Court threat for 4p unpaid council tax
A man was threatened with court action by a council over an unpaid tax bill - of four pence.
David Burke was staggered when he opened his mail to find a letter from Sandwell Council urgently demanding he pay up the amount.
He was even offered the opportunity to pay the sum off in instalments but was told if he did not start paying what he owed in seven days he would have to shell out the whole 4p.
The notice warned Mr Burke, from Wednesbury, who works for an aerospace company, that the council would begin legal proceedings at the magistrates court if he did not pay up and as a result would then have to meet court costs of £72.
The 40-year-old said his initial reaction to the letter was amusement but he soon became angry when he called the council, with the call adding to his phone bill.
Mr Burke pays his council tax via direct debit, so the full amount should have come out of his account automatically.
He said: "I got home from work and opened the mail and I saw the council tax reminder for 4p. I phoned them up and said 'look, with the cost of sending the letter, this is ridiculous'.
"I said 'can you explain why you have sent me a letter threatening me with court action for 4p?'"
He was told it was likely there had been a glitch with the payment system, but an irate Mr Burke said: "They will always try and blame the automated system but the system is flawed if they are going to send me this bill of 4p with magistrates court costs attached."
He said he found it incredible a cash-strapped council which is trying to save millions of pounds would come after him for 4p.
"It's a disgrace, how many people have they sent these to and been told they will have to go to court? For 4p, it's a waste of taxpayers' money. With all the admin costs, they are throwing money away doing this."
Despite his anger, Mr Burke was still able to see the funny side.
He said: "I said I'd had a whip round at work and we were all really concerned. I offered to pay the 4p but they said as a gesture of good will they would write it off. It cost me £3 to get through!"
Sandwell Council said it was investigating the matter.
