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

Zebedeee

losgiganteskid wrote: »

A really quick question: I am about to start on the task of quizzing my local VOA office regarding the possibility of a downgrade on my council tax banding. I've done all the groundwork and sent off a month ago my letter and all the documentary evidence I could muster. I have not received an acknowledgement from them. Fortuitously, I sent it Recorded Delivery and I see from the Royal Mail website they have signed for it. So my question I suppose is - is it normal to wait this long for an initial responce, even a postcard at least saying they have received my letter would be nice. Or do they hope you will "just go away"

Personally speaking, I would chase them up. It can't do any harm just to remind them you exist and I would think that a month is more than long enough to have had at least an acknowlegement. You could give them a quick phone call, just to say you were wondering when to expect their response.

They may be very busy, but they may also be hoping you will just go away!

All the best!

Zebedee

geoff1057

hi i recently spoke to my sister inlaw about this brilliant website and the many things that people can reclaim money from . we were talking about council tax , and she told me that she bought the house she is living in now , for £34 000 in 1995, and she is rated as band B , Would she qualify for a drop in her banding and possibly a rebate ?

caris

Hi

YES!!! Had our visit from the VOA officer yesterday, and she has agreed that that our property is a "woolaway" construction, I had received a letter from the council confirming the build on Thursday, and had telephoned her to let her know, but, she still HAD to come and look for herself.

Told us that we would now be put in a band A and receive a refund for the last 8 years.

Also told me that she would have to inform the 3 other houses, next door and 2 across the road, that their banding will change to A also. I was quite surprised that she is going to let them know that they are in the wrong band, without them having to chase around and do all the hard work, that I have had to do to get ours changed. Only one home will benefit from the refund as the others are all on benefit.

Do you get interest on the refund you get back?

A massive thanks for all the info I have gained on this site for helping me to get my banding changed.

Good luck to everyone else who is trying to get theirs changed.

caris

sfa1

hey vivatifosi, thanks for the reply. to be honest if the valuation is done on the £330,000, then the band E sounds about right. I honestly thought they would consider current market value, which would result in a bdan d or c. oh well, see what happens.

Maisie

caris wrote: »

Hi

YES!!! Had our visit from the VOA officer yesterday, and she has agreed that that our property is a "woolaway" construction, I had received a letter from the council confirming the build on Thursday, and had telephoned her to let her know, but, she still HAD to come and look for herself.

Told us that we would now be put in a band A and receive a refund for the last 8 years.

Also told me that she would have to inform the 3 other houses, next door and 2 across the road, that their banding will change to A also. I was quite surprised that she is going to let them know that they are in the wrong band, without them having to chase around and do all the hard work, that I have had to do to get ours changed. Only one home will benefit from the refund as the others are all on benefit.

Do you get interest on the refund you get back?

A massive thanks for all the info I have gained on this site for helping me to get my banding changed.

Good luck to everyone else who is trying to get theirs changed.

caris

Well done Caris! Good to hear that the voa finally agreed with you. It's so wrong though that they made their mind up about a point and wouldn't listen and caused you a lot of stress.

You'll be popular with the neighbours (those that pay council tax) but hard on you when you've done all the work and they get the rewards.

As for interest some posters say they have made successful claims. I can't remember who it was right now but if you look back on the thread you can get some information on doing this. There's also a poster on the 'success' board who got interest on his refund.

I'm so very pleased for you Caris. It's good to hear you won in the end and hope you'll soon be getting another cheque for the interest too.

Best wishes. Maisie

geoff1057

geoff1057 wrote: »

hi i recently spoke to my sister inlaw about this brilliant website and the many things that people can reclaim money from . we were talking about council tax , and she told me that she bought the house she is living in now , for £34 000 in 1995, and she is rated as band B , Would she qualify for a drop in her banding and possibly a rebate ?

any info gratefully appreciated

vivatifosi

Hi Geoff,

Sorry, missed your post. What you need to start with is the value of your sisters house as of 1991. Start by following the tips in Martin's guide at:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change

That will give a rough indication as to whether your sister's house should be rebanded. You will need more evidence than just checking the price in 1991 on the Nationwide calculator, but that is a useful starting point.

Was your sister's house new in 1995? If so, you also need to strip out any prices for incentives that the builder may have added. Generally new estates will have been advertised in the local paper and will say things like "stamp duty paid" or "white goods included". Take all those off the price.

If once you have done that your sister's house still falls under the band A threshold of below £40k, then it is certainly worth investigating further. Will be happy to help, but would be useful to know whether the house was new or existing in 1991. If it was existing, then you should check back in the library for house prices for the same type of house model (or similar nearby) as at early 1991.

Hope this helps get you underway!

square-eyes

My request for a revaluation has been reviewed twice and rejected twice on the grounds of similar properties in my road sold in 1991. I don't think there were any similar properties sold in 1991 so can I ask to see the specific evidence they used in rejecting my valuation.
N.B. properties at one end of my road are mostly band D and at the other end are band E or F.

geoff1057

vivatifosi wrote: »

Hi Geoff,

Sorry, missed your post. What you need to start with is the value of your sisters house as of 1991. Start by following the tips in Martin's guide at:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change

That will give a rough indication as to whether your sister's house should be rebanded. You will need more evidence than just checking the price in 1991 on the Nationwide calculator, but that is a useful starting point.

Was your sister's house new in 1995? If so, you also need to strip out any prices for incentives that the builder may have added. Generally new estates will have been advertised in the local paper and will say things like "stamp duty paid" or "white goods included". Take all those off the price.

If once you have done that your sister's house still falls under the band A threshold of below £40k, then it is certainly worth investigating further. Will be happy to help, but would be useful to know whether the house was new or existing in 1991. If it was existing, then you should check back in the library for house prices for the same type of house model (or similar nearby) as at early 1991.

Hope this helps get you underway!

thanks very much for the advice , i know her house was not brand new when she moved into it, and her friend a few doors away paid a similar price in 1994, maybe a trip to the library and a couple of estate agents might show something , thanks again ........ geoff

Zebedeee

square-eyes wrote: »

My request for a revaluation has been reviewed twice and rejected twice on the grounds of similar properties in my road sold in 1991. I don't think there were any similar properties sold in 1991 so can I ask to see the specific evidence they used in rejecting my valuation.
N.B. properties at one end of my road are mostly band D and at the other end are band E or F.

I don't see why not, square-eyes. It can't do any harm to ask what their evidence is. It's not unknown for them to get it completely wrong, and think that houses that are the same aren't, and vice-versa.

It's quite possible they don't have any actual evidence from 1991 and are extrapolating from a later year. Have you had a trip to the library to see what other houses, not necessarily in your street, but in simillar areas nearby, sold for in 1991? This might confirm your suspicions, or at least give you more to go on.

Hope that helps!

Zebedee