Harassment Category

Is the Council using ‘Big Brother’ spies?

Councils stand accused of the use of covert surveillance powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) — designed to tackle terrorism – to tackle petty crimes such as noise nuisance and fly-tipping. But is Rochdale Borough Council doing so? Despite a Freedom of Information request by pressure group Big Brother Watch, Rochdale Borough [...]

Pensioner slams council for parking fine anguish

A PENSIONER claims she endured months of hell because of a mix-up over a parking fine. Conwy County Council chiefs threatened to send the bailiffs round to the home of widow Elizabeth Hughes, 69, from Anglesey, after she failed to pay a £30 parking ticket. Mrs Hughes wrote two letters appealing the ticket, which she [...]

Bungling Council Orders 20 Dead People To Court For Not Paying Council Tax

A local council has been forced to apologise after sending council tax bills and court orders to 20 people who have passed away. The families of the deceased were distraught to receive court summonses addressed to their loved ones – some of whom died 10 years ago. Croydon Council in South London admitted the mistake, [...]

‘Appalling’ Council Threatens 102-Year-Old Woman With Bailiffs

A council sent a court summons to a frail 102-year-old woman who has dementia and lives in a nursing home. Wheelchair-bound Ethel Branton was threatened with bailiffs for non-payment of council tax in a letter from officials at Islington Town Hall. She is exempt from the tax as she is in residential care at the [...]

Rossendales, Local Authority And LGO

I’ll try to keep this short. I’ve had to deal with North East Lincolnshire Council and their bailiffs Rosendales over council tax. It has been going on for well over a year due to the FARCE, which is the formal complaints procedure with both the council and later the Local Government Ombudsman. Calling in the [...]

Hounded For A Fine On A Car She Did Not Own

A COUNCIL has admitted it was wrong after hounding a woman for a parking ticket on a car that wasn’t hers. Paula Griffiths, of Little Wakering Road, Wakering, received a £75 fine from Rochford District Council at the beginning of last year. The car was registered in her name, but the DVLA confirmed her signature [...]

Couple win parking appeal after Council bailiff threats

A couple from Doncaster, who were threatened by Council bailiffs to force entry into their home over an unpaid parking fine and seize their car, have won a traffic penalty appeal against Doncaster Council. Mr Lee Heath-Swales received a parking ticket for leaving his vehicle in a loading bay for 10 minutes whilst he collected [...]

Council threatened mum over charity bags

Durham County Council officials warned a mother of two that charity bags left in her garden could have faced prosecution after they claimed the bags were refuse and an eyesore. Two community wardens arrived at Ms Michelle Devine’s home in Peterlee and told her that 4 charity bags for ‘We Save The Children’ left on [...]

Council Payout to Whistleblower

Ms Pauline Scanlon was awarded £442,466 in compensation for loss of earnings by a tribunal after she was harassed and dismissed for reporting an unadvertised appointment of Human Resources Manager at Redcar and Cleveland Council. Ms Scanlon, 45, was harassed by Council bosses for two years before been sacked after she complained that the job [...]