Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

geoffreyq

Bournemouth
Band E to Band D
£4000 refund
£333 saving this year

After 22 years I saw an identical flat in the same block for sale and quoting a lower Council Tax Band. I checked and discovered that mine was an anomaly. I followed the advised procedure and was rebanded 6 weeks later. I received a refund 2 weeks after that, without prompting.
Thank you Martin!

rjoymcc

Local Borough Council: South Norfolk
Council Tax Band Before: E
Council Tax Band After: D
Amount refunded: £1,961.19
Annual saving going forward: £350

Overjoyed last night to discover that my request to have our Council Tax band investigated had resulted in an alteration from a Band E to a Band D! When our last bill came I followed a link to view the entire postcode and was shocked to see that despite being one of the smaller houses on the street we were one of only 3 who was a Band E.

I sent a simple email to the query mailbox and received a letter fairly promptly acknowledging my enquiry and saying it would be dealt with within 2 months. Approximately 6 weeks later last night we were emailed a new bill as a Band D for each of the 6 financial years we have lived in the property. This showed we had overpaid by nearly £2,000! They have effectively paid the remainder due for this year (thus saving us £159 for the next 9 months) and are sending us a £833 lump sum to make up the difference.

I was optimistic we were in with a good chance of changing but I never dreamed it would be such a simple process. It literally took me a little bit of research and 3 minutes to write an email! Nearly £350.00 saved off subsequent years as well which is unbelievable!

Even if you're not sure I'd say try it - you've got nothing to lose!!

petewhit

had a letter from the voa yesterday saying our house he been dropped to a band b from c and its effective from 1993, i have lived here for 21 years so im expecting a nice windfall from the local council., very unexpected as i hadnt challenged it. i will post more details when its all sorted.

[Deleted User]

Hi there!
I'm about to buy a 1 bed leasehold flat in a converted Georgian block.
This property has its own small walled patio area and was converted from the old cellar. It's currently Band B, but some other flats in the block are Band A - all the other 1 beds and at least 6 out of 14 2 beds too! The rest of the 2 beds are band B.
Would it be worth my time appealing to lower from B to A? I have the patio space, so unsure if this has bumped it up?!
If anyone has been in a similar situation, I'd really appreciate your comments

lincroft1710

It's not just the number of bedrooms, but also the size of the flat. There is a possibility that a mistake was made in banding some 2 bed flats A as is equally possible Band B is wrong for the flat you intend buying.

When you have bought the flat and moved in, try and find out if any of the Band A flats were originally Band B.

adamkhn2

looking for advice my house currently in band C as 3 similar neighboring starter house... Our house was built in around late 80's and as I searched on Zoopla in 8th Sep 1995 property price listed as £ 53000 and as I researched further on Nationwide house price index calculator it valuate £ 39,138 dated Quarter 1 1991 and also in Lloyds house price tool it showed £ 50,118 for the same period.

would really appreciate if some one advice do I have a chance to win if I request re banding from C to B?

Thanks

lincroft1710

adamkhn2 wrote: »

looking for advice my house currently in band C as 3 similar neighboring starter house... Our house was built in around late 80's and as I searched on Zoopla in 8th Sep 1995 property price listed as £ 53000 and as I researched further on Nationwide house price index calculator it valuate £ 39,138 dated Quarter 1 1991 and also in Lloyds house price tool it showed £ 50,118 for the same period.

would really appreciate if some one advice do I have a chance to win if I request re banding from C to B?

Thanks

Difficult to say, the 3 "valuations" are of little help as they are so divergent.

As these houses were built in the late 1980s there is a good chance of an actual 1991 sale of one of the houses which may or may not support Band C. No harm in trying in this particular case, but with no useful info, I can't say any better than 50/50 chance of success.

adamkhn2

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Difficult to say, the 3 "valuations" are of little help as they are so divergent.

As these houses were built in the late 1980s there is a good chance of an actual 1991 sale of one of the houses which may or may not support Band C. No harm in trying in this particular case, but with no useful info, I can't say any better than 50/50 chance of success.

Thanks lincroft1710... will apply and update results soon

adamkhn2

adamkhn2 wrote: »

Thanks lincroft1710... will apply and update results soon

Just found out in my land registry papers that first transfer from builder to purchaser made on 20 August 1987 for the amount of £53,950.00 so just thinking I shouldn't be bother to apply for consideration...

covedweller

Local Borough Council: Weymouth & Portland
Council Tax Band Before: B
Council Tax Band After: A
Amount refunded: £2100
Annual saving going forward: £420

Followed the process, took about 6 weeks from start to finish.
Only issue was, council paid off rest of this year bill (I pay monthly) and sent cheque for remaining balance without asking. Phoned and complained, got another cheque a week later for balance