Scotland - Assessor has said we are out of time to appeal - has anyone navigated this?

JustPeachie

Hi, I have posted before but re-posting to try to specifically deal with being told we are out of time.

In a nutshell, my relative lives in a semi detached house, the properties are a mirror image, identical.  But the council claim their house is much larger and more expensive.
So the relative has been in a higher CT band since it began in 1994.

*They did challenge it twice* (no correspondence) at the time but were fobbed off - told it was because they had a garage - I know this is incorrect, it is not attached to the property.

I made an appeal.

In the meantime the council re-measured the house and doubled down on their assertion that it's sq m is far in excess of the adjoining property - in fact this time found it to be even larger by 1 sq m (above their already larger figure).

I made a comprehensive appeal with plenty of facts and figures to prove the case.  There is my relative's sized property, I had floorplans and valuations which matched all of these similar properties.

The there is a larger style property which the council are insisting is my relative's size. I also gave floorplans and sales valuations which all matched and were higher and similar values.

They simply came back to say we are 'out of time'.

I've seen so many stories on here of people claiming for years back - is there any way of challenging this successfully?

I did state in the appeal that the council had a duty to ensure fairness and accuracy (I read that somewhere on here!).

Many thanks in advance for anything you can offer.

Lisa

lincroft1710

It would have been better if you had continued with your original thread rather than start a new one and repeat some of the content of the original.


The Assessor is correct in that your relative cannot appeal to the Local Taxation Chamber as they are well out of time. The Assessor can consider any request for a CT reduction but with a request made outside the 6 month time limit, there is no appeal process if the Assessor refuses a reduction.


If your relative considers the Assessor has acted unfairly or unjustly in dealing with the request for a CT reduction I would suggest they write to their MSP. However there is no guarantee the MSP will agree with the Assessor's conduct of the case or be able to obtain a favourable result.

JustPeachie

Hi, I started a new thread trying to keep cleanly to the point of being out of time as the other one took a very different path.  I also realised it was important to state in the title that this relates to Scotland.

The MSP has been involved from the beginning but although they agree the decision is unfair, they have been unable to help. They wrote to the council and got the same response.

I am just wondering how other people got the assessor / VOA etc etc to go years back as I have seen some others get that outcome.

I also think it's pertinent that my relative did contact the council - twice - right at the beginning to question why their band was higher - and were erroneously told it was because they had a garage (not attached to the property).

lincroft1710

Still not a good reason to start a new thread. It is just a further development in the saga and thread titles can be altered. Also please stop referring to the council, it is the Assessor you/your relative are dealing with, who is not part of the council.


The VOA will review a band if evidence is produced to suggest a band may be wrong, there is no time limit but also there is no appeal to a Tribunal. HOWEVER (and cannot speak for the Assessor), it would be rare for the VOA to review a band for a second time without new evidence unless it was blatantly obvious to the new caseworker that a mistake was made. To review a 3rd time would be virtually unheard of. 


I'll be perfectly honest, I think you/your relative have reached the end of the road however unfair it may seem as your MSP can't help and the Assessor cannot be persuaded to review the band for a 4th time. I do not know what powers the SAA have over individual Assessors but you could try contacting them, but I wouldn't be too optimistic

JustPeachie

Thanks for your input.

I only refer to the council where it is them. I emailed them initially and as I said, it was them who came out to re-measure the property. That is the only contact I have had with them.

I then made an appeal to the Assessor - one - not three, I'm not sure where this has come from.

They have responded to say that we are out of time and it needed to have been appealed back in 1994. Hence why this post looking for help with my response to that.

They also stated
I may appeal to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland on a point of law only but first must seek permission to appeal from the First-tier Tribunal within 30 days of receiving their decision.

I do think it's blatantly obvious that they have made a mistake.

But where you say there is no time limit what does that refer to? 

lincroft1710

In your first post of this thread said your relative had challenged the band twice, then you said you made an appeal, so that is 3 times the band has been queried. 


A CT payer can query a band at any time (hence no time limit), but unless they are within 6 months of becoming the taxpayer there is no appeal to a tribunal and the VOA's or Assessor's decision is final..


In England an appeal to the High Court against a Valuation Tribunal decision may be made, but as in Scotland and the Upper Tribunal on a point of law only and (certainly in England) a banding dispute would not qualify.


If an appeal is out of time, it is out of time, there is no way round it especially if you are 30 years too late.


Unfair as it may seem if the Assessor says no, you have hit a brick wall.

JustPeachie

OK, thank you for this also. 

When I said relative challenged twice, this was by phone / popping into their offices back in 1994. It was a verbal query not an appeal.  I didn't even know about all this until recently.

And that's when they were told, each time, it was because of their (non attached) garage.  I'd hoped this may count for something but there is no proof of those conversations.

Alright, I certainly feel doomed but I tried. I'll complete the appeal form and will update if anything comes of it in case it may help someone else. But I feel like I'm staring that brick wall in the face!

lincroft1710

If @GlennCTax author of the thread I gave you a link to has posted any contact details on that thread, I would suggest you contact him and see if he has any advice