Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anyone in the UK who is paying council tax. The founder of Money Saving Expert has urged everyone to check their council tax band as he says up to 400,000 people are in the wrong band.
The financial journalist said this means that many homeowners and tenants aren't paying the right amount for their property, and therefore they could be owed thousands if they are paying much more than they need to.
With council tax bills set to rise by 5 percent for millions from April 1, it's more important than ever to check if your property is in the right band. Martin Lewis has now issued a step by step guide on how to check your band - and how to challenge it if you think it's wrong.
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Speaking to his 2.2 million followers on Twitter, Martin Lewis said: "Up to 400,000 in England and Scotland are in the wrong council tax band. If so you may be entitled to a backdated rebate of £1,000s and a lower band. Here's my step by step check & challenge."
He then provided a link to his MoneySavingExpert site which explained the simple process homeowners and tenants need to go through.
The journalist, who has just been given a regular role as a co-host on Good Morning Britain, says that the first, and most important step, is to find out what your neighbours are paying.
The site says: "To find out if your band's higher than neighbours in similar or identical properties, you could simply ask them, but there's no need as it's public info.
"The band of every property in England and Scotland is available via Gov.uk and the Scottish Assessors' Association. Make sure the properties are as close as possible in size and value. Sadly, the sheer scale of the database means a few properties are missed off it. If that happens, either speak to your neighbours directly or contact the council and ask why."
The Money Saving Expert says that it is also vital to do a valuation check.
"A second crucial step is to estimate what your home was worth in 1991, as that's when and how the council tax bands were defined," says Martin.
"This can't be used as evidence if you challenge your band, but it enables you to check out various property prices on your street and it's an important test that you're on the right track if you do decide to challenge.
"If you bought your house after 1991, you can simply use its price and date of sale to do this. If you rent or bought earlier, you'll need to find an estimated price."
Martin advises to estimate the value of your property using websites that offer free historic sales price information, such as Zoopla and Rightmove.
"When you've worked out roughly what your property was worth in 1991, you can compare this to see what band you should have been put in, based on that home value," Martin says.
"If you're convinced your property band is unfair, it's time to challenge it."
The Money Saving Expert warns that challenging your band is something you need to carefully consider - as it could eventually mean you could be paying more.
"Challenging your band is not something to do speculatively without the checks, for one simple reason: you can't just ask for your band to be lowered – only for a 'reassessment', which means it could be moved up or down," Martin warned.
"This is why it is crucially important you do both of the checks, and to be especially careful if you've added an extension or something that increases your property's value."
Martin said that thousands have tried and succeeded in getting their council tax band corrected, and pay-outs or discounts worth £1,000s are commonplace.
When getting your banding decreased, the repayment should be backdated to when you moved into the property – as far back as when the tax started in 1993.
If you're in England, you can contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) directly, at which point you'll be told how your band was decided, and have the opportunity to explain why you believe it is wrong and how it should be altered.
Alternatively, you can check your band by entering your postcode and selecting your address from a list. Then you can click on the link asking if you think your council tax banding is wrong and you'll be given the option to fill out a checklist which suggests reasons you could challenge.
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