Readers may recall that as a result of failure to empty the waste bins, when paying my Council Tax this month I made a deduction for services that had not been provided. In response to the email I received from West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) requesting that I pay the correct amount each month, I informed them that subject to a satisfactory service being provided there would be no problem in my so doing.
Last week - no, better if I just copy an email sent to WODC:
"Dear Ms. XXXXXXX,
Following our recent exchange of emails on the above subject, I thought it reasonable to advise you that last week (Thursday) - whilst the general waste bins were emptied - the recycling and food bins were not. I telephoned on Friday and, as promised, they were emptied that morning.
However, the 'food' vehicle obviously had a leak, resulting in two mounds of 'slurry' waste that I had to clear - and then hose down the area. Photographs of this were sent to WODC, care of the "Enquires (at)" email address.
Suffice to say that, that which occured on 1st August will now be repeated on 1st September. Needless to say, on each occasion that problems arise with my waste collection, deductions will continue to be made.
Kind regards,"
As yet no response has been received........
Non-compliance - and the word 'No' - is a powerful weapon and the sooner we say that, not just to our local politicians but those at national level too (coupled with the bureaucrats they use), the sooner they all may just begin to listen............?
4 comments:
Well done. Maybe we ought to withhold our council tax police precepts too.
Ian,
Just waiting for the first justified opportunity (on a local basis...........
Well, if everyone did the same the system would soon break. However, you have no legal basis on which to withhold payment, like all government organisations local government is only answerable to central government, delegated quangos or the EU and is subject to Judicial Review as a last democratic, though expensive, resort. But only the EU imposes real penalties (fines) and that only for large scale failures.
I suspect your withheld payments will simply be rolled over into next years outstanding balance if the amount is minimal otherwise expect the bailiffs to come knocking, unless you can get an MSM outlet to promote your 'defiance'. Seeing the matter through to the point of court action might be seen as an opportunity for a blow against council incompetence but the reality is you would not have a legal leg to stand on and your argument would be ruled irrelevant, even if you were allowed to put it.
PC: I would have hoped that even the numpties that inhabit our bureaucracy would see the light of day well before the system broke....!
'They' seem to believe that if they say sorry all is well - well all is not well and I refuse to pay for anything that is not delivered.
Whether I have a case in court - you may be right when you say probably not, but a stand has to be made and if sufficient people make it then inefficiency will be tackled. Yes, they may well 'roll-over' the deductions to next year's bill - so be it.
To be fair it is not WODC who are at fault, it is the company they contracted with who are - so onpass my deductions to them. Simples! It is not acceptable that two piles of what had and smelled like cow dung are left in the grounds of a development housing, in the main, elderly people aged circa 80+.
I repeat, the word 'sorry' on its own is not good enough!
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