THE son of a Bournemouth man who died without a will has said he will continue to fight BCP Council over estate claims, after they rejected an appeal.

Tim Linington previously told the Daily Echo “shame on BCP Council” after the authority refused to pay his late father’s tax refund of £65 unless he produced a Letter of Administration, which costs £255, to recognise Mr Linington as his father’s next of kin.

Mr Linington submitted a formal complaint appeal which, just under a month later, was rejected.

Great-grandfather Graham Linington passed away in July after a battle with cancer. A Bournemouth resident for more than 20 years, the Royal Navy veteran previously worked for Dorset Council as a minibus driver for the elderly.

His son Tim said: “I am disgusted by this, but I don't think they'll change their mind. My perception is that this is wholly wrong, they can cite their policy as much as they’d like but it needs looking at.

“The irony is that while they say they need the Letter of Administration, they actually repaid a council tax sum of £5.10 to me without that. They either have the policy or they don’t, the inconsistency is totally ridiculous.”

Mr Linington emphasised that he does not want the £65 for monetary gain, but rather out of principle. He also said that he wrote to the council imploring them to donate the money to Cancer Research if they won’t release the money to him.

The ‘In memory of Graham George Linington’ page on Cancer Research UK has raised more than £330 in two months.

Mr Linington said: “Instead of sending my family flowers, I thought a nice thing to do would be to do something for charity instead. I like the idea of taking the money you’d spend on goodwill flowers and spend it on a really strong cause.

“The flowers would be long gone by now, but the money raised will make a great difference.”

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “This is an unfortunate matter as it is council policy to have a Letter of Administration in order to deal with someone’s estate.

“We have now received a letter from Mr Linington, which has instigated the second stage of the council’s complaint procedure which will be answered in due course.”

Mr Linington added: “I have more to do in life than chase £65 but it’s the principle of the matter and about my dad’s memory. I will keep pursuing this.

“However, if they were to donate the money to Cancer Research in the name of my father, that would close the matter as far as I’m concerned.”

For more information, visit: fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/in-memory-of-graham-george-linington