Council Tax result

Having been fucked off by the latest 10% increase at
the start of the year, I did some digging around about
the banding of our house.

As it turned out, it was in the wrong banding so we've
just received the refund of five years worth of over
payments in the post this morning!

Lovely ... until you realise it was your money in the
first place and you ain't getting no interest, let
alone an apology!

 

Nice one centurion.

I was shocked when Heather told me how much we pay per month!

 

All the way from Portugal?

PS. fancy a small bimblette to Great Bentley
for "Bike Night" tonight, if you can stay
sober long enough?

 

She's back now.

Damn, too late ;-)

 

I did exactly the same earlier this year; it was only 9 months of
overpaying, but it was still nice to get the money back and have the
ongoing payments reduced.

indeed. The correspondence I got from them at the end implied they
were doing me a favour by giving me back my money.

 

As I wrote to the VOA in the first place, who
"investigated" [1] and then amended the list,
we got a letter from them as well as the council.

Both letters had the same tone that they were
doing you a massive favour, as you say.

[1] realised they'd been rumbled

 

Heh, I did wonder as it was after 3pm.

 

We went through this earlier in the year - went all the way to appeal,
which was rejected.

Instead of putting our place in a lower banding, they've decided they
need to review all the properties we used in evidence.

Cunts.

 

Well ours was in a higher banding than the one across
the road that was built at the same time to the same
plans and sold for the same price, so there was obviously
some kind of **** up when the original valuation was
done back in 2002.

Even if we didn't get ours lowered, they would have
bumped up the one across the road and they'd have
owed 5 years worth of under payments ... so a result
either way ;-)

As it was, the sale price (from new) worked out to
bang in the middle of band E when calculated back
to 1991 using the Nationwide site. The latest valuation
price worked out to within £1,000 of the same price,
so again was pretty much spot on. Then there was the
banding discrepancy between two identical houses, so
really there was only one way it could go.

Natch.

 

Yup, sounds like what happened here.

All the 3-bed semis around here bar ours and the guy next door are in a
lower band.

We're in the same band as the detatched house over the road - which is a
much more expensive property (still only 3 beds, but master bedroom is
en suite).

Loads of problems like that around here - but the council claim that
because our garden is a couple of feet bigger than some, we should pay
more.

 

What's the VOA?

 

Well I can think of a few possibilities ....

Voluntary Overpayment Agency
Veneral Oversight Agency
Veritable Onanists Agency

.... take your pick

 

****, that'll make you really popular with your neighbours.

Just what they'll be saying.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

 

Voice of America, buddy.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

Teach a man to fish and he and his pikey mates will have the
river cleaned out in a day.

 

Hello Tristan.

 

In our case it would have been some sheep in a field.

 

www.voa.gov.uk

 

they only adjusted the band when we moved in.

 

heh.

 

Could you or others on the group kindly provide any hints or tips on
the way forward with such a query?

I live in a street of thirty houses, all identically built in the late
sixties. Some have been extended yet remain in Band D, but there is
one house in Band C, in which it has been since the start of the
Banding system.

AFAICS it meets none of the criteria for down-banding, such as a
reduction to two bedrooms. I'm puzzled as to why this should be so.
Naturally, I would like a downgrade too, and I'd be grateful for any
advice on how to proceed. TIA.