A NATIONAL telephone hotline has been launched to help stamp out the growing problem of fraudulent claims to councils.
Zurich Municipal, part of insurance company Zurich, which has offices in Swindon, is encouraging local authorities and other public sector bodies to run the fraud name-and-shame line in a move to save council tax payers an estimated £1 billion each year. Twenty local authorities have already subscribed and more have expressed an interest.
A spokesman for Swindon Council said: "It is not a huge problem for us but we are happy to explore anything which will save the council taxpayers' money."
Members of the public can call the free hotline, anonymously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to report any suspicious claims.
Although local authorities are insured, they are forced to pay higher excesses and premiums because of mounting cost of managing claims. The cost of most claims is met at the expense of front line services and pushes up the cost of council tax.
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