General Chat

I think 'hi jacked' in the sense of 'gone of topic rather' John. as it has when you / I turned to what the rates are spent on re salaries etc...which is apparently not the gripe of the lady in question? ie she is not refusing to pay because she objects to what the money is spent on, she is refusing to pay beecause she thinks as a single occupant she is being 'overcharged' in comparison to others? That's how I read it anyway.

SueC. I hate to admit it, but I do agree with you that generally we have a good deal in the Valleys :-) :-)

Still not happy that so many elderly people todaty have to claim money and benefits via what we used to call means testing. Realise I am a bit of a dinosaur, but many of us like to steer clear of this welfare net - if we can.

This was Rev Arnold Ridley's complaint whne he retired as a Vicar. He had an income (including OAP) or about £12k a year. And a reasonable sinking fund which he wanted to pass down his family if he never needed it in his lifetime. (Edit) He did not want to have to spend his savings on basic life necessities simply because bills were outstripping pension increases.

Before Errol and OFG suggest I am hijacking thread, I suspect this is the very root of the thread. That an elderly lady and her late husband have worked hard and made "adequate" provision so that they can live reasonably well without having to disclose all their personal financial details to Uncle Tom Cobley and all.

She now is feeling very precarious financially - and I think CupCakes probably feels that - yes, we should all pay our dues - but that the lady in Norfolk deserves a little more understanding and sympathy than has been seen on this thread.

"Before Errol and OFG suggest I am hijacking thread"

John I have made no suggestion of that whatsoever and would respectfully ask that you remove my name from your posting which I personally consider to be baiting.

"A sage decision OneFootInTheGrave and one which I shall heed myself" (Errol)

It can be argued that the 'system' is always unfair to somebody.

Council tax penalises those on their own (or a couple) in larger premises, whereas the poll tax hits households with a number of adults, and takes no account of ability to pay. I would hate to see a return to the poll tax, even though we would be potentially better off, and my Mum would relish it :-D - it was also a nightmare to administer. Perhaps Mrs Thatcher should have read her history books before implementing it :-)

I don't have any more or less sympathy with the lady in question than I would have for anyone struggling with bills etc. But you just have to bite the bullet sometimes and pay up.

Sheila :-) :-) She could be sent to prison as she wants. It will be hard for a fairly elderly person, but it is the law and what she desires and deserves apparently. And it will cost us £6,000 a week as taxpayers to keep her in jail, I believe.

Whatever the rights and wrongs, she will be suffering through this upset and aggro. It will be affecting her health. No one wants to be worried about where the next pound is coming from at 73 yo. Not in the sixth wealthiest country in the world per capita, surely.

Why does this lady need Sympathy? she lives in a house she and her husband built 50 years ago so she probably hasn't had a mortgage for at least 25 years...what about the pensioners that have to pay rent?

My parents are roughly the same age as her and are quite comfortable, mortgage paid off 16 years ago when dad retired from his job in a Bank, it was only £40 a month anyway so no big deal.

My out goings are more than I get coming in so have to dip into savings each month....not exactly savings but lump sum from my pension I got early...shall I refuse to pay?

John I refuse to rise to the bait but I will say in my defence that I never once accused you of hijacking, I merely agreed with what another member said.
Please remove your comment sir

John! she has over 16 thousand Pounds in the bank...lets make that clear here she is not worrying about where the next penny is coming from, you make it sound like she hasn't got two pennies to rub together...she can AFFORD to pay, she is CHOOSING not to.

It amazes me how some posters can, somehow, change the whole dynanmic of a thread

It was a good OP, and there followed a lot of interesting points of view,

But, as I have an aversion to comments that begin with......

I think this, or that ,,,, and, I think June Farrow thinks this as well ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

How can that possible be true .......

I do live in Norfolk ...and I know her village ....

but have know idea what she thinks ...... .......


EDIT .......
Excuse me John ....
but you have just written ----
"" she will be suffering through this upset and aggro. It will be affecting her health."

How do you know this ?

The pensioner says she doesn't spend much money and pleads hardship. She was a nurse, so was my friend. Friend has an NHS pension and she didn't do too long as a nurse.

The lady in question could have 2 pensions and be better off than most, food for thought - yes?

Didn't one of the parties have local income tax in their manifesto for the last General Election? Surely this would be much fairer than either Council or Poll Tax. People would pay based on their income and those with a very low income would pay none.

Absolutely spot on PatinCyprus.

It could even be argued that the council tax she SHOULD be paying is the very same "pot" ultimately that enables people like her in the public sector to claim such a worthwhile pension in the first place.

Would she receive her superannuation/NHS pension if over the years everybody had refused to pay their Council Tax etc etc?

and as usual John, back to your old tricks - Errol did not accuse you of hijacking this thread

Ann

strange you should post that .....

I have just been thru the whole thread - looking for the post


x

and since my lovely OH died nearly 11 years ago leaving me financially sound at that time, lack of interest in the building society and rising prices for everything under the sun has now left me in a precarious situation but I still pay all my bills

I pay all my bills too Ann and have no where near what this lady has in savings but it does annoy me that I am paying the full council tax minus only 25% discount. I could get something like a tenner off but I gave up on page 4 of the online form.

This lady is unfortunately not likely to get much sympathy because she has such a wad of cash in the bank which seems to weaken her cause.

I suppose the system at the moment Is the best you will get. It allows for those on low incomes to pay less or none at all. There will unfortunately always be those who are on the margins and have to pay the full amount.

Vera

John she has already said she would LIKE go to prison where she would get 3 good meals a day and no Council tax and that prison holds no fear for her......etc ..

Does going to prison count as a holiday? If it doesn't, she'll still be expected to pay the council tax while she is 'away'.

Bearing in mind that the council could send in the Baliffs to recover the debt if they have a County Court judgement against her, OR make her bankrupt, she's getting off lightly by having a lein put on her home.

Interested supporters could always join her FaceBook page

https://www.facebook.com/JuneFarromCouncilTaxProtest

she has a massive 6 likes .........