ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — We have all probably done what Joyce Thomas did when sorting and paying bills. Thomas accidentally paid a bill she didn’t have too, “I just made a mistake,” said Thomas.
What she didn’t realize is that the tax bill she paid to Rockingham County was for a home they had sold. Their portion of the taxes was paid at closing but a bill for the remaining balance was sent to her new house, I just didn’t notice it (address) it was down toward the bottom of the page,” said Thomas.
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The tax bills are generated based on the address listed as of January 1, 2019. County officials tell WFMY News 2 the bill was not sent in error and that their system is set up that way.
After realizing the mistake Thomas reached out to the county in hopes of getting a refund but was told it couldn’t, “They (Rockingham County) told us they would not be able to issue a refund,” said Thomas.
Turns out the reason the county couldn’t offer a refund was because the amount owed to them was paid in full. What happened was the company that works with the lending company paid the remaining balance owed after Thomas accidentally paid about $700. So, the county only received the exact amount that was owed on the home and not a penny more.
Thomas reached out to the new homeowners and tried to find someone associated with the lending company to help but to no avail, “All we want is what belongs to us, we are not trying to rob anybody,” said Perry Thomas.
Our 2 Wants To Know Call for Action volunteers started to investigate the issue in hopes of helping the Thomas’ recoup the money they accidentally paid. After identifying the company that pays the taxes for the new owners we reached out to them.
A spokesperson told us they would investigate the issue and get back to us. The next day we received a call letting us know it was able to identify the mistake and was working with the bank to pay the necessary balance owed by the new owners.
A couple days later we were told the money was being sent to the county and that it would allow them (the county) to issue a refund. About five days later Joyce Thomas called WFMY News 2 to let us know a check for $669.03 arrived in the mail, “I’m so glad I called you guys I really am, I’m definitely glad and would recommend it to anybody having issues they can’t seem to resolve,” said Thomas.
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