Council tax payers have been conned out of many tens of millions of pounds a month in an elaborate scam which claims to maintain living standards by delivering services to boroughs across Britain, a survey suggests.
The scam, which affects every single tax payer across the UK, sees members of the public paying upwards of £1000 per annum into council bank accounts for local services that are either never delivered or closed completely.
A victim of the fraud, Sheila Part, admitted her surprise that the scam had only come to light.
She told us, 'I'm shocked that in an age where fraud is so prevalent, that this abuse has only just revealed itself.
'I personally have been aware of it for the past decade.'
'Basically, what happens is, is that upon moving to a new home, you are sent these horrible threatening letters asking you to pay a premium for having the audacity for living within a given councils borders.'
'This letter asks you to set up a monthly direct debit where by you pay a portion of what you to them to cover off supposed services such as libraries, cleaning of the streets and maintaining parks and footpaths.'
'Of course, I, like the rest of the population have to pay this money or I get sent to prison, yet the people who receive this money never do any of the things they are supposed to, and the people in charge of this get six figure salaries for their trouble.'
'Its a complete scam.'
Ms Part doubted the protagonists of the fraud would ever be brought to justice.
'Prison? Yeah that would be great.'
'But I'd just settle for having my rubbish collected weekly.'
