claiming council tax back

bubble72

didnt relise that living alone allowed you 25% discount off council tax, i live in one bedroom flat&moved in dec 2007, i went to council to claim discount&asked for backdated from when moved in,lady told me they would only pay for 1 year backdated,is this right or shoukd they pay from start?&who do i goto if they say no&i need to push for backdated cash?
thanks!

eddieunwin

Post would be better off on Reclaiming PPI, Bank & Credit Card charges and more, they have a section for reclaiming council tax & will be able to advise you.

CIS

There is nothing in the relevant legislation which states that a discount cannot be backdated however the local authority do have a responsibility to ensure that any discount awarded is correct. You need to challenge the decision and provide any supporting evidence that you can.

Errata

Doesn't the annual council tax bill (or the information that accompanies it) explain what to do to claim single person discount? If it does, then the opportunity was there but not taken.

CIS

The annual bill has to include the information on discounts by law.

skorpio

Bubble 72, authorities are not obliged to backdate unless you can provide a valid and reasonable argument as to why you didnt previously claim the discount. i.e. you have been held hostage in Beirut for 3 years or in a coma. Discounts are advertised enough so unless you can't read then you've had plenty of opportunity to apply. Besides which, councils have to budget ahead each year and base what they need on certain assumptions plus whatever money they receive in the form of government grants. If you and hundreds of others all suddenly decided to claim backdated discounts, the council will have to try and find the money (which they've already budgeted for and spent) out of the public purse, i.e everyone else has to contribute.
If you really want to pursue it you will need to appeal to the council and if they still refuse, go to the tribunal service. Your local council will have leaflets on how to do it and their web site will probably have a link to your local tribunal office. Its not like a court or anything heavy. You just need to give a good argument for your case to a backdate.

Best of luck.

(20 yrs council tax experience and growing...)

CIS

Bubble 72, authorities are not obliged to backdate unless you can provide a valid and reasonable argument as to why you didnt previously claim the discount

Thats always a debatable point under the LGFA 92 and the Discount Disregards order as there is nothing in regulation to state they have to but also nothing to say they shouldn't. Its one of those things that needs looked at and the reulations amended.

Saying that though, if the OP can provide enough evidence to a VO tribunal then there has been at least one similar cases that has been won.

http://info.valuation-tribunals.gov.uk/decision_document.asp?appeal=/decision_documents/documents/ct_england/5270552036065cad.htm

The tribunal did not recognise the council's backdating policy and stated that , as a policy, it did not take regard of council tax law.

MrsManda

CIS wrote: »

Thats always a debatable point under the LGFA 92 and the Discount Disregards order as there is nothing in regulation to state they have to but also nothing to say they shouldn't. Its one of those things that needs looked at and the reulations amended.

I know it's not necessarily helpful to the OP but I was wondering if you could tell me how you go about proving that you lived alone over the time you wish the refund to be backdated?

CIS

I know it's not necessarily helpful to the OP but I was wondering if you could tell me how you go about proving that you lived alone over the time you wish the refund to be backdated?

There in lies one of the major problems - how do you ever prove that you live alone ?. You cant generally prove it which is why most authorities are reluctant to backdate in order to prevent fraud.

If its applied for in a timely manner then most local authorities do allow a person to self certify the entitlement to the discount but once its a backdated request then its difficult. If your a person who has a lot of contact with the council for CTB/HB then records for that can be checked for evidence of a second occ and they can check the electoral roll but again, none of these things are 100% guaranteed.