Councillor Apologises For 'Unacceptable' Error That Saw Thousands Overcharged Rent

 Darlington Borough Council overcharged 5,241 of its tenants a total of £220,000 in rent fees - averaging at around 81p per person per week over a ten-month period. This represents an average overcharge of around £40 per tenant, though some are thought to have been charged up to £80 extra. The majority of affected tenants were receiving housing benefit and universal credit which covered the erroneous increase, but 1,300 have been directly paying it. The overcharge occurred after a 2.70 per cent rent increase agreed by councillors in February 2020 was wrongly inputted into the system as a £2.70 increase. Read more on the Northern Echo website.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19153739.darlington-councillor-apologises-unacceptable-error-saw-thousands-overcharged-rent/