Criticism of the management by the BCP Council of the grandfather’s estate

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A MAN whose father died without a will was told he could not receive his father’s council tax refund without paying £ 255 for a document.

Tim Linington said “shame on the BCP board” after the authority refused to pay his late father’s tax refund unless he produced a letter of administration, which costs £ 255, to recognize Mr. Linington as his father’s next of kin.

Great-grandfather Graham Linington died in July after a battle with cancer. His eldest son, Tim, says that although his father did not have a will, rolling out his estate had been straightforward until he dealt with the BCP Council.

He told the Daily Echo: “Since my father passed away, I have dealt with various banks, HMRC, Dorset Council and others to settle his estate. As her eldest son, all of these bodies were satisfied with a standard ID as confirmation that I am her next of kin.

“There is a credit balance refund owed to him of £ 61.82 for overpayment of rent, which the PCO board refuses to forward to me unless I produce a letter of administration.

“I must clarify that I do not need or want money, it is a question of principle. I think it is shameful and unreasonable to withhold such an amount from my late father’s estate for the production of a £ 255 letter.

“I’ll be damned if I let the council spend my father’s money.”

A resident of Bournemouth for over 20 years, Royal Navy veteran Graham Linington previously worked for Dorset Council as a senior citizen minibus driver.

With respect to deceased tenants, council policy states that “a refund may be made to a next of kin / representative upon production of letters of administration or probate”.

However, it also states: “The board accepts that no two cases are the same and grants its housing charge manager a degree of flexibility when applying the policy to ensure that cases are met. treated with kindness and that individual circumstances are taken into account. ”

Mr Linington believes his case has not been treated kindly and says the whole argument against reimbursement has been contradicted by a recent “revealing” payment from the council.

He said: ‘Between my initial complaint and their response, I received a municipal tax refund of £ 5.10 from the benefits department, which surely contravenes their rent policy. No copy of an identity document or letter of administration was requested. Different department, different policy, same advice, I find that very strange.

“I doubt I’m the first to have this happened, but I want to be the last.”

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the BCP Council has received a formal complaint from Mr. Linington on this matter and we are currently reviewing this matter. A reply will be sent to him in due course.

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