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'Blunder caused allot of distress'

Katherine Vine
16/ 5/2008

TRAFFORD Council has apologised after mistakenly threatening allotment tenants with legal action for non-payment of their rents.

The council wrongly sent out final reminders for rents just a couple of days after the invoices were sent out.

And then a few days later people received letters from the finance department saying if they did not pay up legal action would be taken.

Around 780 allotments, out of the council’s 1,400 plots, were affected by the error.

Ron Williams, who rents an allotment at the Vicarage Lane site in Altrincham, received a letter.

He said: "When my normal bill arrived it was dated May 2. Then around the sixth I received a final warning, and on Sunday 10th I got a letter from the finance department talking about legal action.

"When I called the council it sounded like they had already had a lot of calls, and the following day I received an apology."

According to Mr Williams – who says he knew it had to be a mistake – there was no explanation offered by the council as to what had happened.

He said: "I was still concerned, because in the end of the day it is your financial reputation at stake.

"I suppose it was a clerical error, but it’s ridiculous to threaten legal action anyway because the annual rent is such a small amount.

"I would have thought it has cost them much more to send out all these letters, and then have to send out apologies as well."

The standard rent for an allotment is £43 a year for a full plot, and people over 60 pay half rent.

Mr Williams has been renting his plot for around five years, and says they have become increasingly popular, with a long waiting list.

A tenant at Grove Lane allotments in Altrincham, who did not wish to be named, said the error had caused a lot of problems.

He said: "It has caused a lot of confusion and a lot of upset. A lot of the people who own allotment plots are of the older generation, and they pay their bills as soon as they get them, so to receive something like this was very upsetting."

Trafford Council has now issued a statement apologising to tenants who have wrongly received final reminders, and assuring them that no legal action will be taken.

It says: "Invoices for the rents were sent out on May 5 but, due to an inputting error, these were immediately followed by the warning letters.

"We value our allotment tenants and appreciate the upset that can be caused by a mistake like this.

"We are currently in the process of contacting these tenants to inform them why this happened and to invite them to contact us if they have any further concerns about the issue."

DID you or someone you know receive a letter? What do you think about the blunder? Write to our letters page at Metro News, 24 School Lane, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 6RG.