Council Tax Rebanding Refund

BusBr

Hi

Today I get a letter from a city council who I am no longer living in the area of, about a property I bought in April 2003 and sold exactly four years ago.

I have been sent a cheque for almost £850 :eek:

The council have said that "somebody" has recently requested that the property I lived in be reassessed for council tax and as such was dropped from a band C to a band B. They tell me that I am entitled to some of the backpay / refund / call-it-what-you-will, I presume for the period I lived there.

As I have never heard of rebanding until today, and as I was not expecting to go to bed £850 better off, this comes as a huge shock and I am worried that I may somehow will end up giving the money back.

I am not being ungracious. I am not being thankless. I just don't have a clue what this is all about. All I know is that two seperate call-handlers at the council office are insistent that the money is mine. Quote: "Best thing you can do sir is to bank it and go shopping".

Can anyone here explain to me what has happened? I'd be so grateful.:T

CIS

Can anyone here explain to me what has happened? I'd be so grateful.:T

The VOA has determined that the original council tax band was set too high and they've decided it should have been in a lower band.

The lower band has been applied retrospectively so they will re-calculate the council tax charge and lower it for anyone who lived in the property during that period.

BusBr

That's great, thanks...so no way the money can be taken off me? And am I to assume that anyone living there before me between 1993 and now would get a payment too? I know for a fact that some of the owners are very dead. This must be costing councils a fortune.

lincroft1710

Any former taxpayer of a dwelling is entitled to a refund of overpayment of CT, where the band of that dwelling has been reduced and backdated to 1 Apr 1993. However councils will not always have the current addresses of previous occupiers.