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

sianlouise

ianM wrote:

I did a check and we are in the wrong band E instead of D compared to identical houses in our development. The house next door is also wrong F instead of E. I rang the valuation office and they were very helpful. Two properties had chalanged the banding back in the 90's and we should have had our banding adjusted but were missed out. The Valuation officer has raised two cases - dont know how long this will take to go through.
What about water/sewage rates these are based on banding - how do I get this adjusted?

I used to work for the valuation offcice agency and we used to get a lot of queries about water rates. Unfortunately Water rates are still based on the old domestic rateable values, these values are now obselete and the VOA has no record of them. The water companies have been allowed to continue to use them even though they are completely out of date. If you want to speak to the water company regulator OFWAT the number is 0121 625 1300. It is worth complaining as one day they may change the law. Otherwise you can opt to have a water meter fitted however once a meter is fitted you cannot have it removed. Hope this helps.

System

My parents have their council house adapted for some needs,they have a stair lift and bars on the steps outside and on the for help they also have bars on the bathroom walls to help them with getting in and out of the bath.
My mother receives DLA care and mobility benefits so would the stair lift qualify them for a reduction in their council tax.

PLZ CAN SOME1 ANSWER MY QUESTION?

Altarf

blowfelt wrote:

My parents have their council house adapted for some needs,they have a stair lift and bars on the steps outside and on the for help they also have bars on the bathroom walls to help them with getting in and out of the bath.
My mother receives DLA care and mobility benefits so would the stair lift qualify them for a reduction in their council tax.

The alterations probably don't enable them to qualify for the Disability Reduction Scheme, but you may wish to research this further.
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_help_with_bill.hcsp#P12_299
http://www.google.co.uk/search?&q=Disability+Reduction+Scheme

Obviously you will have also investigated council tax benefit as the rules are slightly different for people receiving DLA.

CIS

That wouldnt qualify for Disabled Band Relief from your council - you need to have an extra built on bathoom/kitchen for disabled use, a room dedicated for their care (dialysis room etc) or the property widened for wheelchair use.

Their is another option - if the fixtures and fittings can be deemed to reduce the properties value, the VOA can reduce the actual property banding under some circumstances - this is solely down to the Valuation Office and not the council.

sianlouise

blowfelt wrote:

My parents have their council house adapted for some needs,they have a stair lift and bars on the steps outside and on the for help they also have bars on the bathroom walls to help them with getting in and out of the bath.
My mother receives DLA care and mobility benefits so would the stair lift qualify them for a reduction in their council tax.

PLZ CAN SOME1 ANSWER MY QUESTION?

The VOA wouldn't consider these adaptations relevant as they are not permanent and do not decrease or increase the value of your home. As your mother is on benefits she could try to get Council Tax benefit but apart from that there is nothing the VOA will do for them.

smk77

tracy12050 wrote:

I am quite frankly sick of the poor and inadequate service provided by our council, they seem to be paid so much money to do naff all.
The sickening part is that we live in a two bed semi, on a 8 year old estate yet pay more in council tax than my parents who live in a three bedroom detached house on quite a respectable estate.
we have no street lighting, we have to take our bins over 50metres to the nearest kerb and they are now changing our rubbish collection to fortnightly.
we don't have children so don't use the local schools, have private healthcare and have never seen a police officer in the street.........
All the above costs us £115 a month, i would hapily take my rubish to the tip myself to save this cost.
What the heck does the local council do for us for the extortionate rate of council tax for basically 'No service'
I dare say the forthcoming rise in council tax will outweigh any pay rise we receive this year, yet they are providing even less of a service

Does anyone else find this?

If you have got a complaint with your council tax banding then fair enough. That's what this thread is all about.

If you want to complain about how it costs £115 a month (that all? Lucky you!) to empty your bins then go and moan somewhere else...like the council! They might actually explain to you exactly where your money is spent. It's probably on the council web site too.

What's private health care got to do with council tax?

If you don't want to pay for the education of others children then fair enough. But don't expect those children that become doctors or nurses to want to help you when you are old and sick!

If you don't see police on the streets then isn't that a good thing? The police must be somewhere otherwise there would be no incidents like those you hear about when police get murdered trying stop a robbery.

The council does much more than you seem to portray. Take a look at the services that the provide on your council's web site. Whether or not the money is spent appropriately is a different matter and one that you should address directly with the councillors you help to elect.

