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

Nathcrow

After watching the program regarding this I am sure me & my neighbours have been paying through the nose for years. I live in a one bedroom flat, which is one of three flats in what was once a 3 storey house that has been converted to the 3 flats. I am pretty certain I am paying C-Tax in band D ( I pay around £93 per month, I can't check the band at the mo because the VOA w/site is constantly busy since the prog was on TV) & the other 2 flats are paying the same rate as me. Most other properties on our street are large 3 storey 3-4 bed houses so we must be paying the same rate for each of our tiny flats with no gardens as the people are who are living in the massive houses surrounding us. I hope the VOA site is less busy soon, I'll be straight on the phone first thing monday....

CIS

some advice please i bought house 1996 value £46000 band c my nxt door neighbour in exact house but she was tenant with local council was a Band B i queried it with valuation office they said it was right. Last year 2006 i stayed at a band c and my neighbour went up to a band c for 10 years i payed a higher band but now we are the same. should i try and claim money back?

it appears that the neighbour was under-banded from the start and was raised up to the correct band so theirs no appeal possible for yourself as your property was always banded correct.

CIS

Iam pretty certain I am paying C-Tax in band D ( I pay around £93 per month, I can't check the band at the mo because the VOA w/site is constantly busy since the prog was on TV) & the other 2 flats are paying the same rate as me

£93 p/m over the standard 10 months would be a Band A in most councils.

tonyososki

Interesting to note that since the programme went on air they appear to have pulled the voa site...

MSE_Martin

To answer a couple of points that seem to be being asked. To be honest, both are already in the article, but it seems some have missed them - so hopefully this will help

1. The 'won't this mean we all pay more' question, won't everyone in my area have to fork out?

This is already covered in the article

Payouts don't mean everyone else in the area will pay more

According to Tony Travers, local government specialist from the London School of Economics, the obligation is on central government to make up the cost of substantial rebanding. The exact relationship is complex, but it does mean the cost is spread. Rather bizarrely, some individual councils may actually gain from this, as there are bigger subsidies if more people are in lower bands. Yet let's put it in perspective; the whole point of this is to get your money back for council tax you've been overpaying for years.

2. The 'What about neighbours can they be upbanded?' question

There is a very slight possibility of this, but it is rare. Again it's included in the article.

WARNING! You're about to ask for a banding 'reassessment', not a 'decrease', so there's a chance your band may be increased. Be very sure you've done your research. Don't just do a speculative challenge!

If both steps above indicate a misbanding the case is reasonably strong. If only the VOA site indicates a mis-banding, it's weaker, but still maybe worth considering. If only the 1991 house price shows a mis-banding, its much riskier. Err on the side of caution and remember you appeal at your own risk.

There is also a very slight possibility a neighbour's band may be increased because of this. This will only happen if its brought to the attention that they are very substantively in the wrong band. It's unlikely, but worth being aware of.

And again the reminder - this isn't a piece about 'avoiding paying tax' this is a piece about 'how to not overpay council tax' how if you suffered at an original rebanding you are owed money.

Martin

rizla01

Hi Martin.

although I am really pleased that you have brought this to the attention of the public and believe that many will benefit from watching your program (You're getting quite good at it now ) I must confess that I am slightly peeved.

I have a run down property - No roof, floors, windows, etc and due for demolition, that I am being charged Council Tax on.

As a consequence of your program I bet it'll take weeks before I get a reply to my application, so thanks for that.:)

MSE_Martin

Sorry Rizla

BargainMad_3

I know it is a long shot but is there a database that shows historical council tax rates for different councils since 1993 ?

I am sure the difference between bands was relatively small in 1993 and yet has got ever bigger in the last 14 years.

Our local council website only shows rates for the last 2 years - I am not organised enough to keep the bills from the last 14 years - more a case of pay it and rip it up !

justmeaswell

MSE_Archna wrote:

This thread is here to discuss the content of the article on Council Tax Cashback: reduce your band and save £1000s.

However if you have already followed the system, please use report them in the Council tax rebanding successes discussion.

Note from Martin: Thank you to all the contributers to the initial thread, which provided the genisis for the article. Much appreciated.

Need some help here, confused. I bought my house in 1983 and when I look up the value for 1991, as suggested, it appears they put me in band D instead of C. However when I looked at the appeal procedure the council advise "After the introduction of Council Tax, everyone had up until 30 November 1993 to challenge the valuation band of their property". Thus they indicate that I can not challange. Any Ideas?

justmeaswell

MSE_Archna wrote:

This thread is here to discuss the content of the article on Council Tax Cashback: reduce your band and save £1000s.

However if you have already followed the system, please use report them in the Council tax rebanding successes discussion.

Note from Martin: Thank you to all the contributers to the initial thread, which provided the genisis for the article. Much appreciated.

Need some help here, confused. I bought my house in 1983 and when I look up the value for 1991, as suggested, it appears they put me in band D instead of C. However when I looked at the appeal procedure the council advise "After the introduction of Council Tax, everyone had up until 30 November 1993 to challenge the valuation band of their property". Thus they indicate that I can not challange. Any Ideas?