Northampton pensioner slams council for 'putting him through hell' after wrongful court summons over council tax payment

The pensioner, who wishes to remain anonymous, received a letter from West Northants Council (WNC) claiming he owed £60 in council tax. However, he disputed this, stating he had kept up with all payments and retained receipts. Lacking a computer, he attempted to contact the council via phone and post, but was unable to get through.

Despite sending a recorded delivery letter with his council tax receipt and even contacting a different WNC department to pass along his message, he was still summoned to Wellingborough Magistrates Court.

WNC said it cannot discuss individual cases but that it is currently reviewing service delivery to reduce wait times.

The 66-year-old said: “Just before I turned 66, they sent me a letter saying I owed £60 in council tax. I didn’t. I tried calling, but you can’t get through — you’re 50th in the queue with a two-hour wait. I even got another department to send an email for them to call me, and still nothing. I sent a letter with copies of my receipt. Still no response. After numerous attempts, the next thing I know, I get a court summons to Wellingborough.

"I’ve got a bit of a heart condition, and this made me feel absolutely awful. I had to arrange a lift, went through the indignity of emptying my pockets to enter the court building, and then was met by a woman who asked if I was there about council tax. I wasn’t the only one — there were others behind me. I went into a room where council representatives were. I explained they had made a mistake, and she just said, ‘Oh alright, leave it with us, we’ll look into it.’ No niceties, no manners. I told her, ‘You’ve called me all the way here just to say that? I’ve been trying to reach you for ages!’ I walked out feeling completely bewildered.

"Then, another woman came out and said, ‘They’ve dropped the court summons, it’s fine.’ I said, ‘Oh, you want me to be grateful for your mistake? You’ve put me through hell’. I’ve had to visit the doctor because of high blood pressure — it’s absolutely awful.’"

Over the course of a month, the pensioner had been subjected to enormous stress, and now feels he deserves compensation. After lodging a complaint, the council responded with a letter, claiming that had he informed them sooner, they could have rectified the issue. "Obnoxious," he said. "After all my efforts to contact them, how dare they say that? The attitude is appalling. How on earth can they get away with this?’

He added that he wanted to share his story because he feels many others might be facing the same situation.

A WNC spokeswoman responded, saying: “We cannot discuss individual cases to maintain our residents' privacy. We would, however, like to apologise to anyone who has experienced long wait times when trying to reach us. While we strive to offer a high-quality service, during times of high query volumes, delays may occur. We are currently reviewing our service delivery to reduce wait times.”