Man had to pay more than £1k in council tax due to Glasgow post delays

Asif Ishaq claims that he received a council tax reminder from Glasgow City Council (GCC) dated July 9 on July 23, two weeks after it was sent.

The Garnethill resident explained that due to the reported late delivery of the letter, he had missed the initial seven-day period to pay the outstanding sum.

As such, he says he lost the right to pay his council tax in instalments and had to pay the remaining amount for the year, which totalled £1029.

This sum was to be paid by the date he received the letter.

Asif said: “I was shocked and a bit alarmed when I got the letter, as I am someone who pays his bills on time.

“The only mistake I made here was just that I missed the July 1 deadline for payment. I just completely forgot.

“I’ve always made my payments on time in the past, and I was going to make it. Thankfully, I am in a position where I could afford to make the full payment, but I had to use my savings.

“Due to fear and anxiety over being charged an additional 10 per cent on top of that amount, I ended up just paying the bill.

“It has left me out of pocket. The letter was delivered on July 23, but I was working and only got home just after midnight on July 24.

“I’m concerned I might still be charged the extra 10 per cent as the full payment was due on July 23.”

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The letter states that if a person fails to pay the overdue amount or the total balance, this will be increased by 10 per cent, without any further notification.

The council can also pass the resident’s details on to its debt management partners for collection.

Mr Ishaq, who has lived in the city centre for 17 years now, raised concerns over the late postal deliveries and the potential impact it could have on vulnerable residents.

He added: “They [Royal Mail] don’t seem to be caring about the implications that late delivery of mail can have.

“In my case, it’s a bill, but what if that was a hospital appointment? It’s more disturbing from that point of view.

“The issue doesn’t seem to be getting addressed. I’m really worried about the elderly, vulnerable, and those facing financial hardship.”

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Garnethill is covered by the Glasgow G1-5 Delivery Office, which is operated by Royal Mail on Baird Street.

In April, we reported that residents in Garnethill said ‘lives were being put at risk’ due to delays in receiving mail.

The problem is said to have been ongoing since October 2024.

Mr Ishaq raised his case with his local MSP, Pauline McNeill, who slammed the delays.

Ms McNeill said: “This is what the people of Garnethill have had to put up with for months now with Royal Mail deliveries.  

“My team are already on this. Why should my constituent be financially penalised for this simply because of poor mail service?

“I expect the council to consider this long-standing problem when applying the rules on late payment.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson stated that it is aware of delays in the Garnethill area.

The company went on to comment that these are due to staffing issues.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are aware of delivery delays affecting part of the Garnethill area.

“Due to staffing issues, deliveries are currently being made at least every other day. While this can occasionally result in items taking an extra day to arrive, the situation has improved significantly since earlier this year.

“We apologise for any inconvenience and continue to work hard to improve service levels.”

A GCC spokesperson added: “Anyone with concerns like this should contact the council tax offices, who will be willing to offer support and respond to queries.

“We have received no direct contact from Mr Ishaq to the council tax office. However, based on the confirmation that payment was made on 24 July 2025, we can confirm that this payment falls within the allowance period of the most recently issued reminder notice, and no further recovery action or statutory addition would be applicable.

“The seven-day payment requirement stated on the reminder begins from the date of issue of the notice; however, allowances are made for the time it may take in the post, and processes are in place to ensure that follow-up action is not taken immediately upon expiry of this timescale.”