ANGRY tax payers bombarded City of York Council offices and jammed phone lines today after the authority sent out thousands of letters to residents demanding council tax payments or threatening them with court action.

Residents descended on the tax office in Library Square and jammed the department's switchboard after changes to the payment computer system meant 12,000 homes received letters telling them to pay up or be summonsed.

Among the people queuing at the office today was one man who told the Evening Press he had been sent a demand for his father-in-law - who died three years ago.

The letters were sent out to council tax payers who do not pay by direct debit. Council bosses apologised where mistakes had been made, but said it was in everyone's interest that council tax was paid on time.

The letters tell people they must pay their debt within seven days or lose the right to pay by instalments.

Written by James Drury, the council's head of public services, they warn those who still fail to pay: "I will take further legal action to recover the full balance."

Coun Quentin McDonald, the council's executive member for resources, said the tax office's new FX3 computer system had carried out a sweep of all people who were judged to be in arrears and sent out the letters.

While some of the reminders were sent to people owing substantial council tax payments, others received demands despite owing only one calendar month, and some claimed they owed nothing at all.

The Evening Press received a number of exasperated calls, with one caller urging us to go to Library Square to see the queue of complaining residents.

More than 30 people were waiting at Library Square when we arrived soon after 11am, and it took nearly an hour for the Evening Press to get through to the office by phone.

In the queue was Douglas Sutcliffe, a 67-year-old pensioner from Acomb, who was sent a letter for his father-in-law, James Fotheringham, who he said died in 2001, aged 92.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "They have sent me a bill for £54.91 for my father-in-law.

"I used to see to his bills and they were all paid when he died - it's just disgusting they should send a bill now."

Angela Burt, a designer from Marygate, said: "I'm not in arrears and they say I am, and now they are threatening to take me to court

"It's been bedlam here. People have been queuing for hours and one lady was in tears."

Pensioner June Holyoake, from South Bank, said: "I think it's rather frightening, threatening a lot of people without giving them the chance to sort it out."

Councillor McDonald said: "We have a new system and two months down the line it sweeps to see who has paid and who has not paid.

"The system then sends out a reminder. That new system has taken time to put into place and whereas normally we might send out 4,000 of these reminders, this time it has sent out 12,000.

"We have put extra staff on because we realise it is going to be busy. This is a peak time and we will be doing our very best to make sure these are dealt with as quickly as possible."

A council spokeswoman said the computer changes had meant the council had been unable to send out any reminders since last July.

Council bosses said that, where mistakes had been made, they would apologise and rectify them. But Julie McMurray, head of resources and benefits, said: "It is in the interests of everyone in the city that people pay their council tax and pay on time."

Updated: 13:01 Tuesday, July 13, 2004