Hi

I hope some one can help as I have trawled the web for this but got nowhere.

My local council has fined me £135 for not providing them with information. This is true, I didn't provide it.........cos they didn't ask for it!!!!

I asked them for copies of the requests for information (they state there are three letters) but they won't send me them. On my second request I stated that they should retain copies under the Data Protection Act, they replied that they don't have to keep copies of letters to me (even though they contain both personal and financial information - Really???) and if I want to SAR them I can for a £10 fee (fine), but the information they will send me back will be encoded computer information which will be meaningless to me. Well I knw they can't do that as it has to be legible info and they have to expalin codes, but what I want to know is surely they have to keep records of things like court summons and liability orders? How the hell can I be fined in court with out them? If they do have to keep these surely they have to send them me following a SAR?

The long and short of it is, I know fine well that either a) they didn't send this correspondence or if they did it went to my old address. For info they know fine well when I moved as this was the date opf my new council tax bill!!

Can anyone help?

Thanks

The £10 for the sar is not a fine, it is a fee towards the work required to gather all the information and send it to you. It 'up to' but being greedy, they charge the maximum amount they are allowed to by legislation.

What is the £135 for, is it the fee for a liability order?

What is it you were supposed to send to them?

Hi there

Thanks for the response the 'fine' in brackets meant 'OK I know they can ask for this so I'll pay it', I didn't think it was a further fine but thanks for the clarification anyway

The £135 is a court fine for failing to provide them with 'requested' information following their obtaining a liability order, but I haven't seen the liability order they claim to have sent, or the request for info which they also claim to have sent. The info they are after is I believe standard stuff e.g. employer info etc presumably so they can wack an attachment of earning sorder on me. They are not getting this info as I will pay off whatever is outstanding before they get chance, the only problem is I have to wait for them to issue a new bill as the last one is incorrect.

They have ignored all of my requests for copy correspondence and I don't therefore know how much the liabiliy order is for, there is also therefore no evidence to say that they actually requested the information in the first place! One of their letters said £90 the other said it was for ober £200, but at no stage I have seen the actual order.