Apology over council tax bill blunder

A COUNCIL tax blunder meant more than 1,000 bills were sent to households with the wrong information.

Officers in Durham sent electronic bills to households in Newton Hall Estate and the city, which included a charge for the new City of Durham Parish Council – despite not being part of it.

And 4,782 paper bills were printed off with the incorrect information, costing Durham County Council £240.

The council said an apology has been issued to residents.

Councillors Mark Wilkes and Mamie Simmons, who represent Newton Hall Estate, say they received numerous complaints.

Coun Wilkes said: “The council has messed up here.

“They’ve wasted £240 printing incorrect bills as well as sending the electronic ones, but it could have cost a lot more if they’d posted out the 4,782 they misprinted.”

Paul Darby, head of finance and transactional services at the council, said the authority was alerted by a resident who phoned to query their bill. He added: “We took immediate action and have proactively contacted all those affected by the mistake.”