Council tax rebanding made me due for a rebate-council said I've already been refunded

barrels

My parents bought my property off me in 2002. They had the property rebanded not long after but I only found out last year. I email the council for a rebate and they keep giving me inaccurate information, such as they credited my ex. It took a while before I realised that I'd owned the property for a while on my own. Now they say I was sent a chq. I told them I hadn't received it, but they said due to GDPR they can't check that far back. I asked them to obtain copies of their bank statements for a 6 month period after they issued the cheque but they came back asking me for proof that I hadn't received it. I'm shocked by their attitude and basically lies that they're telling. I've now asked for their complaints procedure. It's only by chance that I sold my property to a relative that I know it was rebanded. Has anyone else experienced this issue, and if so, what is the best course of action. I'm not sure how I prove I haven't received it. I think my only option would be to try and get copies of my bank statements to show the consistency of my payment amounts but this will probably cost me. 

Brie

What on earth does GDPR have to do with looking up info that is about you?  Granted there may be a long list of other people listed which they'd need to black out if they provided you proof of anything.  But that doesn't mean it's not doable.  More likely they simply don't have the records anymore.  

lincroft1710

Brie said:

What on earth does GDPR have to do with looking up info that is about you?  Granted there may be a long list of other people listed which they'd need to black out if they provided you proof of anything.  But that doesn't mean it's not doable.  More likely they simply don't have the records anymore.  

Because of GDPR apparently many councils are now deleting CT payment records that are more than 6 years old. So I would agree with you that the probability is that the council no longer have the records. I don't think there is anything the OP can do if this has happened.

uptdale

lincroft1710 said:

Brie said:

What on earth does GDPR have to do with looking up info that is about you?  Granted there may be a long list of other people listed which they'd need to black out if they provided you proof of anything.  But that doesn't mean it's not doable.  More likely they simply don't have the records anymore.  

Because of GDPR apparently many councils are now deleting CT payment records that are more than 6 years old. So I would agree with you that the probability is that the council no longer have the records. I don't think there is anything the OP can do if this has happened.

I would ask the council for their document retention policy.  The record needed is the council's cash book, i.e. their record of their transactions with their bank, not the CT payment records.  It's nothing to do with GDPR.  It's to do with whether or not the cheque was cleared through the council's bank, and if it was not, how the council accounted for the difference between its accounting records and its bank statements.  Regular bank reconciliations are a fundamental accounting control.   I would be surprised if the council destroys its basic accounting records like cash books or general ledger after 6 years. 

lincroft1710

uptdale said:

lincroft1710 said:

Brie said:

What on earth does GDPR have to do with looking up info that is about you?  Granted there may be a long list of other people listed which they'd need to black out if they provided you proof of anything.  But that doesn't mean it's not doable.  More likely they simply don't have the records anymore.  

Because of GDPR apparently many councils are now deleting CT payment records that are more than 6 years old. So I would agree with you that the probability is that the council no longer have the records. I don't think there is anything the OP can do if this has happened.

I would ask the council for their document retention policy.  The record needed is the council's cash book, i.e. their record of their transactions with their bank, not the CT payment records.  It's nothing to do with GDPR.  It's to do with whether or not the cheque was cleared through the council's bank, and if it was not, how the council accounted for the difference between its accounting records and its bank statements.  Regular bank reconciliations are a fundamental accounting control.   I would be surprised if the council destroys its basic accounting records like cash books or general ledger after 6 years. 

The cheque would appear to have been sent 20 years ago, if in fact it was sent, so a possibility these records may not have been kept that far back. It will be interesting to see if the OP has any success trying this method.