Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

diceydeb

Thanks lincroft , in that case I shall give it a go as there is no way they would change us to a C band. Nothing ventured,nothing gained.

Eli.

West Lancs Council
Was band F
Now band E
Saving £336 ongoing
Received a refund in excess of £3400

We sent one email to VOA office who sent out a valuation officer to check property. It all took less than 8 weeks.

Thank you Martin.

leyther_5

Council: Wigan
Band was: E
Band changed: D
Refund: £4537.81

Absolutely eazy pezy.

Followed Martin's guide and found that vast majority of houses on my estate were band D but mine (and a few others) were band E, in my case for no good reason that I could see.

Made one phone call to the Valuation Officer who said they would look into it which would take up to five weeks. Got a reply well before that time to say I would be regraded with effect from April 1993.

Received a cheque this morning for £4500!!!:T

Thanks Martin

dreamsweep_2

Local Borough Council: Rochford District Essex
Council Tax Band Before: C
Council Tax Band After: B
Amount refunded: £1924
Annual saving going forward: £170

All it took was the 30 mins or so to follow Martin's guide and 2 phone calls to VOA and 16 years worth of rebate is on its way to me

I also alerted 2 neighbours, one has been rebated £1400 and the other who has only lived there for a year is overjoyed that they have reduced her bill without her even lifting a finger! I'm now the most popular person around here and I got a bunch of flowers and a card from my neighbour too. Thanks Martin and Team!!!!

Help_Wanted

Local Borough Council: Scottish Borders Council
Council Tax Band Before : F
Council Tax Band After: E
Amount refunded: £4847.46
Annual saving going forward: £215

Followed the guide on Money Saving Expert and checked the relevant sites and thought I had a good case.

All it took was one email to the local council assessor (link on MSE) and received a letter within a fortnight to confirm that I had indeed been placed in the wrong tax band, no home visit was necessary. Another letter arrived two weeks later confirming the refunded amount so only took 4 weeks from start to finish. I didn't have to apply for the refund, it was part of the process.

I'm now walking about with a big cheesy grin on my face...woooohoooo...thank you so much Martin (and team)!!!!

ellie27

Our home was built 5 years ago.

I followed the guide by Martin Lewis, found similar properties nearby on a lower band, and also checked estimate of house price at 1991/93.

I submitted the online saa form and waited....

4 weeks later, nothing

Emailed the local assessors, heard nothing.

Finally after 8 weeks got a call today and success!!!!

Local Borough Council: Glasgow City
Council Tax Band Before : E
Council Tax Band After: D
Amount refunded: nothing yet
Annual saving going forward: £360 per year.

Am I right to think that if the difference between band D and E is £360 per year, we have lived there over 5 years so should expect around 5 x £360 = £1800? Hopefully!

5 neighbours will also be on the wrong band as they are in exact same house as us, but I will wait til I have my cheque first before telling them to claim!!

lincroft1710

ellie27 wrote: »

Annual saving going forward: £360 per year.

Am I right to think that if the difference between band D and E is £360 per year, we have lived there over 5 years so should expect around 5 x £360 = £1800? Hopefully!

5 neighbours will also be on the wrong band as they are in exact same house as us, but I will wait til I have my cheque first before telling them to claim!!

The difference between Bands usually increases annually so you'll probably get a little less than £1800 back. Your neighbours don't need to wait for you to receive your cheque before applying.

Keef567

Local Borough Council: Bromley, KentCouncil Tax Band Before: G
Council Tax Band After: F
Amount refunded: £3500
Annual saving going forward: £289


I checked my neighbours banding and identified that even though we have identical semi detatched houses, his was in Band F and mine was in Band G. I contacted the valuations office and they looked into it and to my surprise, they agreed with my assessment and reduced my banding. They also back dated it to the date I moved into the property, which was around 15 years ago, so got back significantly more than I expected.

Happy days. :beer:

I had no idea how easy this was, so I have to say a big thanks you to Martin and this site.

Any doubts about doing this should be ignored as its simple to do.



Keith

Olbil

Local Borough Council: Bristol City Council
Council Tax Band Before : D
Council Tax Band After: C
Amount refunded: £2582:T
Annual saving going forward: £177.47

I followed the procedure, issued a "Challenge" from the VOA Web site, I got the letter back saying I couldn't "Challenge" as I had resided at my address for over 6 months, phoned the number given & I was promptly told that a re-assesment request had automatically been issued on receipt of the "Challenge"!
After about 2 weeks I received confirmation that I had been put down a band. After another 2 weeks I received a letter from my council for about half of what I expected, phoned the Council & eventually got to speak to a real person who told me that they had deducted the tax for the year 2013/2014 but refunded the 2 payments already made. Job done!!

Just one query which doesn't seem to be covered don't these sort of over payments, that go back years, usually pay some nominal interest as well??

CIS

usually pay some nominal interest as well??

There's no facility in legislation for payment of interest.