Reclaim overpaid council tax

citty

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

House price indices tend to undervalue 1991 prices, so there is a very good chance your home was worth more than £173K in 1991 and thus well into Band G. You could ask for a band review based on the fact that it seems smaller than neighbouring houses in Band F, but there may be good reason why they are in Band F or worse they could be underbanded and thus their bands could be increased. Your case is not particularly strong

I have done a valuation check on neighbours houses and using sale prices from as recent as 2020.. they all are valued at around 173K in 1991 but are still in Band F.. 

Well it sounds as if they are underbanded 

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

lincroft1710 said:

citty said:

I want to challenge my council tax band. I am in Band G and am the only house on the street (bar one) which is in G everyone else is in F. My house is not larger, infact smaller than many. I have done both valuation checks (using the purchase price in 2010 when i bough it) valuation for 1991 comes in at 173,148.. but I have a moderate case as everyone else is in a band lower.. Shall i challenge it? Do I have a good case?

House price indices tend to undervalue 1991 prices, so there is a very good chance your home was worth more than £173K in 1991 and thus well into Band G. You could ask for a band review based on the fact that it seems smaller than neighbouring houses in Band F, but there may be good reason why they are in Band F or worse they could be underbanded and thus their bands could be increased. Your case is not particularly strong

I have done a valuation check on neighbours houses and using sale prices from as recent as 2020.. they all are valued at around 173K in 1991 but are still in Band F.. 

Well it sounds as if they are underbanded 

so have checked with my neighbours (we have a chat group) and there is one other house in G and they challenged it and council refused but it seems so unfair and so random..!

citty

They didnt reband everyone else though so shall I have a go and challenge it like they did? 

citty

citty said:

They didnt reband everyone else though so shall I have a go and challenge it like they did? 

is there a way I can find out exactly what house was worth in 1991?

lincroft1710

citty said:

They didnt reband everyone else though so shall I have a go and challenge it like they did? 

The VOA (who deal with CT banding, not the council) may now decide to re-band. There may have been a reason why they didn't last time. One can speculate all day long but only the VOA know the answer. As they didn't reduce the other Band G, they will have little reason to reduce your band.

HS22

goodlife77 said:

With councils desperately short of cash for schools, care for the elderly etc. and closing down children's centres and libraries, is now really a good time to start squeezing them further to reclaim a few quid from years ago that we didn't even know we might be owed and had long forgotten?
This is services for our local communities we are talking about, not some profit making corporation.

I'm sorry to reply to a 2019 comment, but as a long MSE follower, I eventually registered today (2021) specifically to report a council tax rebanding success. I saw this comment and it did make me think. However, for all the MSE-followers trying to make ends meet, there are the more affluent and less diligent folk who will forever pay/overpay every bill, policy and renewal rate without question. I got £4k back from the council, and as someone in need it will go to repaying my (well-managed 0%) debts, reducing my borrowing, towards my financial recovery and then back into the (probably local) economy as my eventually disposable income, while continuing to pay the correct amount I owe for all required taxes. Just another way of looking at it.  

Jones_of_5

I challenged my banding after MSE's email.
The process was quick & easy (I rang the Valuation Office), my banding has now been amended & I've received over £800 rebate.
I've also saved £150 on this years council tax (I've had the single person discount for the last 3 or 4 years).
The whole process took about 1 month. 

I live in a row of 30+ circa 1900 terraced houses, all but 2 or 3 were on a different banding to mine, for some reason my banding was changed in 2005 to a higher band - I've lived in the same house for over 50 years & have no idea why. I queried why the rebate was only calculated back to 2015 & was told by the Valuation Office that the Welsh Assembly mandated that the local council only need to go back 6 years to calculate the rebate.

lincroft1710

Jones_of_5 said:

I live in a row of 30+ circa 1900 terraced houses, all but 2 or 3 were on a different banding to mine, for some reason my banding was changed in 2005 to a higher band - 

Wales had a CT Revaluation in 2005 so everyone had a new band

leitmotif

Hi. I've just run through MSE's page on checking council tax band, doing the two checks: neighbours' bands and valuation. MSE's advice is that of you fail the neighbours' bands check but pass the valuation check, it's not worth challenging. I'm not so sure.

Our flat (rented, been here 12 years) is surrounded by other identical flats (14 others besides ours). We're all band D. However, the flat we're in sold (to our landlord) for £35K in August 1997. Some of the others sold for similar amounts in the mid to late 1990s. Based on the Nationwide house price calculator recommended by the aforementioned MSE page, our place and the others should have been valued at around £31K in April 1991.

Although the neighbours' band test is failed because we've all been assigned band D, surely I haven't got much to lose by challenging. It doesn't seem likely that I'd be raised a band when the valuation check suggests our place was worth half what the council deemed it to be worth. Any second opinions?

lincroft1710

leitmotif said:

Our flat (rented, been here 12 years) is surrounded by other identical flats (14 others besides ours). We're all band D. However, the flat we're in sold (to our landlord) for £35K in August 1997. Some of the others sold for similar amounts in the mid to late 1990s. Based on the Nationwide house price calculator recommended by the aforementioned MSE page, our place and the others should have been valued at around £31K in April 1991.

Were these sales "open market sales" and with vacant possession and also not repossession sales. NW's HPI is notoriously inaccurate and by 1997 some dwelling types were achieving prices similar to those in 1991. Further Band D seems high for a flat.


If you are in Band D then it is probably worth asking the VOA for a review.

Zoobzi37

It's absolutely impossible to what you suggest. 
I followed the instructions and also found that according to the property value guide I am in the wrong band. 
I supplied all the required information with properties similar to mine etc. 
This morning I heard back and they refuse to even consider my case because I haven't provided enough properties and information. 
The want properties in the lower band than mine. There aren't any as we all in the wrong band. 
It's rural area I live in with a population of less than 500. My house is a new build. The village has hardly any new builds. Most aren't the same as mine. 
Yes I know I can go up to 10 miles radius. That's a massive area and it's beyond my ability to do that. I've a memory impairment and such tasks are incredibly taxing and difficult for me. 
So even though I'm in the wrong band there's actually nothing I can do about it. 

Be very careful before applying for a revaluation as it's very difficult. Especially if you live in a rural area. 

I've given up.