A PENSIONER is warning people not to pay to have their council tax banding re-assessed, after he was approached by a company offering the service.
The Roman Road, Luton, resident said he was approached by Right Band Ltd, who offered the re-banding service for £165, plus 25 per cent of any rebate if the band was then lowered.
It is estimated that up to 400,000 homes in England are in the wrong council tax band, and rebates may stretch back as far as 1993.
But having your council tax banding assessed and changed is free when carried out through the relevant local authority or the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
The VOA has recently warned against paying companies offering the service, as they could be bogus.
The man said: “I was phoned by someone called Charles, who asked me if I realised I could get £2,350 which was rightfully mine.”
A sales representative visited the man at home, and told him he would have to pay an up-front fee of £165, but that he would get £100 of that back, whether he was successful or not.
He continued: “One of my neighbours is a lawyer and she has tried to challenge our banding before, so I spoke to her about it.
“I said to her that they seemed to know what they were talking about.”
After discussing it with his neighbour, the man decided not to go ahead, and said he wanted other people to be aware that reassessment was free.
“I suppose people might think it’s worth a gamble because it’s £65, and they’re told they’ve got a good chance of getting a couple of thousand back.”
No-one from Right Band Ltd was available for comment.