Having, due to being snowed in on three separate occasions last winter, decided to prepare for the coming winter, I purchased a second home in a village a one hours drive from my country residence, this of course being in a different Council area.
A list of questions arrived from the new council, answers to be backed up by written proof, original documents only copies would not be accepted. I, perhaps foolishly, emailed them asking if I should seek out a J.P. and have him/her make out a sworn affidavit that I had indeed taken possession of the new house. This question obviously raised someones hackles in the council, as thereafter, having provided written proof from my solicitor and bank of the completed bargain in March, I received, over a period of four months, at three weekly intervals a further two questions to be answered on the same basis as the original questions.
Eventually they gave up and issued a council tax invoice that would take someone with an accountancy qualification to unraval, I eventually came to the conclusion that it favoured me by the sum of £1.40.

In a visit to the N.E. at the end of this saga someone enquired if I had moved into my new house and if it was in the same area as my house of 50+ years the answer being no it came under E.A. Council, this gentleman, a council employee, stated to the company that E.A. were notorious in councils all over Scotland and if any thorny question were asked by a council taxpayer they were instructed to do an E.A. ie. use evasion, deflection and obfuscation.

The council probably did a credit check on me, and this having come up blank, never having had a mortgage, overdraft or loan of any kind and having no standing orders with a bank, I was probably, in their book, viewed as a very suspicious character.