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Should I trust claims firm offering to try help me challenge my council tax band?,,,

I have had a letter from a company offering to possibly reduce my council tax bill by getting a revaluation on my home.

Of course they suggest that if there is any refund then a fee would be payable. What do your experts think? H.P, Guildford.

The Government has announced recently that there will be no council tax revaluation before 2015

Linda Mckay of This is Money replies: The Government has announced recently that there will be no council tax revaluation before 2015.

This has brought out some ‘consumer champion’ companies who are targeting homes which they believe may be in too high a band as neighbours in the same street are paying less council tax.

These companies hope to profit by the reclassification of your property, their services are generally based on no win-no fee and ask for £25 plus VAT of the (equal to 30 per cent) total refund awarded by the council.

  More... Can you challenge your council tax band?

Potentially, for example, if your property is currently in Band E with a council tax bill of around £1774, and after a successful reclassification falls into Band D the saving could be approx £320 per year with the refund dating back as far as 1993 or when you moved into the property.

If you suspect you may be paying too much you can start the process yourself simply by contacting your local council and asking for a revaluation.

But beware that you may find your banding could go up rather than down, especially is your house has been extended.

The Valuations Office Agency says 4.3 per cent, or 903,000; of the 21million homes in England have had their council tax band reduced since 1993.

If you believe you may be in the wrong band you could check what your neighbours in similar properties are paying and use This is Money's house price calculator to estimate your home’s approximate value in 1991.

When Council tax was first introduced in 1993 the price of the tax was supposed to be proportionate to the property’s value.

Properties were therefore classified into different tax brackets or bands. The decisions on which band each property should be in were considered rushed and relate to the value of the property in 1991.

Due to the huge task of assessing every property in the whole of the UK a lot of properties ended up in the wrong band.

The job was given to estate agents, who would often perform what the industry call a ‘second gear’ valuation where they would drive past slowly, make a valuation without even stopping the car.

Appeals can be made online at the Valuation Office Agency, in England, or the Scottish Assessors Association, in Scotland.

Alternatively, homeowners can write to their local authority's listing officer or assessor.

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