COUNTY TAX OFFICE SCREWED ME what should I do

[terracore]

I have two lots that I paid my taxes earlier this year with two separate checks- one for each lot.

Somehow they still managed to credit both checks to one property.  So now I owe $7 on one property for taxes and $356 on another.  Normally that wouldn't a big issue but it includes $26 for interest and penalties for an error that they made.  I have copies of both checks I wrote and they clearly show the correct TMK numbers on the checks themselves.  Twice, actually because I also put the TMK numbers in the "memo" section of the check.

Has anybody dealt with a billing error like this before, and if so what is the best way to tackle it?

Or is it not worth my trouble and I should just "eat" the $26 as a lesson to not try and send two payments at once?  I feel like I'm getting screwed twice because I'm getting taxed in the first place by a county that doesn't provide any services in my subdivision, and then when I pay on time they still find a way to hit me with penalties and interest.

I had a very similar problem once before but because the title company was the one that made the tax payment they dealt with the county directly and made the penalty and interest go away and got my account properly credited.

[kalakoa]

Free advice: only deal with Hawaii government entities in person, always pay with cash, always get a receipt.

I started doing this several years ago after the State Tax people decided I hadn't paid and started sending the scary demand letters.

It's cumbersome and takes extra time out of your day, but it pays for itself every time they're denied the opportunity to screw up.

In this case, pay the $26 -- it's cheap insurance against them discovering new ways to make everything worse, which they will if you dare to challenge them.

[terracore]

To my surprise and amazement, I was able to fix this with one email to the county. I included scans of my cashed checks and the current bills and requested that they fix the error, remove the penalties and interest, and send me updated bills reflecting the change. They did it within two days!

To prevent a reoccurence I'm paying future bills by sending in the payments in different weeks.