Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

power_down_pete

Martin I cannot thank you enough...

Last month my neighbour came running round saying have you seen this! He had got the info from your mailing list and had checked it out. It showed we were the only houses in our street on the higher band c. When i checked it was actually everyone in the whole block of houses who were on a lower band. So i complained. Someone came out, looked round the outside and agreed we were in the wrong band. A week later i got £2020 backdated payments form 1993!!!

Whooopeeeeee!

spinkpanther

Thanks so much, after reading your article I decided to investigate a little and found I was banded E the same as my neighbours on either side, my neighbours however have large extensions on their houses and we do not. I followed your guide and wrote to the Council stating my case, two weeks later I recieved a letter telling me I was being rebranded to D and my refund arrived 2 days later!

Fast and simple and now extra money for me. Thanks.

lincroft1710

SallyG wrote: »

Of the 7 houses at my postcode 2 including me and a much bigger house are band G - the others [all bigger than me] are band F.
Last time I contacted the council about it they explained my house was originally in Band F but was moved to Band G when we bought it because the house had been extended in 1980 by the people we bought it from - [they added an 8ft square utility room]
Is that game over for any reduction?

If a 6 sq m extension has increased Band from F to G then it's only just a Band G. As the extension was built in 1980 it should have been reflected when the original banding was carried out.

You could try using the Band F houses as comparables but their bands may be too low to start with. See if you can find any other similar size houses nearby in Band F.

Mutley56

I have successfully achieved a rebanding of my property from Band G to Band F. The local valuation office took approximately 6 weeks to respond to the very simple letter I sent, which I based on Martin's useful article. Essentially, 15 properties in my end of the road were Band F, whilst mine and 5 others were in Band G.

This has been the case since Council Tax was introduced and the Valuation office has confirmed that they have instructed Bexley Council to reband my property. This should mean a healthy rebate in addition to ongoing lower monthly payments.

It is certainly worth the effort in trying for a rebanding if you feel that that you have a strong case.

Good luck

Mutley56
:j

Dollypeg1

Confused..Please can someone give me some advice?
I contacted the VOA back in April to say that our 2/3 bedroom flat was way over what it should be in realation to other flats in the area and even much larger properties (with outdoor swimming pools!). I send the evidence off 2 weeks ago and finally got a letter back today stating that they will be reducing to Band F due to reason 6 (other evidence provided). The effective date of alteration is the beginning of April 2011 (my partner purchased the flat back in 2004 and then I joined him on the mortgage in 2008/9). Everyone on this thread seem to get back payments from when they purchased their properties - I don't understand why they have put down the date of when I applied (it looks like they will only backdate from this date despite years of overpayment). Please can someone give me some advice? Thanks DollyPeg

Dollypeg1

Dollypeg1 wrote: »

Confused..Please can someone give me some advice?
I contacted the VOA back in April to say that our 2/3 bedroom flat was way over what it should be in realation to other flats in the area and even much larger properties (with outdoor swimming pools!). I send the evidence off 2 weeks ago and finally got a letter back today stating that they will be reducing to Band F due to reason 6 (other evidence provided). The effective date of alteration is the beginning of April 2011 (my partner purchased the flat back in 2004 and then I joined him on the mortgage in 2008/9). Everyone on this thread seem to get back payments from when they purchased their properties - I don't understand why they have put down the date of when I applied (it looks like they will only backdate from this date despite years of overpayment). Please can someone give me some advice? Thanks DollyPeg

Sorry meant to mention that my band has been reduced from a G to and F (Epping forest) which I am still very happy about although miffed about the alteration date - please Martin/one of his insightful followers can you help with my query?

lincroft1710

Dollypeg1 wrote: »

got a letter back today stating that they will be reducing to Band F due to reason 6 (other evidence provided). The effective date of alteration is the beginning of April 2011 (my partner purchased the flat back in 2004 and then I joined him on the mortgage in 2008/9). I don't understand why they have put down the date of when I applied (it looks like they will only backdate from this date despite years of overpayment). Please can someone give me some advice? Thanks DollyPeg

I would just contact VOA and ask them why the effective date is Apr 2011, it could be a mistake.

Dollypeg1

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I would just contact VOA and ask them why the effective date is Apr 2011, it could be a mistake.

Thanks for your response Lincroft, I contacted the VOA as you suggested and it turns out it was an admin error! The are going to amend it to April 2001 and we will be refunded from 2004 - Woohoo! Is really worth going for the rebanding if you think it is incorrect, most of the time you have nothing to lose.
Dollypeg x

Veronica_A

MSE_Archna wrote: »

Local Borough Council: Reading
Council Tax Band Before: F
Council Tax Band After: E
Amount refunded: £300
Annual saving going forward: £333

I knew there was no way my tiny, newly purchased bungalow, of less than 1000 sq ft, was band F, but Reading VOA would not budge and I had to apply to go to appeal. Luckily, in the many months between refusal and my upcoming appeal, I managed to find a wealth of evidence: from the VOA’s own website, the band for every house on my estate (varying from E to G for similar properties); the fact that all ‘E’s had been rebanded from F (without going to appeal) from the same website; and, in with the title deeds to my property, a wonderful original map of the estate dating from @ 1968, with details of style, price etc for every house.

With all the above, I was able to overwhelm the VOA officer with evidence when, at her request, we met prior to the appeal. Needless to say, she had to back down and agree to the rebanding (but still saying in her opinion it was ‘F’!) and the case never did go to appeal.

messyredhead

success
I claimed a Council Tax refund from The Vale of Glamorgan Council.
I followed Martins Tips, and researched the houses in my neighbourhood. I then approached the Council and they were very good about it. They sent a valuer out and she re-evaluated our house. It was all very straight forward and within a month of her re-banding our house from an F to an E we had a £1,100 repayment of Council Tax.. They automatically take your refund off your council tax bill, so if you want the refund in your bank account, make sure you tell them. We save over £200 a year now on our bill.
I tell everyone now to check their Council Tax banding, especially if they have had work done on the house. We had a loft conversion about 8 years ago and our house was upgraded, but we still have a smaller house than others in the neighbourhood. It really is worth your while checking and you have nothing to lose. Thanks Martin, I really would'nt have thought to do this if it wasn't for you.:)