Council tax on an empty property
02-September-2010
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Council tax on an empty property

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I’ve just left my house in Bristol to live with my girlfriend in Scotland.  Knowing that the house will be empty I started phoning up all the utility companies etc. confirming that I will no longer live in the property and that it would be vacant until sold.

My next call was to Bristol City Council to let them know I was moving.  I jokingly expected them to thank me for tipping their bin men at Christmas and send me off with a Terry’s chocolates orange as well as a healthy council tax discount.

A furnished house, council tax discount

After all I would no longer be living in the house, city or county so how could I be using their services?  But I might have been dreaming there, because the conversation didn’t quite go as I had imagined.  I was asked if my home would be furnished whilst no one was living there, to which I replied ‘Yes, it would be’.

Knowing this question sounded fishy I asked whether or not this would affect the amount of council tax discount I would be entitled to.  "You would only be entitled to 10% sir, council rules" was the reply.  Initially I thought I heard her wrong.  But no, apparently being 380 miles away in a different country I will still be paying over £90 a month for the streetlights that I can't see and the ‘emptying’ of my rubbish bins.  Even worse, if I actually lived there I would be paying less, as I would have been entitled to the full 25% discount for single adult occupancy!

Okay, so plan B comes into action whereby it will be cheaper in the long run to just burn all my furniture.  That way I can then get the full discount for an unfurnished property.  Also, I wont have to pay a removals company to transport my furniture up to Scotland and I wont have to pay for it to be stored either!

Everybody wins, but what a strange world we live in.


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You can only get Class C empty and unfurnished exemption for 6 months anyway. I would continue with the single occupancy discount
*martin  03-Aug-2010 14:39

 
anon,
From where i'm sitting GL is the one doing all the baiting, he is also the one using over 20 alias names. He is also the one who can't put all his remarks/comments in 1 post. And isn't that what trolls and baiters do ?
Was that also the purpose of your comment? Another notch on your posting score!!! ? Doesn't that make you a baiter also ?
Lets face it, you've only tried to turn a bare faced liar into something their not. YOU of all people (with the highest postings) should know who's for real and who's the baiting trolls !!!
Why don't YOU ask admin if myself,Florida, Kathleen, Smithy AND THE REST are all the same person.They know our IP addys.
And just to top it off... He has admitted making 40 posts on his own gripe page. Considering the fact that there are only 48 comments posted in total...does that mean he has made other posts on there in other names, or he has only made the 26 visable ? Either way... he has LIED.
If You defend a liar, you will be tarred with the same brush.
*Been there  25-Jul-2010 22:57

 
Kathleen w, read my gripe on "bring back public health and safety films" read every one of the 40 postings by me on that gripe, then tell me if you think there is a more important gripe on the weekly gripe.
*Gainsborough lad.  23-Jul-2010 21:50

 
Kathleen w, whatever the percentage of women being whores, men will equal that percentage,

Whilst women of the night are generally called whores, I wouldn't reserve a name like that for them myself, that would make me a hypocrite, as if women would pay me for it, I would be very rich by now,

To me, a whore is someone who is married with children, having affairs behind her husbands back, someone like my ex wife, and then expects financial reward once caught out, and as a final evil gesture, stops him seeing the kids, 20-30% of divorces with children end this way,

Come up with a word for men who do the same and I will use that word.
*Gainsborough lad.  23-Jul-2010 21:46

 
Gainsborough Lad, well, I may have started it with an off hand remark into which I did not give much thought but I think it had fallen or nearly fallen off the comments list when you commented on it at nearly 11 pm, six hours later. No one had responded and it would have gone unnoticed but you must have realised when you pointedly asked me what I meant that people would react so I think you quite like the arguments.

It was inappropriate of me to mention the subject on this unrelated gripe and for that I do sincerely apologise but I stand by the actual comment because I believe that you have a very negative attitude towards women.

You have stated in the past that 30% of women are "whores". This is a silly unsupportable statement and the word whore, as it is applied only to the sexual behavior of women and there being no male equivalent is both sexist and offensive. You may say that you have the right to be offensive if you wish and that is true but it is also true that everyone else has the right to disagree with you and criticise you if they wish so if you want to dish it out you have to be able to take it as well.

I do apologise for the the completely inappropriate inclusion of the remark in an unrelated gripe; you may accept the apology or not. Your choice.

I only dislike this side of your nature and you failed to notice that I was complimentary in other ways!
*Kathleen W  23-Jul-2010 19:29

 
From what I can see it is the same old baiting, Gainsborough lad called a woman hater, he then springs to defend himself, and the same person using a few different names can then slate him publicly on here.
*anon  23-Jul-2010 09:18

 
Sorry smithy, I should have put my specsavers glasses on before reading your post.
Maybe I should send my spare pair to GL. That way he can read what is actually written instead of playing guessing games.
*Been there  23-Jul-2010 01:28

 
Ha! Actually, I am not that old yet, just no longer young. Well, ok , young was quite a long way back along the road.

I think he knows that we are not all the same person really but his vanity won't let him admit that quite a few people disagree with him on this subject. I just find it so funny that he doesn't realise how obvious it is when he posts under other names. (Cleopatra Queen of denial - looks like someone got to the Nile before me!).

Good night Been There and Gainsborough also if you are still there.
*Smithy  23-Jul-2010 01:18

 
No Smithy, i've not seen her about since april. Although we are all the same one person as far as GL is concerned :s. He's not very good at reading the world map, as her name gives a clue to her where abouts, and i'm in the UK. I've told him before to ask admin, but he won't listen.
Where's codgerville ? when are you going to see the nile ?
*Been there  23-Jul-2010 01:11

 
Hello Been there, did you see Florida Girl posting anywhere tonight?

Did I miss her?

I know I am approaching old codgerville but I don't think I am going senile just yet.
*Smithy  23-Jul-2010 00:38

 
Started by kathleen w, this true to form pettiness will now go on for days,

See you tomorrow been there/smithy/floridagirl/etc/etc.
*Gainsborough lad.  23-Jul-2010 00:30

 
Gainsborough lad.,
It's funny how you accuse so many people of the same sins but produce no evidence.I called you a muppet once. When I asked you to find any names I called you, you couldn't find any. Which just goes to show how often I insult people and you.
If we are going to start talking about how ones attitude on here reflects our off-screen life, then I would suggest you take a very long look at everything you have written on these gripes, including all your alias posts. You don't look very pretty from where i'm sitting.
*Been there  23-Jul-2010 00:30


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