Council tax challenge

Helpme12

Hello,
I have recently moved house and think I am on the wrong council tax band. I was thinking about challenging it but worried about upsetting neighbours if it changes theirs. Are challenges anonymous?

[Deleted User]

 Unless you are hoping for that an increase why would a reduction annoy the neighbours 

Helpme12

I am after a decrease. I read of a story where in a street and one house challenged the council tax and got a decrease but when they did the assessment realised that all the other houses in the street needed council tax raised. Every article I've read on this talks about doing research as you don't want to upset neighbours. Surely it is not public information if someone challenges?

lincroft1710

If your appeal goes to a Valuation Tribunal hearing, details will be published on the VT website. Also if a band is reduced it will be shown as being reduced in the Valuation List. If for example you were Band D and your neighbours in similar/identical houses were all in Band C, then if the VOA decided your band was correct and increased the neighbours' bands, it wouldn't take much detective work to discover your band had always been D and you were probably the person who made an appeal which led to their band increases.

Helpme12

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change/
On this website it has a table with neighbours check/valuation check and pass/fail. Under 'have you got a good claim?' It says not worth the risk, not worth the risk of what?

macman

The risk is that your band can be be moved both up and down.

lincroft1710

Why do you think you are in the wrong band?

Helpme12

Thanks @macman, makes sense.

Helpme12

@lincroft1710 , some houses (identical to ours) in the street are on a lower band. Some houses (identical to ours) match our band. Also, looked at a valuation calculator which calculated our April 1991 price as being in one band lower. Appreciate this is imperfect and I am no property expert! Back in the day, according to Martin Lewis, estate agents would drive around guessing at the bands houses would be in! Could go one of two ways, mine and others could get council tax lowered making us happy. Or the other houses could get their council tax raised (meaning they would be unhappy) but no change for me or the other houses. The whole system is terrible. There will be houses all over the country on a lower than expected tax band. But they will stay quiet (unless they feel a moral duty to report themselves). And loads paying more than they need to.

CIS

Helpme12 said:

@lincroft1710 , some houses (identical to ours) in the street are on a lower band. Some houses (identical to ours) match our band. Also, looked at a valuation calculator which calculated our April 1991 price as being in one band lower. Appreciate this is imperfect and I am no property expert! Back in the day, according to Martin Lewis, estate agents would drive around guessing at the bands houses would be in! Could go one of two ways, mine and others could get council tax lowered making us happy. Or the other houses could get their council tax raised (meaning they would be unhappy) but no change for me or the other houses. The whole system is terrible. There will be houses all over the country on a lower than expected tax band. But they will stay quiet (unless they feel a moral duty to report themselves). And loads paying more than they need to.

Lincroft worked for the VOA at one time.
There's always been the rumour of 'drive by' valuations but I suspect much of it is rumour and heresay (and it's before my days of working in council tax).
It's quite possible for similar properties to be in different bands, a lot has changed in the last (nearly) 30 years that could have led to properties banding being changed or being different at that time.  It's also quite possible for a slight difference in the property in 1991 to have meant, for example, that one was top of Band B and the other was at the bottom of Band C - it only takes £1 of difference in the value.

p00hsticks

Helpme12 said:

 Back in the day, according to Martin Lewis, estate agents would drive around guessing at the bands houses would be in!

That may have been the case - but then what usually happened was that as soon as the person living in the property was notified of the band that they had been put in, if they thought it was too high they appealed and if appropriate the band was changed.

You need to bear in mind that the introduction of council tax was BIG news at the time (following the distastrous attempt to intoriduce the community charge - aka 'poll tax'). People were generally well aware of which band they were put into, the monetary value those bands represented, and the value of their own properties, and would usually appeal at the time if they thought the band was worng - I did, successfully, twice, as I moved that year.