WAR Disablement pensioners in Wirral may have been wrongly told to pay council tax, despite being classes as exempt by the local authority.

Birkenhead MP Frank Field has raised concerns with Wirral Council and has asked them to investigate the error.

Mr Field told the Globe he was alerted to the matter by a local War Disablement pensioner who was mistakenly charged council tax last year.

He has since become aware of several others being issued with council tax charges, despite being assured that the mistake would not be repeated and all War Disablement pensioners would remain exempt.

Because they are not aware of their exempt status, those receiving such charges are now paying what they are told to.

Mr Field said: “The council rightly exempts war pensioners from paying council tax.

“But an error has clearly occurred somewhere in the system and this needs to be sorted out.

“Any war pensioners who have recently started paying council tax should stop doing so immediately and ask the council to put this right.”

A spokesman for Wirral Council said it was committed to making sure those who are eligible for council tax or housing benefit support get what they are entitled to.

The spokesman added: “Eligibility depends on a wide range of individual circumstances and people who receive a service pension do not automatically qualify for maximum support.

“Additional staff training has taken place on specifics of the newer council tax support scheme to ensure that customers receive the right information.”