who isnt paying there rates

Old_Git

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7712218.stm

leftieM

I wonder if it's linked to the buy-to-let boom? Landlords are liable for the rates on rented properties but may choose not to pay them I suspect, pretending that the property is empty. I would imagine that a lot of unpaid rates and taxes will be chased down in the future as the government's income dries up.

NAR

I think it will take a lot more than 7 people (see article) to put a dent in the debt figure! :mad:

wifeforlife

At one stage in the intervening period, the office in charge of collection had only seven staff retrieving arrears

haha yeah good old media and councillors passing the buck, maybe if the ministers got back to their jobs instead of commenting on others the defecit wouldn't be that much

broke_mum_of_three

I dont know, I pursued the rates office for 15 months to get my rated sorted when I moved house, I eventually got it sorted and got a backdated bill for £2000:eek:
Maybe I'm in that figure for unpaid rates:D

bribrian

£124m............... that's a lot of giros.........

Old_Git

I know there is someone on here who works in the rates office so I wont say to much .
however I do know off a pensioner who paid her rates out off her £130 pension .she did this for years and refused to claim housing benefit .
I finally got her to claim but told her not to pay her bill until it was sorted .
She paid her bill anyway and she had to wait another 6 months to get her money back because they had a new computer and they couldnt make payments .

seatzie

I had a similar experience, chased them for 9 months to sort it out when I moved house then I got a bill for £1200 to be paid back in 4 months!
kinda think I shouldn't have been so honest

broke_mum_of_three wrote: »

I dont know, I pursued the rates office for 15 months to get my rated sorted when I moved house, I eventually got it sorted and got a backdated bill for £2000:eek:
Maybe I'm in that figure for unpaid rates:D

wifeforlife

With the greatest respect though, with being so honest.

You realised you'd be getting a bill and should have been putting money aside for when you did receive a bill possibly even making money as you could have put it into a high interest savings account and a nice wee earner could have been made

Unfortunately with the current financial crisis looming the staff simply cant get blood out of a stone

attritioner

What sort of organisation refuses to deal for a request for 9 months and then demands that it be settled in 4. Someone else waited 15 months to get a response, obviously LPS are keen to recover all this owed money.

From my own personal perspective I had a dealing with the rates office last year in relation to a rates relief claim and because the circumstances where not straightforward no-one seemed able, or wanted to help. They just pass you from pillar to post. I waited 9 months and with no progress being made, and as the next annual bill was due soon I withdrew the claim.

Whilst it may be true that there are some hard working people working in the LPS good luck trying to get in contact with them. I can easily say that I have never dealt with a more incompetent government organisation in my life.

Under-staffing is undoubtedly a major issue, as it is in other organisations, but whatever is going on in LPS either with their new responsibilities, mergers, computer systems or whatever they are failing us (as in the NI ratepayers who actually pay their rates) in a major way.

donglemouse

just resurrecting this thread, the service must be improving! - it's taken them 20 months since i moved to a new house to issue a bill

the bill i have requires payment to start in less than 1 month and the total demand for payment is over three and half a grand