Refund of extra rates payment

Summary

Tanvi's local Council referred his rates account to a debt collector for enforcement. Tanvi said he had paid the rates on time. But while he was overseas his son paid them again, along with a penalty. We encouraged Tanvi to provide his evidence to the Council. They refunded him for the second payment.

What was the case?

Brimbank City Council referred Tanvi's rates account to a debt collector for suspected non-payment. Tanvi said he had paid these rates on time via a bank transfer. He disputed the matter with the debt collector. But while he was overseas, his son received a final notice and paid the rates again, along with a penalty.

Tanvi contacted the Council about the double payment. The Council asked Tanvi to send in evidence of both payments. Tanvi felt it was unnecessary, and a breach of his privacy. He refused to provide the evidence to the Council as it was ‘their fault’. He said the situation was causing him ‘extreme stress’.

Our enquiries

On this occasion, we decided not to make enquiries with the Council. Instead, we encouraged Tanvi to engage with them one more time. While it was clear there had been a mistake, the Council’s request for information showed a genuine commitment to resolve the issue. If we were to take on this matter, we would have asked Tanvi for the same information. We suggested he provide a redacted version of his bank statement to the Council.

Outcome

Tanvi accepted our advice and provided the evidence to the Council. They issued him a cheque for the additional rate payment and interest associated with the error.