Council Tax Discount Review

 

Cheshire East Council is carrying out a review of people claiming a single person discount (SPD) on their Council Tax.

Every year it is estimated that 6% of people fraudulently claim SPD costing the Council an estimated £1.1m a year.

Letters are being sent to residents who claim SPD of 25% on their Council Tax bill.

The review letters will ask for confirmation of whether people still live alone and if not, to give the details of the additional people living at the address and the dates they moved in.

The audit is being carried out on behalf of Cheshire East Council by Northgate, a company specialising in this field, working closely with Experian (a credit information group).

If Northgate have been given incorrect details, these may be investigated further and anyone found to be making fraudulent claims could face a backdated bill.

People who are contacted by Northgate should be reassured that Northgate is a reputable company working on behalf of Cheshire East Council and comply with the Data Protection Act.

If anyone’s circumstances have changed they can register the details to Northgate in the first instance at cheshire.east@northgate-is.com or online on the council tax pages at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk or telephone 0844 8736140.

Councillor Peter Mason, Cabinet member with responsibility for human resources, procurement assets and shared services said: “For far too long people have been getting away with fraudulently claiming a discount on their council tax.

“This is not fair on the vast majority of people in Cheshire East who pay the correct amount of council tax.

“This audit will identify those people who are abusing the system and stop them in their tracks. This will result in more money for Cheshire East Council to carry out essential services.”