A grieving man says a council tax summons for his partner who died two months ago is 'the final insult' in a long-running wrangle with his local authority.
Ron Roberts, who lives in the Netherton area of Aintree on Merseyside, says the summons to his late partner, Judy Mason, is the latest issue in a 'catalogue of problems' with Sefton council dating back several years, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Judy had several chronic health issues and was registered blind. The couple had waited two years for bathroom renovations to be carried out on their home.
The couple claimed that they were told to 'use the gym' to wash, but when their story was highlighted by the MEN's sister newspaper, the Liverpool ECHO, in 2019 a new bathroom was fitted within days.
Meanwhile, the couple were also in dispute with the council over Judy’s care package, which Ron claimed did not help her with the social aspects of her life and only focused on personal care, leaving his partner 'missing out on her independence, on taking part in her community'.
As a result of the disputes Judy had with the council, Ron said she had refused to pay her council tax since 2019.
He said she was 'waiting for her day in court' to explain how she felt about the way she was treated by the council and expecting a summons.
But in June this year, Judy went in for surgery to remove a toe, and after a number of delays to her surgery due to the pandemic, she then contracted Covid while in hospital.
Ron said: “She was very poorly and she survived it. I used to sit outside the covid ward in the Royal (Liverpool Hospital) speaking to her over the phone. It was a very scary time.”
Judy was then transferred to Aintree Hospital for rehabilitation, where in September she suffered a series of bleeds on the brain, tragically dying as Ron held her hand on September 29.
Ron said that since then his 'world has fallen apart' and he has struggled to deal with the grief of losing his beloved partner of 21 years.
When he opened a letter last week addressed to his partner to find a court summons for Judy’s unpaid council tax it 'just added to the devastation'.
He said: “It was the final insult to Judy, after everything they put her through.
“We were ignored for years by Sefton council, so she made a stand about how she had been treated and refused to pay council tax.
Ron said Sefton council had been informed of her death before the letter had been sent out and receiving it has made him 'feel like giving up'.
He said: “It just feels like the odds were stacked against us and now she’s gone.
“We were treated like dirt. Judy was treated like that in life and now she is in her death too.
“They were definitely aware she is dead. I’ve made an appointment to speak to someone at the council before the court date.
“It’s so sad, Judy would have gone and given them what for what they’ve done, they’ve never shown us any decency and they still aren’t now.
“She was beautiful inside and out, I feel lost without her, we were a team, Ron and Judy, and now it’s just Ron.
“I have to keep fighting for Judy, she deserved better.”
Sefton council was approached for comment but a spokesperson said it 'does not comment on individual cases'.
