Should I take on the council?

G_M

If the neighbours want you to keep quiet they should be offering you some form of compensation, even if just a bottle of decent wine each year!

One Q noone has raised: what are you getting in return for your £56? What condition is the road in? When was it last maintained? Is there street lighting and is tat where the £ goes?

That is obviously on top of the earlier Q about adoption.

My guess is that the road adoption Q is one for the Highways Dept (who should know which roads they are responsible for at council tax payers' expense) while the 'licence fee' Q is one for the Legal Dept who would have details of any covenant requiring the fee.

poppysarah

Who have you asked questions at the council?

And who do you pay it to?

What does it say in your documentation about it? Who sends you the bill?

absolutely_skint

No the houses aren't council owned. The 4 people I know of who aren't paying it are owner occupiers-people who hae bought houses at around the same time as myself or afterwards. The council do not do anything to maintain the road whatsoever.
I rang the council a couple of years ago and asked the questions as to what I was getting for my money and why I was paying it-they refused to tell me who else was paying for the license. I have paperwork from where I purchased my house that indicates that all but 2 houses are liable for the licence fee charge. I am endeavouring to find out if the road is adopted or not-bit there is no street lighting and no maintenance has been carried out in the road in the last 10 years.
Please don't get me wrong-I know it isn't a massive amount of money-but it's to do with fairness-why should I be in the minority of those who pay? I pay the fee to maidstone borough council. When I receive my bill I have called the number quoted in the letter but no one seems able to give me any answers.

G_M

absolutely_skint wrote: »

i rang the council a couple of years ago and asked the questions as to what i was getting for my money and why i was paying it
put this in writing - they'll have to respond.
-they refused to tell me who else was paying for the license.
of course. Other peoples' legal obligations and /or debts are not your business.
i have paperwork from where i purchased my house that indicates that all but 2 houses are liable for the licence fee charge.
what 'paperwork'? What exactly does it say?
i am endeavouring to find out if the road is adopted or not-
as advised above, contact highways dept
bit there is no street lighting and no maintenance has been carried out in the road in the last 10 years.
neither are indicative of adoption, but if they are part of the council's obligation in the 'paperwork' then you might have a case.

when i receive my bill i have called the number
ooops! Pointless. Write!
quoted in the letter but no one seems able to give me any answers.

:t :t

Gaz83

absolutely_skint wrote: »

They have told me not to say anything and keep paying it so they don't run the risk of having to pay it.

So and I would!

Get onto the council and tell them your neighbours aren't paying.

absolutely_skint

Thank you for the constructive answers and advice which i have received and i do appreciate. I will take this matter forward. I am awaiting this years bill to arrive and then I will tackle it head on via letters and hopefully I will get some answers.
I have previously contacted highways who said that the road does not come under their remit.
The paperwork I am referring to is the licence paperwork that had to be legally provided when I bought the house, it details the fees payable to the council by all those using the road and details who does not have to pay the licence fee. I don't believe it is my neighbours fault as it is the council who have failed to contact them.

Lord_Baltimore

One additional point, if the Council continue to be shy about the issue, start asking your questions under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act. They then have a statutory obligation to provide the information that you ask for or tell you why it is exempt from release.

All public bodies sit up and take notice when you invoke FOI because it is the law that they assist you with your enquiries.

As G_M recommends, do it in writing; it carries more weight and a letter cannot be fobbed off.