Council investigates 'abusive' email

Laura Shannon

July 13, 2007

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GARY: Sickened

TOWN hall chiefs have launched an investigation after a clerk replied to an email from a council taxpayer with the message: "Do they have internet access in the nick?".

Gary Rigg, 31, of Rochdale, received the mocking email in his inbox after he had asked for help with his council tax arrears.

The father of one had fallen into financial hardship after his guitar business failed and his house was repossessed when he split up with his partner.

Mr Rigg contacted Rochdale council to see how he could come to an arrangement with the authority to settle his bill.

But he received a message back from town hall clerk Denise McVeigh which had the message: "Please go for committal, or do they have internet access in the nick?"

Within 33 minutes Ms McVeigh sent another email to Mr Rigg explaining she had intended to send the previous message to someone else.

She then forwarded another email in which she apologised for her error.

Abusive

Mr Rigg said: "I have been trying to sort this out for months and I was hoping the council would at least hear my case rather than be abusive.

"I was sickened by that email. I contacted them for help and all I got was some clown thinking they were being funny.

"I took it to mean that she was keen to see me put behind bars.

"Not exactly the help I was looking for.

"It doesn't matter if the email was meant for me personally or was an internal joke.

"There is no context I can think of that makes the comment acceptable.

"I know I sent a lot of emails, but I am genuinely trying to sort out my debts and needed help and I can't believe they would use my predicament as the basis for their jokes."

In her follow-up email, Ms McVeigh wrote: "The comments I have made are not regarding council tax and were intended to go to someone else.

"It would be better if you could remove my name from your mailing list as I am unable to deal your particular query."

She later added in another message: "I made a genuine mistake which I apologise for."

A spokesman for Rochdale council said: "Our customers are our number one priority and we are looking into it."

Denise McVeigh said; “I whole-heartedly apologise to Mr Rigg for any offence caused and can assure him that this will not happen again.”

What do you think? Have your say.

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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

ace, manchester (14/07/2007 at 10:10)

Dont get on your high horse,it was a mistake ""IT HAPPENS"" dont blow things out of proportion...........

PW, Manchester (14/07/2007 at 10:17)

It doesn't surprise me. I have experienced rudeness and officiousness from Council workers on many occasion. And I have never been in default as far as money is concerned. I hate dealing with Town Halls in any matter.

treblewinner (14/07/2007 at 11:39)

Let the " lady " lose her job and sustain her own financial hardship and then see if she is as indignant when it happens to her ...

Bobbie V, The Pool (14/07/2007 at 15:55)

The answer is yes they do have Internet access in the nick. What on earth would sending a bloke to jail for non payment of local tax achieve? A council wouldn't do that, would they?

treblewinner (14/07/2007 at 17:12)

arrrrrggghhhh

John A (14/07/2007 at 18:16)

Sounds like she was trying to take the mick, only the email she returned was meant to be attached and go to a work colleague. Disgusting really. Wonder who will help Denise out, when she's on the dole???

sneakitawc (14/07/2007 at 18:19)

who hasn't hit the reply button instead of the forward one before? mistakes happen.

whistlingdixy (14/07/2007 at 19:02)

Why do people make such a big deal out of somthing like this - This gy is almost certainly just after a compensatory reduction in his council tax bill by going to the press. I find that worse than an email sent to him in error

the oracle, salford (14/07/2007 at 21:06)

i think she should be sacked and let us see how she copes on the other side of the desk. Her sort would soon change their attitude once they have to put up with the nonsense us un witty non council worker ditty writers have to put up with. Give her the boot

Ms D, Manchester (15/07/2007 at 09:39)

Sounds like a damage limitations exercise by Ms McVeigh.
Either way, given the publicity surrounding e-mails, is it appropriate for her to make those comments in her e-mail in the first place ? Not very professional.

The_umpire, Salford, Lancashire (15/07/2007 at 10:04)

I know this man was in trouble and he wanted some help, but in the long run the lady has apologized privately and in the paper.

Is it not time that we stop this compensation claim just because you feel that you have been done hard!

This was a one off the cuff comment that will no doubt have her on a discipline charge and she might lose her job, but, these days we have to be so dam careful, that you can not tell a joke in case it upsets someone.

This man has had his say, it is time to put this story to bed and not forget it, but, let the man take it up personally and leave everyone else out of his private life.

spongebob squarepants..under the sea, off the coast of cornwall., cornwall (15/07/2007 at 11:30)

ooops!! sounds like she thought it would be funny to mock his perdicament then when she realised the email is evidence of her stupidity tried to worm her way out of things by saying it was never intended for him, then trying to sound sincere and apologetic, and finally trying to get him to remove her details from his computer. silly woman should be made accountable for her actions and sacked. after all how can she carry on in a position that needs sensitive and understanding staff ready to help people in genuine distress and financial hardship.

do the decent thing and resign. your no longer fit for the job.

marc (16/07/2007 at 10:25)

it was a mistake. this isn't even newsworthy.

