Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

GypsyRoma

Local Borough Council: Barnet
Council Tax Band Before: D
Council Tax Band After: C
Amount refunded: £500 for 5 years

When I first heard about council tax rebanding I reacted like most people and did some brief research online. I soon discovered that the property I rented was banded differently to other properties of a similar nature (conversion from a house to 2 flats, ours being a ground floor garden flat). When I looked at similar flats in the neighbouring streets I discovered that ours was banded as D and most other garden flats were banded C. It seemed obvious to me that we should be due a rebate so I called the Council! They took all the details which I gave them and I thought that would be that but a few weeks later I got what seemed to be a standard letter saying that our claim was not valid which seemed a strange response.

I took the first reply to be that but a couple of months later I was still feeling something wasn't right so this time I decided to apply online raher than over the phone and put my claim in writing along with all the evidence I had gathered which was plenty in our favour. To my and my husband's surprise we received a letter saying that our property had been rebanded to band C and a refund for the period we had lived in the property would be sent to us by cheque. HURRAY! :T

The moto to this story is don't give up at the first hurdle if you believe you're right!

lincroft1710

HMSimlovinit - yes you may be right, but you won't find out for sure unless you ask Valuation Office Agency, your band may in fact be wrong.

Terri_Martin

Hi, I could'nt even get the VOA to accept my address, so I don't appear to live anywhere. So how come I have to pay Council Tax?LOL Can some one help? Please. Please. Please.....

mr-tom_2

lincroft1710 wrote: »

mr-tom - it would depend on reason for reduction. Check effective date of reduced band on Valuation Office Agency website. Whatever that date is then any overpayment of council tax from that date should be refunded.

If there has been a recent change in locality which would reduce property value e.g. new motorway right outside back door, then effective date of reduction would probably be sometime this year, so council would reduce amount required for 2009/10 bill.

I would check personally with council if the above is not the case.

Thanks Lincroft. Think this may be worth an enquiry.

The effective date was when they did the rebrand (i.e. no backdating) but I think this was a money saving move. Other than a few houses being built further down the hill (which have little or no impact), there have been no changes in the location for over 30 years.

Elizabe

Council: Nottingham City
Band before: B
Band after: A
Refund: £992
Annual saving going forward: approx £150

Such a useful site. I always knew we were in the wrong band because neighbours had had their band changed in 1993 but I thought we couldn't do anything about it as we'd had the house for more than six months. Newspaper accounts tended to be a bit garbled on this point. Martin's website had really useful calculator links for gauging what values would have been at the relevant date.

Valuation Office were extremely fast and efficient. Refund cheque also came within days of the decision to reband (still waiting for revised Council Tax bill and revised payment plan, but never mind, should get that sorted without too much difficulty).

Barnetbear

Failed when I tried some years ago in Barnet, long drawn out process, some sort of hearing and then a letter which said Unsuccessful. I never did figure out why I paid so much to live in that dump, it was nearly the same as the house I'd lived in before which had a garden, bigger rooms and an extra 2 rooms.

lincroft1710

Terri Martin - yes, this can happen. Well over 35 yrs ago had to visit a cottage in main village street. All houses had names, no numbers, I was looking for "Lilac Cottage". Drove up and down street several times no Lilac Cott. However, did have sketchplan and after a bit of deduction arrived at "Lizphil", new owners had renamed it but not told council!

Another time was an old pub converted to flats A, B, C, D, E The Red Lion. Owner decides to do some alts and now Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 TRL. Only trouble was A had become 4, B now 3, C.....etc. Council got into a right mess sending wrong bills to wrong occs.

Finally had a proposal to take house "Emmerdale" out of list as totally gutted. But "Emmerdale" taken out of list 2 yrs ago, so rejected proposal as no longer house called that. Turned out "E" taken out because renamed "Walford" and "Walford" put in list same time "E" taken out. Guy who made proposal didn't remember name had been changed (he owned but never occupied)

Maybe one of above may be answer - all true stories which I have personal experience of, only names changed to protect the guilty.

Lindagreenacre

City of York council
When we moved into our bungalow in 2003 I thought that the council tax band was too high. When I challenged it, thanks to the article on this site, I was initially refused a reduction. However, I persisted and eventually got the band reduced from band E to band D, backdated to the building of the property in 1996. We had paid two months council tax to date for 2008/2009 and did not pay any further payments for that year and also received a cheque for £375. This year we are paying £298 less for the year than if we were still paying band E council tax.

WHIFFES

Thank you so much, after contacting my local council I have had my banding reduced, and received a cheque in the post for almost 7 years backdated overpayments, fantastic result, one which I wouldn't have even realised without this site.

Worthing Borough Council
Was Band F
Now Band E
Refunded £1836.00
Monthly Reduction £39.00

Took about 6 weeks from initial phone call to receiving band reduction and finally refund cheque.

Good luck to everyone else! :T

chutchinson

carolann1977 wrote: »

We were told that but the council decided to pay up in the end so keep pushing

Thanks for the comment - Was this in Trafford and was it recently ? We have been here for 9 years so should we be able to get a refund for all those years ?