allegro wrote on Mar 22^nd, 2019 at 3:00pm:

There may indeed be point in the reference to the likely provider of the telephone payment service, under contract to the Borough. Whether this Council service is provided directly or outsourced however makes no difference to the Council's duty to abide by regulations and Cabinet Office Guidance.

A list of currently confirmed offenders with links to evidence of their offences, along with full explanation, is found at Rip-off surcharge on local authority payment lines.

Local campaigns have got rid of many previously listed cases. The is always ready to offer full support.


I have explored the website. The London Borough of Barnet is an interesting case. It uses a 020 number for telephone payment of PCNs, apparently collects no rent from Council Housing and appears not accept telephone payments for Council Tax or General Invoices. It has therefore escaped inclusion in our list.

The message on calling the number does however confirm that payment is accepted for Rent, Council Tax and General Invoices. This is in addition to repayment of overpaid housing benefit, as referred to on the above link, and also Business Rates, as stated on another web page.

I will raise the matter with Barnet on Monday, just to obtain written confirmation of the facts, so this can be published to support inclusion on our list. I will update this thread accordingly.

Many thanks for the prompt.

The earlier enquiries revealed nothing, but the give-away link has now been found and our list has been updated, also reflecting a few changes (mostly for the better).

See the 1 May 2019 edition of - Rip-off surcharge on local authority payment lines

Indeed, if every council were to be contacted by a "concerned resident" over the next few weeks, perhaps the list would have no entries by the end of the year?