Tim Quaife said the bill was ‘absolutely ridiculous’ (Picture: SWNS)

Sometimes it can be useful to have the option to pay a bill in installments, particularly if it’s intimidatingly large.

On other occasions, it is a heck of a lot more straightforward just to pay off a small fee in one go.

For instance, when the bill is 1p.

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That is how much Bath and North East Somerset Council charged Tim Quaife, reassuringly letting him know that he could give them the charge in installments.


We’re not even sure how that would even work, but we’re assuming it would involve slicing up a penny coin into smaller pieces.



The retired funeral director was told the charge was due to a change in his pension credit payments.

But when he checked with the Department for Work and Pensions, they told the 68-year-old he shouldn’t have been charged at all – not even a penny.

Rest assured that he does not actually have to pay the charge (Picture: SWNS)

Tom, from Whitchurch, Somerset, said: ‘Pathetic isn’t the word. Things like this, it’s absolutely ridiculous.

‘Taxpayers’ money is going to be wasted. It has cost them 53p to send the letter out Second Class to me.

‘If I owed them a penny why don’t they put it on my next year’s council tax bill?’

The council has kindly agreed to waive the 1p charge.

Bath and North Somerset Council said: ‘This correspondence was automatically generated when his account was updated as a result of an automated notification from the DWP.

‘We will cancel the bill and confirm this with Mr Quaife directly.’