Calamity (16/07/2007 at 12:02)

Not surprised. I have had a lot of this from council officials. I lived in Warwickshire for a while and Warwick council were putting my online payments for council tax into the account of the previous tenant of my flat. The money just sat there and the first I knew of it was when I got a threatening solicitors letter, and costs had been added. Whe I rang the council up the woman I spoke to was a complete disgrace, with her high handed condescending attitude. She said it was my own fault for putting the wrong account number in. I asked her how did she think I got the account number. She had no answer to that. I got the number off the council tax bill! Worse was to follow. Three payments I had made with an ALLPAY card, had also gone astray. I could not find the receipts. I again got through to the same woman on the phone, and her attitude was that there was no record of any payments made by me using the ALLPAY card, and if I did not have the recepts then I would just have to pay again. She said that I had to pay the solicitors costs. Thankfully, I managed to get a confirmation from the post office covering the ALLPAY payments. I asked to speak to the most senior person at the council, and eventually, after months, the matter was sorted out and the costs quashed. Many years ago, I also had terrible treatment regarding the poll Tax, when I was a student and was billed for the full amount with no discount. That took over a year to sort out, and that was Manchester council, and once again, I got another little Hitler.

gardmal, Rochdale (16/07/2007 at 15:17)

Some very silly comments here. Get a grip people it was a mistake and I am sure "Sickened" Gary is not in a position to cast the first stone.

ace, manchester (16/07/2007 at 15:27)

Come on now let it drop it was a mistake .its not worth somebody loosing their job for?

AH, Manchester (16/07/2007 at 16:03)

how many of us have sent an email and it's ended up in the wrong email box?

spongebob squarepants..under the sea, off the coast of cornwall., cornwall (16/07/2007 at 16:37)

i have been on the recieving end of abuse from council employees a number of times. on one of those i was one of the many who were forced to queue up at m/cr town hall and beg and plead my case over their computer system upgrade that put many tennents in arrears with rent payments via hopusing benefit. the only helpful and polite person inthe entire dept was the security guard who had to direct people as to where to go. i got no help or apology from anybody there and worse was the threat from my housing office to evict my family over the arrears that i had been informing them was not my fault but their own systems. when i went in the last time the housing officer laughtd in my face from behind her screen and said tough. and you better start ringing around the removal companies sir. when i said i wanted to complain about her she said go ahead she will deny everything and her collegue said he would back her version. i only got things sorted thanks to the help of the citizens advice centre, who got straight through to the town hall and got my case sorted there and then. i was only one of many in the same boat and many left the town hall in tears while i was there. public service, no chance. they dont care one jot who the hurt with their wise cracks and smug expressions. so dont tell me its been blown out of all proportions, it happens everyday the diff this time is she got caught bang to rights for a change.. get her sacked and all the others that are like her.

tricia jonson (17/07/2007 at 10:17)

OK so she pressed the send button when she shouldnt have. How many abusinve calls a day do these people get and how many sob stories do they hear. Why not visit the office rather than chat on the phone, its easier face to face, lets have some sympathy here for the workers, i have been on the other end of calls like I am sure she receives. Yes I do feel a little sorry for him but i am sure it was the receptionists way of making light of her day with her colleagues, unfortunately send was pressed in error.

Anthony Molloy (23/07/2007 at 23:13)

I am sure the council have to deal with some unsavoury characters, who have no intention of paying taxes and actively try to avoid their responsibilities to the country. If this person fell into this category, I could easily forgive the lady in question for sending a mail, in fact I would have liked to send one too.

However, this situation, is so different, he¿s not bleating about his circumstance, he¿s proactively trying to manage his responsibility, if one of my ¿customers¿ came to me with that, I may not like it but I would certainly respect them and try to seek a resolution that was acceptable to both parties.

I don¿t feel this should be passed off with a shrug and a ¿OK so she pressed the send button when she shouldn¿t have¿, yes this is an embarrassing mistake but the fact she¿s wrote the mail in the first place with that wording is the issue, its means that its acceptable to the author and I can¿t help thinking that its acceptable to the intended recipients as well.

The council spokesman says this is being looked into, I would like to know how, I hope they look into the wider practices of the team rather than scapegoat this one individual, I am sure email is saved, backed up and is available for review. I for one would be interested if they are going to review this and make these findings public. I think this is news worthy and would encourage MEN to report further on this story.

alix, manchester (24/07/2007 at 11:27)

he should of paid the bill instead of moaning cos someone at the council was mean to him! Awwwww, I pay my bills on time even if it means i'm short till the end of the month. moral of the story is PAY YOUR BILLS AND STOP MOANING

The Catcher, In the Rye (24/07/2007 at 11:32)

I bet he'd accept an ex gratia payment by way of apology :-)

drambui (24/07/2007 at 13:10)

The comment from Alix is typical of the council. Do you work there? The story clearly stated this guy had a business that fell apart, followed by a house repossession. He knew of his council arrears and addressed them head on - he did not hide, he did not avoid. Try paying a bill when you're borderline bankrupt, it's a far cry from "being short" for the month. You have no idea of experience of the real world... I hope you one day encounter financial ruin and then maybe you'll have a better understanding.

The Catcher, In the Rye (24/07/2007 at 14:20)

Drambui is usually too sweet for me but this shot is a bit bitter. How nice of you to wish financial ruin on anybody.

drambui (24/07/2007 at 14:57)

Hi Catcher, I did not wish ruin on anyone. I said I hoped Alix would one day "encounter" financial ruin...

...because it happens all the time up and down the country. Look at the statistics for repossessions or bankruptcy in this country. Not to mention 2 thirds of businesses don't survive the first 3 years.

A response of "awww, pay you bill" indicates to me that Alix has never seen any hardship in his or her life, and has a complete inability to grasp what financial ruin can mean for those who endure it.

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