Saving money news
Don’t miss out on Council Tax Cashback
19 March, 2007
Hundreds of thousands of Brits may be unaware they're in the wrong band for council tax, and are about to miss out on £1,000s in compensation
To coincide with Wednesday’s Budget, the Lyons report is due to be released on future council tax band changes, meaning that those who don’t act before a nationwide re-banding might miss out on their compensation.
Find out how much your home is worth
The amount you pay in council tax depends on which band you’re in. In England and Scotland, the bands depend on the 1991 valuation of house price values.
Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, creator of the consumer revenge website MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Many people are living in incorrectly banded houses, and with the internet it’s now possible to check and challenge your band for free, possibly winning a backdated payment from 1993, when the system started, worth £1,000s.”
Sir Michael Lyon’s long-awaited inquiry into council tax is due to be published alongside the budget on Wednesday 21 March. It’s strongly predicted to recommend changes to the system, potentially including a revaluation of millions of homes in England and Scotland.
Lewis is urging people to act now. He said: “The closer we get to a revaluation, the more institutionally difficult it will be for someone to get their own house re-banded. Already if you’ve been in a property more than six months, you have to force a re-banding, and as we progress towards a national re-banding it could mean many miss out on reclaiming the thousands they’ve overpaid.”
Three step banding ‘check and challenge’
Check your banding compared to your neighbours
Go to www.voa.gov.uk (England and Wales) or www.saa.gov.uk (Scotland) which allows you to check your council tax band and the band of any of your neighbours in similar houses for free (bands range from A to H, with H being more expensive houses). It’s very easy to do, and the results can be startling. If there looks to be a discrepancy, ie you’re in a higher band than neighbours in a similar property, you may have a case.
Work out your house price at 1991 levels
If there’s a chance you’re in the wrong band, to check, you bizarrely need to work out what your house was worth in 1991, because that’s how council tax bands are allocated. To do this, go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/council where you can find out, for free, all the homes in your street’s recent sale prices. Next, follow the instructions on how to sue web house price inflation calculators to quickly calculate the 1991 price. Finally, compare this to the 1991 bands lists; if it looks like you should be a lower band, you’re in action.
Challenge your band
If both the above steps show you’re in the wrong band, then you challenge it. However, remember that if you ask to be rebanded it is possible your band will be increased not decreased. If you moved into the property in the last six months, it’s easy to ask your council to look at the banding. If not, even if it refuses to consider it, you can still push hard by writing and saying, “I believe the council tax list in erroneous, and you have a duty to maintain its accuracy”.
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