Hi everyone , hope you are all safe and sound. I saw something on the internet about council tax and enquired and I was shocked to find out that I had been paying full for over ten years and when they worked out my income my bill was cut by half I was shocked I even queried it as I thought it was wrong, so what I'm saying is please check these things out you could be the same , unfortunately for me I can't reclaim any money no had already paid x
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Council tax
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Wow, yes well worth a look at.
Thank you for that reminder Longsider. I think we all need to be very careful around all billing and bank accounts these days. Not only is the world full of those who will criminally deprive us of our money, it sometimes seems that utility companies, banks and local authorities are not far behind them
It's also worth pointing out that if disabled you are sometimes entitled to a reduction. I think it might be at the discretion of the Council.
in reply to Patsy10
Hi patsy, me and my wife are disabled but they said that doesn't matter as we get benefits, but you can also have a grant to modify your house like a garage and turn it into a downstairs bedroom and bathroom .
Yes you can get a discount if had to have a walk in shower or if you've had an extension built for a downstairs bathroom and it would have taken you into a higher bracket can get discounted back to lower rate so worth checking out
It does go on the property value (a rough valuation dating from 1992 when Council Tax was invented!), but then you can also apply for Council Tax Reduction based on your income. There's also a single person discount if you're the only adult in the household, and possibly other discounts, depending on your local council's policies. Discounts used to be the same in every area, but they started letting local councils set their own rules a few years ago, so it's always worth checking your council's website. You can also appeal against the amount they charge you if you think they've put your property in the wrong 'band' (guessed its relative value incorrectly), especially if it was built after 1992 and they've just taken a wild guess at what a similar property would have been worth back then.
in reply to Amikatari
Isn't it funny they don't let you know it's you that as to do the digging , how many other people are getting charged to much it's wrong .
Amikatari in reply to
Kind of - but to be fair, they do make the info available online, and they really don't know what people's incomes are or have the time to look into what discounts individuals could get, unless the person contacts them to ask. They should make it clearer on the info they send with the bill, though. They generally just include one sentence about calling them or an advice centre if you're in difficulty.
I thought that you could claim back up to six years of over payment.You can contact Citizens advice who may be able to help.All the best Ann x
in reply to mrstadpole
That's what I thought aswell but I will double check .
I believe that you can claim for Council Tax overpayments. I appealed against the banding of my home and received a refund for each year of overpayment. I think Citizens Advice could help you with this 😊
Funny if you owed them for years past they would still make you pay! Glad you found this though. ❤️🌈
in reply to Elt79
That's right if you owe them you know about it . Why I never bothered with reductions was when my wife had a stroke we were on disabled tax credits and I told them as she was in hospital and rehabilitation for nearly a year , but they kept giving us same money and I had to repay it .
Elt79 in reply to
Just unfair ❤️🌈
That's what I thought , Mr and my wife had good jobs but unfortunately through illness we had to give our jobs up and just thought we had enough money coming in through pensions etc .
Yes I asked they said unfortunately you can't so I took the guys word who was helping me.
Do pursue getting some of it back. I did a similar thing many years ago, CT had been charged on a property that should have been zero. I got quite a lot back. I know the rules might have changed but worth a try. Write to your MP and appeal for help, they’re not doing a lot at the moment. Good luck.
Its an anomoly that these things can't be back dated if we have been overpaying, but it can if we have underpaid to the council. These sort of cases like yours don't come out in the news so to speak. Beleive you can take a legal case to get your money back but is it worth the cost??? Thank you for your tip to others, many don't even claim the 25% off for living alone. Others don't realise that disability ,age and the band you are in makes a difference to rebate amounts & entitlement. Prescriptions , glasses , dental care are another one you can claim towards on low income grounds. As you say check you have nothing to loose, or my motto is "if in doubt claim" they can only say no at worst.
Best way to bring a legal case is through any advice centre, CAB or pro-bono law centre that has a specialist debt adviser, it's totally free then, and a specialist debt adviser will know as much as a solicitor about council tax law (I was one for 12 years until I got sick!)
Thank you for info , wasn't sure if you could still take a legal case via cab these days. I have taken one to an ombudsman before and got compensation for the councils error. At least your info will help others on this post.
CraftypersonReading Rabbits
As others have said get in touch with citizens advice
I don't understand why you wouldn't get a refund for the overpayment. If I was you I would get a 2nd opinion perhaps through Citizens Advice Bureau. I don't know the rules and regulations regarding tax as we've only been in the country on just 3 years.
Hi Mydexter, Oh that it was that simple. Because the system is so complex even the staff that deal with it sometimes struggle to work out if you are entitled. I recall in the past my gross pension being taken into account when infact I was paying tax from it . The reason; nobody pays tax on state pension, wrong if your state pension is above your Tax allowance you pay income tax on it. Its your net income that counts for council tax rebate. It took 6 months to get the error sorted and there were thousands more like me . Now there are sites on line where you can check. Enjoy the rest of your day.
We found out that our 2nd home, we did not have to pay council tax on, when my Daughter lived there as a student, Each council has slightly different rules so its always worth checking anything.
That's shocking but I'm so sorry for you that you cannot reclaim back what's rightfully yours.
in reply to
I'm going to look into it when CAB reopens it's so unfair that if you owe them they are after it .
in reply to
I'm glad you are and yes it is unfair as they'd soon be running after you. Best of luck👍
U should go to the cab u should get what u overpaid backbut it depends what the rules are on how far back u can claim from as obviously the council didn't do any checks and what they put in the letters Evrey year was it under the old tax bands rules
They say u can't claim hooping u would take their word and accept it
Me to! If you life alone you should get 25%reduction.
I have heard that is going to be stopped , but do not know when or which councils.
Dear Longsider,
As 'Others' have said, above, it Might be Worth a 'Chat', with the CAB. I Do have another suggestion however, which I don't 'think' has been mentioned. I had great success, with my 'local', Job Centre Plus' with regard to a 'Withdrawn' Payment. Before long the DSS , whose payment it was, Contacted me... After 'Verifying' it was Me, I was informed that 'Everything' was Re-instated.
This Isn't Quite, the same, but perhaps 'Worth a Try'? Good luck.
AndrewT
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