Reclaim overpaid council tax

lincroft1710

Zoobzi37 said:

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. 

If you are using any form of house price index, then these are too generalised to be accurate and thus many houses appear to be in the wrong band when in fact they are correct. It is extremely unlikely that all the properties in your village are in the wrong band, especially as CT has been around for almost 30 years! 


Instead of worrying about roaming the whole  area within a 10 mile radius, why not focus on the 2 nearest villages.

Zoobzi37

I wasn't referring to the whole village. As I said there's hardly any new builds on any of the villages here. 
I live on a small 15 house estate and we are all in the wrong band. I've listed these houses and they won't accept them as being sufficient or meeting the criteria . They've asked me to list those around me in the band lower than mine but I can't because there aren't any.
I've already said this in my original message here. Rural areas aren't like large urban sprawls. 
I've no idea what is in the next village and I r ueally don't have the mental agility to look into every village around me. 
I also wouldn't know where to start looking for a myriad of house prices, types, sales, bands etc and then remember it all. 
It's just too much 
The guide here is totally useless for people in rural areas. It's also useless for those who have some sort of disability with memory. 
Yes I am in the wrong band but as I've said I am totally powerless to do anything about it. I've tried and his the government brickwall. I can't supply the evidence they want because it doesn't exist where I live. 
Maybe the guide here needs to be amended at its not accurate. 
At least I tried.
I am in England.
Martins guides are very good but only to a point as they make everything sound so easy and are based on ideal conditions. In the real world, life is rarely that simple and ideal conditions only help the privileged few whilst the majority of us struggle on in the real world. 

gt94sss2

Zoobzi37 said:

I wasn't referring to the whole village. As I said there's hardly any new builds on any of the villages here. 
I live on a small 15 house estate and we are all in the wrong band. I've listed these houses and they won't accept them as being sufficient or meeting the criteria . They've asked me to list those around me in the band lower than mine but I can't because there aren't any.
I've already said this in my original message here. Rural areas aren't like large urban sprawls. 
I've no idea what is in the next village and I r ueally don't have the mental agility to look into every village around me. 
I also wouldn't know where to start looking for a myriad of house prices, types, sales, bands etc and then remember it all. 
It's just too much 
The guide here is totally useless for people in rural areas. It's also useless for those who have some sort of disability with memory. 
Yes I am in the wrong band but as I've said I am totally powerless to do anything about it. I've tried and his the government brickwall. I can't supply the evidence they want because it doesn't exist where I live. 
Maybe the guide here needs to be amended at its not accurate. 
At least I tried.
I am in England.
Martins guides are very good but only to a point as they make everything sound so easy and are based on ideal conditions. In the real world, life is rarely that simple and ideal conditions only help the privileged few whilst the majority of us struggle on in the real world. 

When you say new build, does your council tax band match the purchase price?

Zoobzi37

The bands are from 1991. I used the calculator on this site and it says I'm in the wrong band. And as the guide days, the government won't accept that. And it's correct. They won't accept the equivalent price of my house.
They've asked me to supply a list of houses around me that are in the band I'm applying for and I can't because there aren't any. We are all in the wrong band.
My house was built in 2008 and I've got the valuation from the surveyor. Unfortunately that isn't admissible. For some reason they want information about the houses around me and within a 10 mile radius. They are totally irrelevant to me and my application as its my house that matters. 
Unfortunately the revaluation system doesn't work in a logical manner as it's designed to prevent those in the wrong bands from being rebranded 
I'm stuck where I am and there's nothing I can about it as I can't supply non eixistant information for one very good reason. 

gt94sss2

Zoobzi37 said:

The bands are from 1991. I used the calculator on this site and it says I'm in the wrong band. And as the guide days, the government won't accept that. And it's correct. They won't accept the equivalent price of my house.
They've asked me to supply a list of houses around me that are in the band I'm applying for and I can't because there aren't any. We are all in the wrong band. 

When a property is sold, the sale price becomes it's new banding.

As such, I don't believe you can't go back in the way you describe with a new build - to what it would have cost in the early 90s.

Unless you are saying the price you actually paid for the property when you purchased it doesn't match the council tax band?

Zoobzi37

Martins guide is not accurate. It's totally wrong. 
They refuse to accept the equivalent. 
Life is never that simple. 
To be fair to Martins guide here it does say that they won't accept the equivalent price 
My application wasn't turned down. They absolutely refused to accept my evidence as it wasn't sufficient. 
I gave exactly the evidence this guide states I need to give. But they won't accept it. 
There's no more I can do as they are asking for evidence that doesn't physically exist where I live. 

lincroft1710

gt94sss2 said:

Zoobzi37 said:

The bands are from 1991. I used the calculator on this site and it says I'm in the wrong band. And as the guide days, the government won't accept that. And it's correct. They won't accept the equivalent price of my house.
They've asked me to supply a list of houses around me that are in the band I'm applying for and I can't because there aren't any. We are all in the wrong band. 

When a property is sold, the sale price becomes it's new banding.

What do you mean by this?

Zoobzi37

lincroft1710 said:

gt94sss2 said:

Zoobzi37 said:

The bands are from 1991. I used the calculator on this site and it says I'm in the wrong band. And as the guide days, the government won't accept that. And it's correct. They won't accept the equivalent price of my house.
They've asked me to supply a list of houses around me that are in the band I'm applying for and I can't because there aren't any. We are all in the wrong band. 

When a property is sold, the sale price becomes it's new banding.

What do you mean by this?

It does not work like that. So ignore that statement.
The revaluation process is extremely complicated and convoluted. I can't manage to do what they have asked in their response to my application for revaluation. 
If it was a simple as the person above states then we wouldn't be having this conversation. 
I really wish it was that easy but it's not. 

lincroft1710

Zoobzi37 said:

lincroft1710 said:

gt94sss2 said:

Zoobzi37 said:

The bands are from 1991. I used the calculator on this site and it says I'm in the wrong band. And as the guide days, the government won't accept that. And it's correct. They won't accept the equivalent price of my house.
They've asked me to supply a list of houses around me that are in the band I'm applying for and I can't because there aren't any. We are all in the wrong band. 

When a property is sold, the sale price becomes it's new banding.

What do you mean by this?

It does not work like that. So ignore that statement.
The revaluation process is extremely complicated and convoluted. I can't manage to do what they have asked in their response to my application for revaluation. 
If it was a simple as the person above states then we wouldn't be having this conversation. 
I really wish it was that easy but it's not. 

I'm ex VOA and dealt with CT appeals for 12 years. I just wanted to know how the poster came to this conclusion.


The process is actually quite simple, if you believe your band is incorrect, then you provide the evidence which leads you to believe this. But you have to have more than house price indices. If you do not have evidence, then you have no case. Do you not have a family member or friend who could help you?

Zoobzi37

I am not getting into a petty polemic. 
Do you think I am mentally deficient because I have a memory impairment. 
I've applied, been refused leave to appeal after giving my house value etc and all the information required. 
Sorry, I am stopping this right here. 
I am not repeating myself again. 
Read what I've said before if you can be bothered. 
It's absolutely not easy to appeal.
The system beat me again just as it beats anyone in true need. Too many on this site live in ivory idealistic towers. Too many claim omniscience when the reality is they haven't a clue  
Good night.