A COUNCIL blunder led to Weymouth chalet users being ordered to pay £200 more for their licences this year.
Letters were sent out by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council informing people of new charges for April to September including a 5 per cent increase in rent.
But Greenhill chalet users were ‘horrified’ after an error in calculations led to them being billed for £200 more than necessary.
The council was made aware and promptly sent out new letters with the correct figures, apologising for the error.
Rectifying it with 75 new letters and postage cost just £38.08, but chalet users says it does not put the authority in a good light.
It comes after the council rejected a community bid from chalet users to run the facilities.
Rising costs associated with repair and maintenance prompted the council to seek a commercial operator but no-one came forward.
Not-for-profit community group Greenhill Community Asset Management (GCAM) put forward its case to take them over but the council has decided to keep running them ‘in-house’ on a commercial basis and is investigating ways of generating extra revenue.
Chalet users’ group chairman Sue Bray said tenants were ‘horrified’ to receive notification of incorrect charges for 2015 and she was ‘inundated’ with phone calls. She said the council will find it “embarrassing that volunteers had to point out this latest mistake”.
Mrs Bray added: “The council is under an illusion regarding its reputation – it really needs to look at the services it provides.”
Alderman Andy Hutchings, a chalet user, raised the issue at the full council meeting, saying the users had been trying to work in partnership with the council for years but to no avail.
He said: “We find all we do is point out the mistakes made by the property services department.
“The director of finance will be made aware of our exchange of dialogue over many years on this but what happens? Nothing. We are seen as troublemakers.”
He added: “We want the chalets managed smoothly and efficiently.
“This fiasco, when the wrong charges were sent out, reinforces what I’m saying.”
• WEYMOUTH and Portland Borough Council Finance and Assets spokesman Cllr Colin Huckle said: “The borough council did send an invitation to current chalet licensees to invite them to take up a new licence for summer 2015.
“The fee was incorrect. We have sent them another letter with the correct fee and apologise for any inconvenience caused. I hope we do not make a similar mistake again.”
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