Con Redmayne
Sutton
Sunday, August 21, 2011 18:22 |
Gordon St - reclassified to Band A? Contacted by a company
Evening all,
Whilst on holiday this last week I've been contacted by a company called Randall & Vickers who are keen to claim back money on my behalf. They think I could have my house downgraded from Band B, to Band A council tax and claim me back the handsome difference. They state other properties on my road are Band A.
Has anyone else had dealings? I'm concerned that this unsolicited and that I can't see how they're making their fee. I'm also loathe to give them all my details. Has anyone else successfully reclassified their homes?
Thanks
Con |
Liz Kildunne
NODISC
Sunday, August 21, 2011 18:29 |
Never heard of anything like this before, sounds like some kind of scam to me, especially as they're asking for all your details. I'd be very wary myself |
Paul Wilkinson
webmaster
Sunday, August 21, 2011 20:07 |
You can check your (and your neighbours') council tax bands at this government site...
www.voa.gov.uk
Sounds like the Council Tax equivalent of Personal Injury Claims sales chasers, no doubt just in it for the money they can make and not able to do anything you can't do yourself.
|
Janet Hargreaves
Harrogate
Monday, August 22, 2011 10:30 |
We've had letters about this in Harrogate but we did not bite nor do I know of anyone who has or who has been reclassified. |
Stephen Bielby
Sutton in Craven
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 12:49 |
Keep clear. You can do it all yourself if you want to but be very carefull as they go off house prices so if in fact they are now worth more than when they were assesed by the council you can see your (and your neighbours) bill increase.
I think there is a section on www.moneysavingexpert.com about it all. |
Julian Hide
Sutton
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 09:23 |
Received a letter on North Street in same vein. They look at the post code, not at the type of property. On North Street, all are B except 2 smaller properties that are A. There is therefore no likelihood of any reduction. |
Denise White
Thursday, August 25, 2011 14:17 |
I have heard of this before, but have only had experience through business rates. The company I work for have had rates reduced substantially on a couple of occasions. The company contacted us rather like this, they of course wanted a percentage of the savings we made, but it was still worthwhile doing it. It did not cost us anything too see if we woul dmake savings, si I think it was worth doing. |
Andy Hardaker
Keighley
Saturday, September 3, 2011 06:55 |
these companies are legit, but, they are charging you for something you can do quickly and easily yourself. as mentioned above, the voa website is the best place to start. on here you can check (big brother style) which tax band your neighbours are in.
the story goes that when council tax was first introduced whole streets got assessed by ' drive by', I.e the assessor would drive onto a street, look at the first few houses, then presume all the other houses are the same size. all the houses on that street are now in the same bracket.
where checking the voa site comes in is, if you live in a 2 bed house and your in the same bracket as your neighbour who lives in a 3 bed house then your house has been wrongly assessed and you could have a legitimate claim. and thats when you visit the moneysavingexpert site. here you find advice and even letters to print off to start your claim.
maybe is not worth the bother to save a few pounds council tax each year? well, if your successful, its back dated! as far as I know, to the time you started paying the wrong amount.
councils will not generally be very helpful in this matter as they stand to lose millions in refunds so stick it out.
fortunately some of us (i live in keighley) have had this in reverse and the first few house on the street all had 2beds and us with 3beds all got in the lower band ,0)
good luck. |
