Thread: council tax issues

i hope this is the right section to seek help on a council tax issue and the story is:

i have been a single occupant since 1998 where i was a student until June 2001.

from 2001 and 2005 i was charge the full council tax rate even though i was a single occupant and did notify the council verbally and in writing that i should be entitled to the single person's discount but it seems they never received this letter.

now i did manage to write to them again later on ( a few years later as the old account was in dispute and with the bailiffs) and they did change my status to a single occupant from 2005 but i do not remember getting any refunds !

a few months back i wrote to them again demanding my account to be backdated from 2001, and i got a reply saying that they can only backdated from 2005 but if i sent them proof that i was the single occupant they would consider it. i did send them the proof and just got a reply saying that they will not back date further than 2005 and will only investigate if i have proof that i have contacted them at the time.

basically i have no proof and can i claim back my council tax from 2001 to 2005 and if so how?


many thanks in advance

One thing I know from experience with CT is that they won't give you a cash refund if they have taken more than what they should. All they will do is credit your account on next years bill. It may have changed now though.

what is the correct procedure to appeal against their decision and since i do not have proof that i did at the time sent information stating my single occupancy status

Put your appeal to them in writing stating clearly why you think their decision is wrong. You will then have a chance to go to an appeal tribunal, which is a hearing where each side gets a chance to put their side of the case and a panel make a decision. It is a shame you do not have a copy of your letter informing them of your status. One thing you can do is ask for a copy of all the papers they have about you (make a Data protection Act request, details on their website) and you might find your letter turns up. My local council kept saying that I had not informed them of a chnage but in fact when I received my papers there was my letter with their received date stamp on it. You can also provide other proof to the tribunal such as statements from third parties etc.Good luck.

all i can say is do you have a tennancy agreement if so that should be proof you live alone unless of course someone else was on it at the time you moved into your property.it's just a thought and im no expert or anything.

If the council do not award the discount then after attempting to resolve the situation with them the next stage is a Valuation Tribunal.

The question that you will need to answer is why you didn't chase the discount earlier, you would have received several demand notices in the period and each of them would have shown that there was no discount and advising you how to apply,