Why can’t people in accounts department add up

[FairKoala]

Left my previous property with a council tax overpayment of approximately £40

Council took the -£40 as I owe them and charged me £100 to take me to court to “recover what I owe”

Spent hours on the phone trying to teach maths to people who work in an accounts department.

It was painful.

Finally received a payment into my account. No email or any acknowledgement of their error.

Moved house and county 18 months ago.

Paid council tax first year no issue. 2nd year (10 x monthly bills)

Owed 1 payment in February. They said I owed 2 payments

Paid thinking I would have a cheap month in April.

Got the bill for April and it says I still owe 1 payment.

Tried explaining but despite saying my council tax bill for 25/26 was eg £1800 and paying £2000 that is £200 difference so apparently that means I owe £200

Now being taken to court for the overpayment. Again.

AIBU to pay the £117 court fees and just turn up in court. Given the hours on my phone and my blood pressure rising when another accounts department can’t tell the difference between an overpayment and underpayment

The amount of hours I know I will spend writing and calling makes it not worth my while trying to teach maths to people who think they know better.

FWIW for those who work in council tax accounts departments a minus sign infront of a customers balance means

YOU OWE THEM

Hmmmmm

To have an apparent overpayment mistaken for an underpayment TWICE by different councils seems suss, are you paying it in an odd way or possibly misunderstanding?

Hmmmm indeed.

I think the way overpayments are recorded as a minus sign is causing the confusion

So the account at the end of the year has a balance of

-£161

I think some people are looking at it as being the account hasn’t reached £0 so the account is in arrears

What the -£161 means is that the next years balance of eg £1761 is added to the account and then -£161 is taken away so leaving a balance of £1600

What is happening though is they are forgetting that the balance owing is a +£ figure and are ignoring the minus sign before the -£161 and just adding it to the +£

Its really quite simple if you take note of the - and + signs but it’s the fact the conclusion that is jumped to is that people haven’t paid and not, let me check payments made against balance owing before we send threatening letters and court summonses.

I don’t see how there is anything to misunderstand.

Our council tax for the year was £1610. We paid £1771

£1610-1771=-£161.00

So over paid by £161

So why are we being taken to court for a £161 non payment.

Seems like they have realised the mistake all by themselves.

Rang up and apparently the court case has been cancelled and we have paid off a chunk of our council tax for this year.