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

cooperjul

Looking for Help

After coming across this website i checked out my banding and others in my street to my surprise there are larger houses that are a lower band than ours.
We are banded an F along with a house that is 300sq ft bigger than ours and every other house is a band E (including one that is larger).

This is a newly built estate and has only one street in it , so i appealed. As it was outwith the six months my appeal has ben rejected but letter stated i could appeal, the reason i didn't appeal earlier is that i wasn't aware of in my opinion the mistake.

What do i do next?

jamesiebabie

cooperjul wrote:

Looking for Help

After coming across this website i checked out my banding and others in my street to my surprise there are larger houses that are a lower band than ours.
We are banded an F along with a house that is 300sq ft bigger than ours and every other house is a band E (including one that is larger).

This is a newly built estate and has only one street in it , so i appealed. As it was outwith the six months my appeal has ben rejected but letter stated i could appeal, the reason i didn't appeal earlier is that i wasn't aware of in my opinion the mistake.

What do i do next?

I recommend that you phone up your local Valuation Office and ask to speak to the Council Tax Dept. State tha you are aware that your appeal has been rejected due to the time limits, however, ask if they can look into the the banding for you as they have a duty to maontain an accurate CT list. Take their name and ask for a letter of confirmation of your converstaion. You can tell them the comparables that you have noticed and that there maybe some inaccuracies.

That should get the bal rolling. I hope that helps. If you need any fuether advice, just ask.

Good luck and keep us informed.

jamesiebabie

Annie021063 wrote:

Hi
Just to update on my claim - I have had a letter from the VOA this morning saying they want to visit the property to survey it in relation to my claim. Does this follow normal path?? If so what time scale am I looking at to finalise claim?
Well done to those who have been sucessfull and good luck to those on route to claiming.
Thanks to original OP

Hi Annie021063,

This is usual practice by the VOA, where they beleive that they do not have upto date info. This will serve two purposes:
1. to get the current banding correct; and
2. to help with the revaluation of the banding as and when the government decide to go ahead with it.

This inspection can be done at your convenience and you shouldn't have to really work round them. If you want a later appointment, just ask.

As soon as they have the details from the inspection, it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks at the most. If it goes on longer then I would give them a call.

I hope this helps. If you need any more questions asking, just ask.

Scully's_Girl

Just got our cheque for over £500 from the council as a refund after they changed our band from F to E. (It WOULD have been about £800, but apparently we were in arrears because they havent been able to take our payments for 2 months by direct debit. Why? Well, they're trying to take it from A&L and we changed to Nationwide. Why? Because I fought A&L on unfair bank charges and they closed my account. But thats ok! THe council didnt penalise us at all for the lateness.)

Annie021063

Update on my claim - called VOA as I couldn't be home when they were due to visit. Nice lady said she would come anyway and look at outside of property as many of the additional arguments concerning my claim were concerning the surrounding area of my property.
She said that I should look at the sale price of properties sold in my area in 1991 and not at a website like the nationwide one as they give an average for the south of england and not my county. How do I go about this?
She added that if she needed to visit the interior of the property she would contact me again.
Does anyone know a site that will give me a more concise sale figure for m property?
Thanks

1andrea

does anyone know if there is anywhere on the internet to find archived newspapers for the estate agents pages from 1991? Thanks

Finnerin

:T Thank you Martin for this information. I followed your advice, checked my neighbouring properties and applied for my band to be changed. I just heard yesterday that my my council tax has been reduced by £650 for this year.

I am absolutely delighted, so thanks again. :j

Maisie

1andrea wrote:

does anyone know if there is anywhere on the internet to find archived newspapers for the estate agents pages from 1991? Thanks

Hi 1andrea try contacting the estate agents. They may have records from then or could point you to the information...

Good luck.

maisie OP

Maisie

Finnerin wrote:

:T Thank you Martin for this information. I followed your advice, checked my neighbouring properties and applied for my band to be changed. I just heard yesterday that my my council tax has been reduced by £650 for this year.

I am absolutely delighted, so thanks again. :j

Finnerin that's great news.

Glad my original post helped promote this thread and you benefited.

Don't forget to claim for the back years if you have been in the house longer than this year.

Pass the word to check council tax banding at https://www.voa.gov.uk

Maisie OP

MunsterGirl

I phoned the VOA (in Northampton ) last month. Does anyone know how long it normally takes for them to say if the band will be changed or not ?

Thanks,