Nine Year Battle Against Council Tax For Chiswick Home

Hounslow Council apologise to woman who never lived there

Hounslow Council has apologised to a Feltham woman who was hounded for nine years to pay council tax for a house in Chiswick which she had never lived in. The house in Wellesley Road was owned by a woman with a similar name.

Linda Manning of Vernon Road, Feltham, told the Council she had never lived in the property where a Linda Quinn was listed as living, and she had never used the surname Quinn.

The Council has accepted that she has no links to the property.

Ms. Manning said that she endured stress and became bankrupt during her nine year battle with Hounslow Council which eventually ended up being the subject of adjudication by the Local Government Ombudsman ,who ruled in her favour. The Council was ordered to pay her £450 in compensation which she says is not enough.

She received the first bill for the house in Wellesley Road in 2004 and was twice taken to court by the Council. She declared herself bankrupt in 2008. In 2012 she received another bill for over £1,500 council tax for the property- that has now been written off.

A Council spokesman said: “Due to mistakes on our part, Mrs Manning was wrongly asked to pay council tax on a property she did not occupy, and we sincerely apologise for our errors. We work hard to make sure council tax arrears are paid in full, but unfortunately in these cases mistakes were made, and we will do all we can to avoid this happening again.”

February 28, 2014