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Householder received forms for dead person

Cindee Miller hold survey forms she received from the Department of Land Valuation (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

A furious householder is still being sent government forms featuring the name of the dead former owner of her home — six years after she bought the house.Cindee Miller said the property valuation survey forms, which have to be returned within 21 days of receipt, were addressed to the owner/occupier, but had the name of the former owner, who died earlier this year, inside.She added: “How dare the Government tell me I have 21 days when it has been six years and I am still receiving my land tax and all information under a dead person’s name.”She was speaking after she received property valuation survey forms from the Department of Land Valuation this week. Ms Miller, who bought the Hamilton Parish house in 2013, said that the envelope was addressed to the owner/occupier, but that the forms inside had the name of the former owner on them.The 62-year-old added that it warned that failure to return the forms before the deadline or the provision of false information was punishable by a fine or imprisonment. Ms Miller said: “I was so angry.” She added that she had also received land tax bills and “all kinds of information” addressed to the former property owner. She asked: “What happens if I don’t pay my land tax because it’s not billed to me?The Government on Tuesday said the forms from the Department of Land Valuation had been received by homeowners “during he first two weeks” of November.It added that all land taxpayers were required to complete and return the survey and that the next Valuation List would be published on December 31, 2020.But Ms Miller said that the forms had arrived at her home on Tuesday. She added that the letter was dated November 6 — but that it had been posted on December 9. Ms Miller said that she and her lawyers had gone through the proper steps when she purchased the house in 2013. She added that she had tried to contact Diane Elliott, the director of the Department of Land Valuation, whose name appeared on the letter she had received, but had been unable to reach her. Ms Miller said she had spoke to an employee at the department who said they received several calls a day about documents being address to the wrong person. A note on the Department of Land Valuation website advised that it is not responsible for updating the names of taxpayers and mailing addresses for land tax bills. The Land Title and Registration Office website said it was the office’s “duty to record any legal right or interest which affects parcels of land and to provide an up-to-date report of the evidence of land ownership”.