Call it the cold shoulder. Or frosty reception. In any case, seven English Councils are now being accused of “negligence” due to their previous acts involving depositing money into banks that went bust soon after.

While the overall amount is a measly 3% of the total cash reserves of the council, at this stage of the economy, there is no such thing as small money. Besides, the amount is about 33 Million pounds and it is surely nothing to scoff at. The amount itself is not in question in this situation. The problem is the timing of the investment. According to the records, the amounts were paid just as the banks’ credit rating was downgraded and when the Icelandic banks totally collapsed. It can basically be described as placing your money on an iceberg knowing that it’s headed into the equator.

Now the Kent Council is asking for its money back. The council believes that it has been open about its conduct which as stated above, can be described as utterly negligent. Because of this, they believe that they should get the money back which is not protected money like that of individual deposits. Good luck on that.

It’s not like nobody told them of what was happening. What’s worse is that the deposits were made despite repeated warnings from the Audit Commission. The Audit Commission has warned councils about the instability of the Icelandic banks and its declining credit worthiness. While some heeded their warnings, obviously some did not do the same.