This comes after Lawrie Forbes complained last week after he was charged late fees for rates payments he posted before the due date.
Craig Mitchell, of Mosgiel, said he had been fighting the council since being charged late fees for four of his properties about a year ago.
Despite him having a history of paying on time, the council had refused to budge, and did not accept his excuse that he had not received rates bills for the properties, he said.
Until yesterday - when he got a call from the council saying the late fees had been paid - Mr Mitchell believed he still owed the fees.
He did not believe he had paid the late fees in error, as the council was suggesting, and was not sure why he no longer owed the council any money.
''It's very strange, [the late fee] was there last week and it's gone today.''
Even though the late fees totalled just over $80, he had been refusing to pay the fees ''on principle'', Mr Mitchell said.
The way he had been treated by council staff was an example of the council's poor customer service, he said.
''They are just not human any more. They don't look at people who they are dealing with any more.
''They just look at numbers.''
The council would not get away with the level of service it provided if it was in the private sector, he said.
Council spokesman Peter Taylor said he had apologised to Mr Mitchell for delays replying to his correspondence over the issue, but stood by the council's decision to charge him late fees.
''The council operates in a business-like manner and sets a deadline for payments like any government department or business,'' Mr Taylor said.
Whether someone had received a bill could not be ''evidenced'', which was why it did not accept it as an excuse, he said.
''People do, for example, receive bills and then forget about them.''
