Council Tax refund

bernabia

I have successfully appealed against my council tax banding and had it moved to a lower band with an effective date of 1st April 1993. Does that mean I can expect a refund backdated to then? I have tried council and .gov sites but just go around in circles.

lincroft1710

bernabia said:

I have successfully appealed against my council tax banding and had it moved to a lower band with an effective date of 1st April 1993. Does that mean I can expect a refund backdated to then? I have tried council and .gov sites but just go around in circles.

Provided you were the CT payer at that date then yes. If not, then the refund would be backdated to the date you became the CT payer.

tacpot12

Have you tried complaining to your local councillor? Seems like this would be an easy win for them. 

lincroft1710

tacpot12 said:

Have you tried complaining to your local councillor? Seems like this would be an easy win for them. 

I think the OP meant that he didn't know if he would get a refund rather than he had been waiting a long time for one. Councillors tend not to be well versed in CT procedures

concertodelledonne

You should get your council tax refunded back to the date when you started paying. I have successfully just received a refund for over £8,500. I appealed in March to the Valuation Office, the re-banding was agreed in October, the refund arrived today in December into the account from which I pay. Success indeed and thank you Martin Lewis. It's the council who refund the amount. Try writing, emailing and phoning and you will have success in the end if you persist politely. There must be many people out there who have been put in the incorrect band. 

Angels7

concertodelledonne said:

You should get your council tax refunded back to the date when you started paying. I have successfully just received a refund for over £8,500. I appealed in March to the Valuation Office, the re-banding was agreed in October, the refund arrived today in December into the account from which I pay. Success indeed and thank you Martin Lewis. It's the council who refund the amount. Try writing, emailing and phoning and you will have success in the end if you persist politely. There must be many people out there who have been put in the incorrect band. 

This is good to know.  I am assisting a friend at the moment with this.  Unfortunately in Scotland the Scottish Government has refused them a refund, even though we went through all of Martin's checks.  I reckon she is owed around £800.  Scottish Government has a ruling that you have six months (from date of moving in) of informing your local authority that you are requesting a refund. 

I am trying to say prove that they do not advertise well enough this information and the onus is on them not to overcharge.

Has anyone got advice on this or if in Scotland, how you won your appeal?
Appreciate your time.

lincroft1710

Angels7 said:

concertodelledonne said:

You should get your council tax refunded back to the date when you started paying. I have successfully just received a refund for over £8,500. I appealed in March to the Valuation Office, the re-banding was agreed in October, the refund arrived today in December into the account from which I pay. Success indeed and thank you Martin Lewis. It's the council who refund the amount. Try writing, emailing and phoning and you will have success in the end if you persist politely. There must be many people out there who have been put in the incorrect band. 

This is good to know.  I am assisting a friend at the moment with this.  Unfortunately in Scotland the Scottish Government has refused them a refund, even though we went through all of Martin's checks.  I reckon she is owed around £800.  Scottish Government has a ruling that you have six months (from date of moving in) of informing your local authority that you are requesting a refund. 

I am trying to say prove that they do not advertise well enough this information and the onus is on them not to overcharge.

Has anyone got advice on this or if in Scotland, how you won your appeal?
Appreciate your time.

I am assuming you mean CT band reduction rather than refund

In Scotland, CT banding is dealt with by the Assessor. As in England and Wales a CT payer has 6 months to appeal their band from the date of moving into their home. Outside of this time limit, a CT payer can ask for a band review but there is no appeal to a Tribunal if the Assessor disagrees.

You say

I am trying to say prove that they do not advertise well enough this information and the onus is on them not to overcharge

Just forget the above, you will be wasting your time as it will not help you. You will have to find properties of a same size, age and type as your friend's in the vicinity in a lower band.