THURROCK residents claiming for a single person’s discount on their council tax bill are being checked in a borough-wide review.

The council is using sophisticated data matching technology, in the hope to validate legitimate claims and identify and remove those being claimed in error or fraudulently.

The single person’s discount or SPD, a 25 per cent discount worth a minimum of £250 a year, is given to anybody who claims to be living in a property on their own.

There are 18,430 people claiming this in Thurrock.

In partnership with Capacitygrid, Thurrock Council will check to see whether people are genuinely living alone, by cross-referencing with other sources of information about their household like the electoral-roll registers and financial sector information.

The review process will be carried out between now Wednesday December 7, during which time, anybody who claims the discount may be asked for some additional information.

Any resident who fails to respond to requests for further information in relation to their claim will have the claim withdrawn.

This will be from the beginning of the current financial year or from the date the discount was applied if within the current financial year.

Shane Hebb, councillor responsible for finance and central services, said: “We will be contacting all those where we feel further clarification around circumstances are required.

“It is estimated around £360,000 is claimed incorrectly every year – a figure which could fund every street sweeper in Thurrock.

“The longer you leave it, the larger your backdated bill will be, so it makes sense to tell us as soon as possible.

“Even if you were living alone when you received your bill for the year, if another adult is living with you now, we will need to re-calculate the amount you need to pay.

“People who are genuinely claiming the discount have nothing to worry about, but anyone found to be deliberately misleading the tax payers of Thurrock could face a fine of up to £70."