An invoicing glitch may result in some Brightlingsea residents having their garden waste collections suspended – even if they’ve paid for the service.

Tendring District Council (TDC) has sent letters out (see picture below ) claiming that invoices dating back to 2020 remain unpaid, even though the recipients’ fortnightly collections have continued. In some cases it appears that the invoices may never have been sent.

The letters said that a “recent audit conducted by our finance department” discovered the issue, and gave recipients until November 1 to clear any debt, or to prove that they had paid by showing bank statements’s .

In response to a post on social media, many residents said they’d paid the disputed invoices at the time, while others said they were being billed for a service they had cancelled.

TDC didn’t answer Brightlingsea Info’s question as to why the council’s systems had allowed people to continue to use the system without –supposedly – paying. It pointed us instead to a recording of an Audit Committee meeting in 2023 where the issue was discussed. A link to the recording is here:https://www.youtube.com/embed/O6Ed2qSxdn0.

The council’s cabinet member for the environment, Adrian Smith told us: “An audit revealed a number of people had not paid for their garden waste collections, and so reminder invoices have been issued. If people have been using a chargeable council service and not paid for it then we have a duty to the taxpayer to follow up on missed payments.”

He added: “Garden waste collections from these properties may be paused until payment is made.”