Email from local council showing renters database

Dear [removed]

I refer to your communication of  24th January 2019 and as the Service Manager responsible for the Income Team I am responding at Stage 1 of the corporate complaint handling procedure.

I have reviewed the Council Tax account for [removed] and find that we were notified on 27th November 2018 via an on-line form that 3 people had moved into the property including yourself. The information provided did not suggest that the property should be treated as a house in multiple occupation, therefore, as the other 2 residents were disregarded for Council Tax purposes the bill was issued to you. This information is stored in electronic format within Council Tax system only.

It has now been established that the property is a house in multiple occupation and the Council Tax account has been updated to reflect this. I can confirm that you do not owe [removed] Borough Council any Council Tax for this property. 

When you visited [removed] to report the error, the officer did try to speak to the Council Tax billing team who were unfortunately unavailable and I apologise for this. However, we did call you as soon as we became aware of the mistake to explain how it had arisen. I do agree that the officer should have left his name and contact details.

I most sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that this error has caused you. I can assure you that your details have not been shared with any third party and the account that was raised in error (ref [removed]) has been nullified.

I have attached the on-line form dated 27th November 2018 containing your details. This is the only data that the Council Tax team holds of yours. Should you still require copies of data that other departments may hold, you will be required to complete a subject access request on-line at https://www.[removed].gov.uk/article/[removed]/Subject-Access-request

Should you remain dissatisfied with my response, you may escalate your complaint to stage 2 of the corporate complaint handling procedure, where it will be reviewed by an Executive Director.

Yours sincerely,

[removed]

Finance, Income & Procurement Manager