YORK council bosses apologised today after 700 households were sent tax demands by mistake.

Frustrated and angry residents jammed City of York Council switchboards after receiving reminder letters saying they were behind with their council tax payments - even though they had actually paid up in full.

Most of the victims were people who pay their tax in half-yearly instalments but were told their "monthly instalments" were in arrears.

Several angry residents complained to the Evening Press about the council's errors, branding them "a nonsense" and "ridiculous".

The authority said today it was investigating why 700 out of 6,000 council tax letters went out in error, and pledged it would send letters of apology to all concerned.

A spokeswoman said people affected could phone the council if they wished, but did not have to do so. The authority would ensure all mistaken reminders were cancelled.

The row mirrors the controversy in July, when a similar mailshot to 12,000 homes spurred hundreds of residents to call or visit the authority. About 200 of those letters were thought to have been sent in error, but the council said the exercise had still been worthwhile.

Colin Ward, of Heworth, said he received a letter yesterday telling him he was £660 behind with monthly instalments. But he had actually paid in half-yearly instalments and handed over the first £660 in May, with the second payment not due until next month.

After experiencing great difficulty contacting the authority, he was eventually told that the May payment had accidentally been credited to his account for last year, because it was paid in advance.

"It's a nonsense," he said. "Their computer software programme is weakly designed and should not have allowed them to send out this letter. It does not inspire confidence in their systems. I feel they should send me a letter of apology," he said.

Hospital porter David Inns, 59, of Leeman Road, York, said he was mistakenly sent a council tax demand for £123, despite being up to date with all his bills.

He said he spent two hours trying to contact the council to set the record straight, and was told by a switchboard worker that they had been inundated with angry callers.

"I'm absolutely furious," he added. "I already pay income tax and council tax. If they want to get after somebody, why don't they get after the scroungers who have never done a day's work in their lives?

"I've been trying to get through for two hours, and quite frankly I've got better things to do with my time than staying on hold for the council."

Deborah Stewart, who queued up in the council's Finance and Housing Centre in Library Square, said: "I pay by direct debit, and I got this letter telling me I was behind on my payments. I checked with my bank, and the money had gone out as usual. I don't understand it. I arranged the direct debit payments to make my life easier, so I wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing happening."

A council spokeswoman said: "We're aware that there are some problems with a number of the reminder letters, particularly concerning customers who pay on a half-yearly basis. We are looking into the cause and scale of the problem."

Updated: 13:55 Tuesday, October 05, 2004