A Dundee businessman has accused Dundee City Council of treating small businesses in the city with disdain.
Graham Bradley, 70, plans to take the administration to the Court of Session over their collection of property payments.
Mr Bradley feels the council do not understand business and claims the administration’s reputation is putting firms off opening up in Dundee.
The 70-year-old, who owns residential and commercial properties in the city, branded the treatment of small business “an absolute scandal”.
He said: “The city is like a large business and none of these people are qualified to run it, in my opinion.
“None of them are businessmen, they’re not business orientated.
“The mentality they have is that they are the council and can do what they want.
“It’s not their money, so they could not care less.
“The council is putting out these spurious invoices and it’s an absolute scandal.”
Mr Bradley feels the council’s treatment of small business and the issuing of incorrect invoices could “potentially cost the council hundreds of thousands of pounds”.
Mr Bradley, who is chairman of the Dundee and Angus branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said: “I get complaints every morning from members and they’re all about Dundee City Council.
“Some of the council departments are like the Gestapo.
“One man who had seven pubs in Dundee got that fed up of going to licensing and seeing councillors falling asleep in their chairs that he more or less gave his pubs away.
“He said he would never come back to Dundee and do business.
“It’s mainly small businesses that they are targeting.”
Mr Bradley now hopes to succeed in court to prove to the council that their conduct is unacceptable.
He revealed: “It’s a costly affair, but I’m not worried about it.
“It’s for the members as well.”
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal matters.”