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Aug. 9th, 2015 07:10 pmWas at a party last night- my old boss' 50th. It was suprisingly tame from what we were expecting but okay.
I'm having a bit of a problem with my local council at the moment. A while ago I had a whole kerfuffle over the council tax because for some reason they had decided that a. I had not moved in to the new house and b. therefore should pay an additional levy on my council tax, increasing my tax by 50% - which is aparrently all above board and legal despite having NO LOGIC WHATSOEVER (after all, if there is no one living in a house, they aren't therefore using a good chunk of the services one's council tax pays for like bin collections). So, whatever, I got in touch and after a good week of sending an epic amount of documents and chasing them up back-and-forth finally I got an email and letter from a guy there who basically said they would put the additional charge 'on hold' until an inspector would turn up at random at my new home to prove that I am living there. Which, you know, not GREAT but okay, fine, if he sees me underwear on the floor then that's really just more proof that I am not lying so...whatever.
Then yesterday a letter arrived AT OUR OLD ADDRESS which was passed on to me after church today saying that I am 'in arrears' to the tune of the additional money that was supposedly 'on hold' and that if I do not pay up, they will take legal action against me. It is obviously a mistake. It has gone to the old address- I THOUGHT WE'D FINALLY SORTED THIS THAT I DO NOT LIVE THERE- and I've had nothing further about an inspection- if someone has come it'd been when no one has been in, but even if someone just watched the house from the outside they could see we were living there- our cars stay there each night and mine goes out at the same time every morning.
So, yeah. Fuck. So I've emailed the guy just saying 'I've received this I am going to ring in the morning'- as of course no one works on weekends there. Mum hasn't slept for worrying about it but I'm trying to be rational. I am not lying, I have done everything they have asked, it will just be a stupid mistake and hopefully when I ring them tomorrow they can just fix it all up. If not, my union provides access to legal advice so I can go to them, and think there'd definitely be grounds for a complaint to the ombudsman. So I just need to deal with it- what's the worst they can do? If it did go to court, I have every email stream of correspondance showing the whole story.
I just really don't need the stress of this, particularly in August when it has just been the anniversary of Bean's death.
As bad things come in threes today I have spent half the day feeling like a barber surgeon as Snoopy has cut his pad and I had to bathe it and clean the grit and muck out of it before I could bandage it (with Mum and Nan holding him still) blood pouring everywhere my poor dopey little baby! He has of course been thoroughly spoilt and once we managed to get a bandage to STAY ON his foot he was putting weight on it and wasn't too bad at all, but oh I did feel a monster to have to clean it all out like that. Eeee.
And then we took a box of stuff to the charity shop and, as we crossed the car park, the box broke and all the plates and glasses to be donated smashed merrily all over the place. :/
I'm so stressed about the council thing now. I hate having to wait till tomorrow to ring, it's just awful. I hate the way their letters are all 'get in touch immediately or else' when THEY NEVER ARRIVE on a day when it is possible to get in touch because no one works weekends. Arrg.
I'm having a bit of a problem with my local council at the moment. A while ago I had a whole kerfuffle over the council tax because for some reason they had decided that a. I had not moved in to the new house and b. therefore should pay an additional levy on my council tax, increasing my tax by 50% - which is aparrently all above board and legal despite having NO LOGIC WHATSOEVER (after all, if there is no one living in a house, they aren't therefore using a good chunk of the services one's council tax pays for like bin collections). So, whatever, I got in touch and after a good week of sending an epic amount of documents and chasing them up back-and-forth finally I got an email and letter from a guy there who basically said they would put the additional charge 'on hold' until an inspector would turn up at random at my new home to prove that I am living there. Which, you know, not GREAT but okay, fine, if he sees me underwear on the floor then that's really just more proof that I am not lying so...whatever.
Then yesterday a letter arrived AT OUR OLD ADDRESS which was passed on to me after church today saying that I am 'in arrears' to the tune of the additional money that was supposedly 'on hold' and that if I do not pay up, they will take legal action against me. It is obviously a mistake. It has gone to the old address- I THOUGHT WE'D FINALLY SORTED THIS THAT I DO NOT LIVE THERE- and I've had nothing further about an inspection- if someone has come it'd been when no one has been in, but even if someone just watched the house from the outside they could see we were living there- our cars stay there each night and mine goes out at the same time every morning.
So, yeah. Fuck. So I've emailed the guy just saying 'I've received this I am going to ring in the morning'- as of course no one works on weekends there. Mum hasn't slept for worrying about it but I'm trying to be rational. I am not lying, I have done everything they have asked, it will just be a stupid mistake and hopefully when I ring them tomorrow they can just fix it all up. If not, my union provides access to legal advice so I can go to them, and think there'd definitely be grounds for a complaint to the ombudsman. So I just need to deal with it- what's the worst they can do? If it did go to court, I have every email stream of correspondance showing the whole story.
I just really don't need the stress of this, particularly in August when it has just been the anniversary of Bean's death.
As bad things come in threes today I have spent half the day feeling like a barber surgeon as Snoopy has cut his pad and I had to bathe it and clean the grit and muck out of it before I could bandage it (with Mum and Nan holding him still) blood pouring everywhere my poor dopey little baby! He has of course been thoroughly spoilt and once we managed to get a bandage to STAY ON his foot he was putting weight on it and wasn't too bad at all, but oh I did feel a monster to have to clean it all out like that. Eeee.
And then we took a box of stuff to the charity shop and, as we crossed the car park, the box broke and all the plates and glasses to be donated smashed merrily all over the place. :/
I'm so stressed about the council thing now. I hate having to wait till tomorrow to ring, it's just awful. I hate the way their letters are all 'get in touch immediately or else' when THEY NEVER ARRIVE on a day when it is possible to get in touch because no one works weekends. Arrg.
