Frequently Asked Questions
There are many things you can do yourself such as representing yourself in a court case, diagnosing an illness using the internet or sourcing and arranging your own mortgage, however in all of these instances seeking advice from a specialist is certainly the best option.
Money Saving Direct (Property Valuation Services) Ltd specialise in Council Tax banding reviews and we will only take on cases that we are confident in winning. Our research indicates that your chances of successfully lowering your council tax band are three times greater if you use Money Savining Direct (Property Valuation Services) Ltd than doing it yourself.
Approximately 30% of review applications are successful upon initial review however, following our thorough appeals process, we increase this figure to in excess of 50%. In some cases we have appealed desisions three or four times before successfully achieving a down-banding decision.
Don't under estimate the time and effort involved and remember, you only have one chance, don't waste it - use a specialist.
No, each property is looked at individually, however it is a very good starting point. If you have evidence of identical properties being down-banded and have valuation evidence to support your appeal you have a very good case.
Yes, however your property can only be tagged for an increase following future sale and cannot be increased immediately.
Yes, providing the council tax is paid by the tenant.
Yes, claims can be back-dated to 1st April 1993, even if you no longer live at that address.
The process is split into two parts. Firstly your local Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will deal with your appeal, their service standard that operates throughout all VOAs is 8 weeks, however some have much quicker turnaround times. Should your appeal be successful, your case is then passed to your local Council to process, this usually takes a further 4 weeks. Should your appeal be rejected, further appeals can be submitted taking up to a further 8 weeks each.
No, you can deal with the whole process yourself if you wish.
