help needed please - advice on what to do if someone adds their name to the electoral role at your property

[Fanella]

My brother (the absolute git) has added his name to our property. He lives in France - he has just phoned this morning to ask if there is any mail here for him, there was a letter from the council dated two months ago which basically confirms that he has been added to the electrol role here "as there was no objection".

I will get the full story from him but in the meantime wondered if anybody could shed any light on how this will affect us. We don't receive any benefit, but his name will be on the council tax bill.

thanks in advance.

Ring the council and have his name taken off. Write to them if necessary. Your brother should have asked you before doing this. He could affect your credit rating if he fails to pay his bills etc.

Thanks Lyra, I know he should have asked me and I've told him in no uncertain terms how unbelievably out of order he is. I will be taking his name off, but as this was over two months ago I'm wondering if anything else may have been affected?

Is there anything other than credit rating I should be worried about?

Send your brother a bill for a 1/3 share of the council tax for that period. Also write to the council and ask how you were supposed to object if they didn't advise you that he'd added his name.

LOL Freckle, I will do that. I'm also extremely concerned about the fact that he could add his name so easily - you'd think the council would have asked us .

I'll be getting a full explanation from them when I phone.

Just because you put your name on the electoral roll doesn't mean his name will be on your council tax bill. Council tax is a completely separate issue.

For example a couple who have their name on the council tax bill may have a child who is now 18, they would appear on the electoral roll but not on the council tax bill.

The only time to worry about the council tax side is if you have a single occupant discount you would obviously lose this if your brother was claiming to reside there (also if there are 2 of you living there but one of you is exempt ie a student etc then again this would put your charge up and you would lose your 25% discount)

He could have registered on-line for the electoral roll.

Really Fizzylemonade? I didn't know that.

I assumed that he would have to have told our council he was living here to get his name on the electrol role, and that would automatically put his name on the bill.

Thanks for that info, much appreciated!