Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

angel13 · 13 May 2009 at 10:52AM

Local Borough Council: Ashford
Council Tax Band Before: E
Council Tax Band After: D
Amount refunded: £402 (2 year period only)
Annual saving going forward: for this year just over £300!!!

Thank you Martin :j:j:j:j :T:T:TI am so thrilled as we are on limited funds at the moment and Im doing MS etc etc to save up to start my own business.

I lived in this house two years then a 6 month break so when i came back did all the checking and the forms. So for two year period only I have got £402 - can anyone tell me if its normal for it to be deducted off of this years amount or am i able to get an actual refund - i would prefer this as it is my money after all.

Even better news I rent my house so have let landlord know they are entitled to a large sum of money - i think that makes me a perfect tenant :T

judipat · 14 May 2009 at 10:09PM

Malvern Hill District Council
Council tax band before F
Council tax band after E
Amount refunded £3056
Backdated 1993

This has taken less than 6 months. Followed the instructions on this site. I had a letter back very quickly from the valuation office saying they had re banded us. It took a little longer for the council to sort the figures out - but I rang and hassled them every week!!!
Thank you so much "Martins Money", I am so happy - I love this site.

lincroft1710 · 15 May 2009 at 6:13PM

angel13 - yes it is the norm for councils to reduce CT payments where amounts are relatively small, rather than give refund. HOWEVER you can ask council to give you a refund, but I'm not sure if they're obliged to.

vmarsh · 18 May 2009 at 6:46PM

Good to see some people getting the rebandings they deserve.

Tried to do this for my parents. They have exactly the same house as people across the road (just built earlier), but are one band higher. 1991 valuation also suggests they have been put in too high a band. Local VOA ignored all the arguments, sent a standard reply and best of all said their decision was final with no means of appeal. Has anyone else had this experience, and did they challenge it?

lincroft1710 · 18 May 2009 at 7:26PM

vmarsh - CT law sets time limits for appealing against bands (6 months from date of first occupying property). Outside of 6 months a request can be made for band review but if VOA say band correct that's it. If you used a houseprice calculator to find 1991 value, then you will not get an accurate figure. VOA have details of virtually every property sale in country and will have looked at actual 1991 sales of houses similar to your parents'. You don't say how much older their house is, or if there are any other differences - larger garden, better view, not backing on to factory etc.

If you consider your request has not been fairly dealt with, your only options are to complain to VOA Customer Service Manager or even write to your MP (but he may be too busy trying to correct his expenses claim). Neither way will guarantee your parents' band will be reduced, but it may be reviewed again by more senior person.

vmarsh · 18 May 2009 at 8:41PM

Lincroft - thanks for the advice

she153 · 19 May 2009 at 11:50AM

SEDGEMOOR DISTRICT Council (BRIDGWATER)

Previous band E

New band D

Amount refunded £2700
Award backdated to 1993

YEARLY SAVING £400

JUST WANT TO SAY THANKS FOR YOUR HELP, AS YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE JUST RECEIVED A VERY NICE REFUND. WE STARTED OUR INQUIRY WITH VALUATION OFFICE 8 WEEKS AGO AND FOUND THE PROCEDURE EASY; WE ONLY REALISED WE HAD BEEN PAYING BAND E WHILST OUR NEIGHBOURS WERE ALL D. MANY OF MY FREINDS ARE NOW LOOKING AT THEIRS!!!!
THANKS AGAIN

COBRA_2 · 20 May 2009 at 8:22AM

I followed all the instructions re council tax rebanding and I met every condition for a reband. However, in going into it further, it states 'if improvements have been carried out, you cannot apply for rebanding'. I would have thought most people carry out improvements over the years and so it's restricted to who can apply. As I understand it, if I sell my house the person who buys it will be able to apply for a rebanding. I hope Martin reads this and is able to tell me I have misunderstood

lincroft1710 · 20 May 2009 at 5:30PM

COBRA - if improvements have been carried out which would increase the value of a house into the next band, if house is sold then new owner may have CT band increased.

It does depend what improvements have been carried out, whether or not you could successfully apply for rebanding. What improvements have you made?

Scaracat · 20 May 2009 at 8:30PM

Local Council: Leicester City Council
Council Tax Band Before: B
Council Tax Band After: A
Amount refunded (from Sep 2000): £1062
Annual saving going forward: £154

I followed the advice and contacted the VOA, they weren't interested in the online property valuation though stating that these valuations are not accurate. I had also gone to the trouble of getting a copy of the title deed from the Land Registry for the sale of my house in 1992 to the previous owner as evidence that the house value was well below the upper limit for band A, although council tax valuations were done in 1991 and the sale was in 1992 I thought it would be close enough and good evidence but they weren't interested. However they acknowledged that my neighbours who have same sized houses had already had their property bands reduced.

I got a letter from the VOA a month later to say the band had been reduced and within a couple of weeks got a letter from the council with a refund.

Thanks Martin for the advice.

Council Tax Rebanding SUCCESS stories

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