Of course, I'm not saying that councils are perfect. In my council, single mums, regardless of income, are entitled to use council sport facilities for 50p each time they visit. Obviously they are subsidised by tax payers like myself. It's not fair as i'd have to pay £3 for a swim. Subsidising like this is, in my opinion, a poor spending decision but at least I am aware that the money is spent on more than just emptying my bins!

twinklybev

Hi Martin, Mine was already correct I checked but thanks anyway

System

Thanks to those who helped me with my question.

baileysbattlebus

halloweenqueen wrote:

Oh well as I was last in with a comment on the thread - I'll start discussing on this one! I'm hoping I will get at least £600 back , not sure what the overpayments would have been over all the years, wonder whether they will break it down for me?
An alternative savings account I suppose!

Hi

As a Newbie (but lurked for a while) I hope I have posted this correctly.
having read the article on Council Tax Cutting, I followed the instructions and imagine my surprise when I realised we were in a higher tax band than the rest of the houses in our street. Got in touch with the valuation people in November, they said it would be about 8 weeks before we heard from them, between Xmas & New Year we had a letter telling us that we were in the wrong band and that the letter was being copied to the loca council. Last week we heard from the council, who have put us in a lower band and back dated the overpayments to the date we moved in, 1993. £2650 - bonus !!! The councils letter itemised each year of overpayment and the amount of the overpayment for that year. They also gave us the choice of being council tax free until we had used up the over payment or having a cheque or the payment made directly into a bank account. No Interest payments though, I did wonder ...........
I would like to say what a great site and we would never have received this money without it.:j

tracy12050

smk77 wrote:

If you have got a complaint with your council tax banding then fair enough. That's what this thread is all about.

If you want to complain about how it costs £115 a month (that all? Lucky you!) to empty your bins then go and moan somewhere else...like the council! They might actually explain to you exactly where your money is spent. It's probably on the council web site too.

What's private health care got to do with council tax?

If you don't want to pay for the education of others children then fair enough. But don't expect those children that become doctors or nurses to want to help you when you are old and sick!

If you don't see police on the streets then isn't that a good thing? The police must be somewhere otherwise there would be no incidents like those you hear about when police get murdered trying stop a robbery.

The council does much more than you seem to portray. Take a look at the services that the provide on your council's web site. Whether or not the money is spent appropriately is a different matter and one that you should address directly with the councillors you help to elect.

Of course, I'm not saying that councils are perfect. In my council, single mums, regardless of income, are entitled to use council sport facilities for 50p each time they visit. Obviously they are subsidised by tax payers like myself. It's not fair as i'd have to pay £3 for a swim. Subsidising like this is, in my opinion, a poor spending decision but at least I am aware that the money is spent on more than just emptying my bins!

So do you work for the council then? or are you reaping the benefits of being a single mother?
These comments are about banding although I agree not in the sense of arguing about how much council tax we should pay! But it's about why should we pay it in the first place?

If you take a closer look at the council tax, the police take their cut out of it, so i would expect to see police patrolling the estate, nonetheless to show we actually have some and for public reassurance like they used to do in years gone by.
The police are tied up dealing with more important issues because kids these days are bored to death as they have nothing to do as the council do not provide enough facilities for them or their parents do not have sufficient interaction or motivation to keep them occupied, let alone not being able to dish out punishment to those who are just blatantly disobiedient!

I pay national Insurace and tax,this is supposed to pay for schools and my old age, not council tax, so i don't know what your point is in respect of schools & education!

Surely this forum is about the points raised or else i would not have mentioned it, you pay the council tax based on the value of the property you live in and then the money is used/wasted by the council for whatever it is they do, jollie's abroad, personal perks, helping the aged and sinlge mothers!
the bigger more expensve the house the more you get ripped off.

I agree the council should help those he need help who live in their constituancy, but why should I be pay for it? I pay my tax like everyone else so i should have my say what services i should expect for my money not be told what they will waste it on and how less a service i will get this year for it because a new school needs building or there are more single mothers in the borough.

If the council are going to base banding on where you live and the size of the house then they shoud also look at what they do for that individual and stop charging all and sundry for services they don't receive.

banding is an issue that will never be resolved until the powers that be are challenged and even then most of the powers that be are too old and believe they know better.

Lets hope one day we all receive the benefits we are owed for the taxes we pay no matter what your background, we deserve it you & me.