| Barnhill resident Gilbert Petrie (68) says he now finds himself due money from the council after having part of his pension arrested by the authorities.
Dundee City Council has apologised to Mr Petrie, and has given an assurance the money will be repaid in full.
The problems began when Mr Petrie’s wife forgot to send a cheque for their council tax in October and sent a double cheque for £48 the next month. At the end of February, they received a letter from the council saying the matter of an outstanding £24 had been passed to sheriff’s officers.
“We went straight up to the council offices and showed them bank statements proving that the council tax had been paid,” said Mr Petrie, of Hamilton Street.
“We had given them a cheque for £48 but their records showed we had only paid £24. A while later we got a message saying they had ‘found’ the other cheque.”
However, that was not the last of the Petries’ difficulties. In the interim, the council had requested that part of their pension be arrested to cover the “debt.”
That request seemingly was never cancelled, because Mr Petrie was informed at the start of last month that £2.80 had been deducted from his weekly amount.
“What I had to do then was go back to the council and get them to fax the pensions people to stop the deductions,” he continued.
“Although that happened, I’m still due this £2.80 and I’ve been told it will take a month for that to be refunded.
“It’s not a lot of money but it is the principle of the thing, particularly as it is through no fault of my own. We’ve been passed from pillar to post.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said, “We have been talking to the DSS about the situation and a full refund will be made to Mr Petrie. “We have apologised to him.” |
