Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

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  • darich
    darich Posts: 2,145
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    I tried to have my band changed based on numerous identical properties within 200-300m of my house. They're all band D, I'm in Band E.
    I was refused based on the fact that I missed the 6month deadline (that I was unaware of) by 3 weeks.
    Despite me pointing out that any mistakes must be rectified regardless of when they are notified the council stood firm and I remained in Band E.


    It still annoys me and I'm still sure I'm in the wrong band but the council refuses to budge!!

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  • I moved house in March and realised that the council tax banding was too high. I went through all the right channels and asked for an assessment to see if it could be lowered and have just heard that it has been been successful and has been rebanded from G to F.
    Although we won't receive any major refund from this I would like to know if we can inform the people who sold it to us so that they can claim a refund which should be worth around £1,000 to them.
    Does anyone know if they will be able to put in a claim for overpayment for the three years that they lived here?
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,510
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    Does anyone know if they will be able to put in a claim for overpayment for the three years that they lived here?

    Yes they can.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • We moved into our Band F house in 1995. Within a year (but after six months) I realised we were overpaying massively as our neighbours in a bigger house were Band E. It was too late to appeal and I thought we were going to have to lump it. It seemed so unjust. Earlier this year I found on this site that I could have a go at reducing the tax and I did it. Probably took about two hours to dig out our original purchase details, the estate agent's description, take some photos and write a case. I got the automatic refusal notice and went to the second stage of asking for a reassessment - this was not tricky as I just forwarded the first email. There was a problem at the agency as the person sent my file was ill but eventually I got a call and was told we were being dropped two bands. Ten days later I have received a refund in excess of £10,000 and as I've apparently already paid all the council tax I should pay this year my next three payments will not be collected. So all in all this is worth £11,328. Next year the monthly payment is about £80 less. I am somewhat shell-shocked but of course there is no interest payable and I could have done with more disposable money when my children were small. It's infuriating the system in valuing properties was so random and that until recently it's not been possible to seek redress. I'd recommend anyone has a go at this if they are confident they are in the wrong band - this was the most lucrative two hours of my life.
  • lolbeck
    lolbeck Posts: 33 Forumite
    edited 10 October 2016 at 2:00PM
    Sorry - wrong place...............
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,510
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    We moved into our Band F house in 1995. Within a year (but after six months) I realised we were overpaying massively as our neighbours in a bigger house were Band E. It was too late to appeal and I thought we were going to have to lump it. It seemed so unjust. It's infuriating the system in valuing properties was so random and that until recently it's not been possible to seek redress.

    The right to ask for a re-assessment has always existed, Since November 1993, plenty of people who were out of time to make a valid appeal asked for a re-assessment and had their bands reduced. You could have asked back in 1995.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • Believe me I would have sorted it out all those years ago when I first noticed it. At the time I did call the council and was told there was nothing I could do about it. Obviously I was given duff info and had it not been for this website I would have carried on shelling out so I'm very grateful.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 17,510
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    If you originally spoke to the council as opposed to the Valuation Office Agency, who deal with banding, then you were definitely misinformed as the council should have referred you to the VOA.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • Local Borough Council: Hillingdon
    Council Tax Band Before: F
    Council Tax Band After: E
    Amount refunded: £300 (approx.)
    Annual saving going forward: £300 (approx.)

    Martin & team, thank you for your very useful and comprehensive guide on challenging Council Tax bands.
    I downsized last December from a large 3 bed detached house to a small 2 bed bungalow just around the corner (and am now mortgage free!). I was surprised when I received my council tax bill - I was still a band F. A check on your guide soon showed me the right websites to get the information on local council tax bands of neighbours. I checked on several local similar houses and found that they were a mixture of Band E & F. It seems that 11 people in the area challenged their bands and were reduced to band E, but others haven't challenged. I applied to the VOA straight away for a reduction but was refused. The main reason appeared to be that my house sold in 1993 for £121k - just above the band F threshold, and the listing officer relied on the difficult state of the housing market and believed prices were falling at the time and would have been higher in 1991. As your guide states, this next step is a bit more tricky. I did have to do a lot of research, but some of the similar houses had sold for less than £120k but generally there was a serious lack of housing price data. Local knowledge told me that the lack of price data was because not many houses are sold (obvious when you think about it!). People like the area and stay here for a long time - that creates a demand. This was supported by the other local bungalows which had sold for over £120k after 1991. I decided to challenge the VOA decision and went to a Valuation Tribunal. It did take quite a bit of work and nearly 6 months but I felt it was a fair process and they found in my favour in the end.
    So, many nearby households are in band F - only because they have not challenged their banding. Nobody will do it for them... get checking now!
    I'm now due a refund of around £300 and will save just as much every year - on top of all the other savings you've made me. Thanks again!
  • Some advice please guys, 87 pages is too much to read I'm afraid. Ok I'm convinced I'm in the wrong council tax band. I'm currently in D but I believe I should be in C. I've done the neighbours check and all my neighbours are in D too. The problem is all these sites that do valuations comftably put me in C. I spoke to the valuation office today and they were very unhelpful. I explained my problem and they said my only hope was to find a similar property within 2 miles that's in a different band. I knew that I wouldn't so I asked what if I couldn't ? And what if everyone's else's bands were wrong ? The woman gave me no answer. When I mentioned these various valuation sites she dismissed them saying these don't count as evidence. What do I do now ?
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