council banding

[kevin@onyref]

anyone know if i have a valid case to claim back some of my council tax. when the banding was introduced in 1993 my house was banded higher than every other house in my street. they are now all the same since 2003 could i claim back the difference from 1993 tom 2003????

[meglet]

I'm curious, do you know why your house was banded higher than the others?

[Buenchico]

Your house was placed into its band based upon a theoretical sale value, on the open market, on 1 April 1991. To get it re-banded you'd have to show that the figure which was used was incorrect. Given the passage of time, that could prove to be very difficult (unless, of course, you bought the house around that date).

The values since 1991 are completely irrelevant. To challenge a valuation (and the consequent banding), see here:
http://www.voa.gov.uk/news/information/your_co uncil_tax_band.htm

As that link indicates, your first battle would be with the Valuation Agency (which is completely independent of your local council). If you were successful in getting the property re-banded, you'd then be in a position to seek a refund from the council to whom you pay Council Tax.

Chris

[boleynground]

Read this
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/counc il-tax-bands-change

I challenged my band last year, successfully getting it down from F to E. From the VOA site, I could see that of the other houses on my street that were identical to mine 3 were band E. Two had been adjusted in 1993, so I guessed they had appealed at the time.
You cannot appeal, but if you read the site above, you are informing them that they have a duty of care that everyone is treated the same and the valuation list is accurate.

[geoff1057]

if there are houses in your street that are exactly the same build as yours, and are in a lower band ,you have a very good case. get intuoch with the local listings officer tell him about this and ask to have your property banding re assessed, NOT to have the banding dropped