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

londonuk2008

After following this site and having my CT band lowered to B - the council have adjusted this years bill - but have refused a request for a refund? I moved in 2007 and stated this and asked for a refund from this date of over-payments,

Can they refuse and get away with it?

lincroft1710

londonuk2008 wrote: »

After following this site and having my CT band lowered to B - the council have adjusted this years bill - but have refused a request for a refund? I moved in 2007 and stated this and asked for a refund from this date of over-payments,

Can they refuse and get away with it?

1) Check the effective date of the new band, if it is this year, you are not due a refund.

2) Have the council adjusted this year's bill so that it has been offset by any possible refund.

3) Were you receiving any CT benefits which meant you hadn't in fact overpaid.

4) Do you owe any money from previous tax years which may have been offset against a refund.

londonuk2008

lincroft1710 wrote: »

1) Check the effective date of the new band, if it is this year, you are not due a refund.

2) Have the council adjusted this year's bill so that it has been offset by any possible refund.

3) Were you receiving any CT benefits which meant you hadn't in fact overpaid.

4) Do you owe any money from previous tax years which may have been offset against a refund.

Thanks for the reply.

My new band came into effect April 7th this year.
This years bill only shows the new band (less payments made already).
I have not received any benefits and all the council tax is up to-date.

but, I thought I would be able to claim a refund from when I moved in and was paying the incorrect band?

lincroft1710

londonuk2008 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

My new band came into effect April 7th this year.
This years bill only shows the new band (less payments made already).
I have not received any benefits and all the council tax is up to-date.

but, I thought I would be able to claim a refund from when I moved in and was paying the incorrect band?

With an effective date of 7 Apr 2013, they will be no backdated refund. On Monday ring VOA and ask why the effective date isn't the date your home was first banded. It may be a mistake or there could be a valid reason.

Darenvee

On my housing estate (built 1995-2001) consistently; 2 beds are in band B and 3 beds are in band C.

The VOA told me to find a similar 3 bed property in a lower band, to find the evidence. There are some 3 bed houses nearby in band A and B but they are not 'new build'.

Property Values are very varied on this estate with 2 beds selling for £165,000+ and 3 beds selling as low as £108,000 tax has been determined by the number of bedrooms not the values.

When NEW 3 beds were £55k in 1995. The 2 beds were 77k in 2000 so all the various checkers put my property in band B

HOWEVER in adjacent 'older streets' e.g built pre-1970 the 3 bed houses are in band B, so 'new build' loses out! There's a nice 3 bed around the corner with integral garage style, same value, lower band.

Has anyone experienced 'houses going missing' from the list when you try to check? Just asking...

lincroft1710

Darenvee wrote: »

When NEW 3 beds were £55k in 1995. The 2 beds were 77k in 2000

House prices in many areas doubled between these years

Has anyone experienced 'houses going missing' from the list when you try to check? Just asking...

Don't understand what you mean by "houses going missing".

Kimhaz

I live in Somerset. We were flooded almost 5 years ago.
Whilst we received a rebate during the 9 1/2 months we were out of the property, we were in and remain in CT Band E. We have had numerous consultations with the local council, which always result in them telling us there is nothing they can do to reduce the possibility of flooding occurring again in the future. They spent a long time telling us how we are bound by riparian rights law but they are not. (It seems to me they employ a lot of people, whose job it is to say they are unable to do things.)

The property had not flooded previously in living memory and did not have a flood premium on insurance. However, we are now in the position of being unable to change our insurers, so are paying through the nose and are facing the possibility of not being able to get insurance for flood at all.

We are unable to sell our property for its original value. This is because purchasers are unlikely to be able to get a mortgage and estate agents say they cannot properly value the property!

My question is, as in the title; with the value of our property being so affected, am I entitled to ask for a CT band reduction?
(Sorry if this is posted in the wrong thread.)

lincroft1710

You can of course ask the VOA for a reduction, but as you haven't been flooded since 2008 and weren't before, knowing the VOA I doubt they will agree. They will argue it was a one off and may not happen again.

If EAs claim they cannot value the property, then if you did want to sell they won't be much use to you.

Until someone tries to obtain a mortgage and is turned down by every single lender can the house be described as unmortgageable. Also until the house is sold it will be difficult to say how much a one off flood 5 years ago will affect its value.

paulshouse

I've received an email from the VOA saying they use the Nationwide house price index for indexation purposes for new properties but they declined to send me the current price bands that correspond to the 1991 bands

Are my calculations of band 'F' being a sale price between £298-398k for a property sold in Yorkshire & Humberside between Jan-Mar 2013 correct?

lincroft1710

paulshouse wrote: »

I've received an email from the VOA saying they use the Nationwide house price index for indexation purposes for new properties but they declined to send me the current price bands that correspond to the 1991 bands

Are my calculations of band 'F' being a sale price between £298-398k for a property sold in Yorkshire & Humberside between Jan-Mar 2013 correct?

I'm ex VOA and I can't believe they're saying this! The NW HPI is too generalised and inaccurate to be used for actual CT valuations. Would a house in Beverley achieve the same price as one in Hull. As a rough guide for CT payers to check their bands it has its uses.