A PENSIONER who says he was wrongly taken to court by former council contractor WS Atkins claims the new firm collecting council tax in Swindon is no better.

WS Atkins agreed to sever its £2m-a-year contract to manage council tax benefits and collection last August.

It had been the subject of a catalogue of complaints about delays and blunders.

The new company running the service, Liberata, has reported a dramatic reduction in the time it takes to process benefit applications.

But retired railway worker Leslie Jones, 74, is still receiving demands for money he says he does not owe.

WS Atkins threatened the Freshbrook pensioner with court action last February, claiming he owed them £245 in back payments of council tax.

Mr Jones said he had receipts going back four years showing he had always paid his council tax on time.

Despite Liberata taking over the Swindon Council benefits contract in August, Mr Jones says his situation is little better.

In December he received a summons to appear in court, only to have the case dropped at the last minute.

And this week he received a council tax bill which still claims he owes £245.

He said: "Whether they are going to be any better than the other people I don't know.

"At the minute they are still insisting I owe them money that I know I don't owe.

"I'm fed up with the whole thing.

"I wish they would take me to court I'm on such a low income that I think the magistrate would feel sorry for me.

"The new bill is £44 a month, which I can ill afford, but it is still saying I owe £245 from the last four years.

"As far as I can see they are no better than the last outfit."

Liberata Swindon manager Paul Vaughan said he could not comment on individual cases because of the Data Protection Act.

But he added: "If he has got a problem we will sort it out.

"There's a helpline number on his bill which we have dramatically improved the performance of.

"Seventy per cent of calls are now answered within 30 seconds and the abandonment rate of calls has been reduced to seven per cent.

"If he wants to call us up or come in and see someone we will deal with it."