Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts Discussion Area

jamesiebabie

square-eyes wrote: »

Band E, still band E
Redhill and Reigate B.C.
Amount got back = Nil

Well folks, it didn't work for me. Boo-Hoo! I scanned the success board and there was not a single mention of Redhill or Reigate so perhaps the Valuations office there do not admit that they made an incorrect decision ever.
I had a two page explanation addressing all the points about comparables that I mentioned. They just say that the valuation is correct according to other similar sales in the area in April 1991. I have walked the road with the list of bandings and found loads of inconsistent (to me) valuations.
I don't know whether to just give up and go on holiday. I don't think I can get the valuations officer to change his mind as people don't once they have made a decision.

Square Eyes,

If you PM me with your postcode and house number, I'll try and give you my independant opinion and on the back of that I'll give you a way ahead, hopefully.

Don't give up yet, that is only round 2, there another 10 rounds yet!

funkster99

I have recently heard that my band will be reduced from band F to E after applying for a review as per this website. Thanks for the great information!

My rough estimate is that I should get back something approaching £2000 since 1994, when I moved in. My question is: should the council also include interest on this, and will they provide a detailed account of how a refund is worked out?

I phoned them about it and they said I won't hear anything for at least 6 weeks, and I can choose to have a refund or money off the council tax.

guppy

colcfc wrote: »

As a follow up to my post above you may be interested to know that, having left the letter sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks, I decided to give the Valuation Office one more ring.

I ran through the details briefly with the person on the other end of the phone who offered then to have a word with the officer assigned to my case. He said that he would ring me back later that afternoon.

About an hour later my phone went. He had spoken to the person concerned and they agreed that I would be changed from Band C to Band B! Just like that!

This morning I received a revised bill from the Council showing a total credit of over £1200, and to think that I nearly gave up.

Don't let the b*****ds grind you down!!

Well done!

Anyone in similar circumstances shouldn't give up. Even if your house is valued correctly, if the rest of the street is identical but in lower bands the VOA will (and do) give serious consideration to reducing any odd bands that aren't in sync. They are obliged to ensure that bandings are "fair and consistent" and it helps to remind them of this as frequently as possible.

The law does (exceptionally) allow for bands to be reduced despite them being valued correctly. If a large number of houses have been in the same band for a long time then a "tone of the list" (i.e. valuation list) can be argued to have become established, and all identical houses should be valued in line with it.

This is why the VOA often start obsessing about sqaure footage and the like, to try and say houses are not identical. However in my experience, they will not try and defend the indefensible if you keep the pressure on.

jamesiebabie

funkster99 wrote: »

I have recently heard that my band will be reduced from band F to E after applying for a review as per this website. Thanks for the great information!

My rough estimate is that I should get back something approaching £2000 since 1994, when I moved in. My question is: should the council also include interest on this, and will they provide a detailed account of how a refund is worked out?

I phoned them about it and they said I won't hear anything for at least 6 weeks, and I can choose to have a refund or money off the council tax.

Funkster99,

Unfortunately, the council will not give you the interest on this amount as legislation says that they don't have to. But you may be able to get some interest from the vOA as it was there mistake. ?Have a look at the thread from March 07 onwards, I have given some previous advice.

If you need more, then post on this thread and I'll try and help, but be warned this is not straight forward and not guaranteed.

J

grace21

Hi Funkster99,
Well done,let us know if you get a complete refund. After getting my rebanding I'm now having to fight for the complete refund!!
Good Luck,
Grace

Mrs._M_7

See the home page at https://www.isitfair.co.uk about how to join in the action to send a copy of your CT bill to Gordon Brown.
Isitfair is a nationwide campaign calling for the reform of the council tax system. Property Banding can never be fair. Any tax rfeplacing the present system must take the ability to pay into consideration. How can it be fair when two parts of the country, having ther same average income the council tax varies so much? Let's for example take North Devon and Sunderland. In North Devon and Sunderland the average income is pretty well the same but the average council tax in North Devon is £400 more than in Sunderland.
So, no use tinkering, get rid of this system and start again. Several alternatives on https://www.isitfair.co.uk

Zebedeee

guppy wrote: »

Well done!

Anyone in similar circumstances shouldn't give up. Even if your house is valued correctly, if the rest of the street is identical but in lower bands the VOA will (and do) give serious consideration to reducing any odd bands that aren't in sync. They are obliged to ensure that bandings are "fair and consistent" and it helps to remind them of this as frequently as possible.

The law does (exceptionally) allow for bands to be reduced despite them being valued correctly. If a large number of houses have been in the same band for a long time then a "tone of the list" (i.e. valuation list) can be argued to have become established, and all identical houses should be valued in line with it.

This is why the VOA often start obsessing about sqaure footage and the like, to try and say houses are not identical. However in my experience, they will not try and defend the indefensible if you keep the pressure on.

Very interesting, guppy. There are a range of houses on our estate, and all those identical to ours are a band below us. We have been at this for 6 months now, still no joy, but we're not giving up! The VOA say that it is all the others which are banded incorrectly and ours is the only one that is right! In my last correspondence following their 'review' of our property and the environs I pointed out that it would be easier for them to admit they made one mistake, ours, than all the rest, surely.

We wait to see!

Zebedee

guppy

Mrs._M wrote: »

See the home page at https://www.isitfair.co.uk about how to join in the action to send a copy of your CT bill to Gordon Brown.
Isitfair is a nationwide campaign calling for the reform of the council tax system. Property Banding can never be fair. Any tax rfeplacing the present system must take the ability to pay into consideration. How can it be fair when two parts of the country, having ther same average income the council tax varies so much? Let's for example take North Devon and Sunderland. In North Devon and Sunderland the average income is pretty well the same but the average council tax in North Devon is £400 more than in Sunderland.
So, no use tinkering, get rid of this system and start again. Several alternatives on https://www.isitfair.co.uk

No offence Mrs. M but I see all of your posts on this site are of a political nature and promote a website. None relate to money saving or offer any practical advice.

As someone else said on another thread, this feels a bit like spam and I question if this is the right place for that sort of thing.

Just my opinion anyway.

sugarplum

I applied for a review of my banding back in Feb and heard nothing until yesterday, when I got a letter from the VOA saying they want to come out for a visit. Is there anything you suggest I do for this? Is it a good or a bad sign?

My house is one of 17 3 bed semi's on our road. Six are identical, of which mine and next door are a band D and the others are C even though they have more land, due to the way the road bends and cuts off our front garden (IYSWIM). Of the other 11, 2 are band B (but they are smaller) and all the others are band C. There are even larger detached houses that are band C and even the biggest houses that would probably fetch 75/100k more than mine are the same band as us! We paid 65k in 1998, when the house was a wreck that hadn't been touched since it was built in 1949.

john1984

Thanks for the replies that I got and I'm going to keep on fighting! I have also discovered that a house similar to mine was on the market in mid 1991 for £88,000(£1 below the band!) but was withdrawn from sale because the vendor changed their minds. Would this,plus the other evidence, help our case? Has anyone else had a similar case when you're so close to 2 bands?