Question about council tax refund

so3003

In order to process a council tax refund, we have been asked to supply our previous addresses for the past 20 years, including the dates we moved in/out of each. Can they do this?!

We sold our flat (mid-February 2013) and moved in with parents while looking for a new home. We now live in a different council area (and in any case parents already pay full-rate council tax, and us moving in doesn't affect this). We have applied for a council tax refund from old council for the remainder of the tax year after we moved out, and have had a letter confirming we are entitled to a refund of £X, but before they issue it they want us to confirm our previous addresses, with dates, going back to 1993.

We simply don't have the exact dates (or even the months!) for all our previous addresses going back twenty years. I think it's unreasonable for them to ask for such extreme detail before processing a refund that's due to us. I consider this is simply a barrier to discourage people from claiming refunds. If they think we owe them any money, surely it's their responsibility to demonstrate this and issue a bill?!

We have always paid council tax as billed by the council, and at the correct rate. We have no "fudged bills" / "skeletons in closet" etc regarding single-person discount / student discount etc etc and do not owe anything for any of our previous addresses.

Short of copying/pasting this forum post and mailing it to them, does anyone have any advice about how we should respond to the council letter?

lincroft1710

Give them the information they require to the best of your ability, they are probably just checking that you don't owe CT on any previous property, or even that you may be entitled to a refund because of an overpayment on a previous property.