Local authorities are using private companies to track down people wrongly claiming single-person discount, but the innocent are also being caught

When Sarah Dodds received a letter from Bristol city council demanding £3,000 in unpaid council tax, she assumed there had been a mistake. However, things got worse when she called to find out what was going on. The council, she was told, was accusing her of fraudulently claiming the 25% council tax discount given to those living alone. It wanted its money, backdated to 2002, and there was apparently no appeal.

Her "crime" was allowing her estranged son to have his bank statements and other letters sent to her home. By doing so, the semi-retired civil servant has become caught up in a campaign adopted by councils across the country to reduce single-person discount fraud, which is estimated to be costing around £100m a year....Read more here--: The council tax shock of living alone | Money | The Guardian