connell, director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It's likely that a computer chucked this demand out automatically, but it's a bit silly that it was then actually sent out as the demand and will have cost taxpayers more than they lost out from the unpaid bill.
'The reason these overpayments occur in the first place is because the benefits system is too complicated, so a drastic overhaul is badly needed.'
A joint statement from Barrow Borough Council and Liberata stated: 'We are aware that an issue has caused a number of erroneous council tax invoices and notifications to be produced.
'We have identified the customers affected and have sent them a letter today to apologise for the error.
'We reviewed our procedures in light of the error and are introducing measures to ensure it does not happen again.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...years-ago.html
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