'Your Council Tax advice saved me £7,603 – but what happened afterwards was extraordinary...'

To: Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com

7 July 2026

Dear Martin,

Firstly, thank you. Without your advice and the guidance on the MoneySavingExpert website, I would never have challenged the Council Tax banding of my flat in Richmond upon Thames.

Your advice has resulted in me recovering £7,602.71, representing approximately 18 years of Council Tax overpayments. However, the journey took 11 months and uncovered what I believe are some serious shortcomings in the way both the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and my local council handled my case.

I thought you might find the story interesting because I suspect many people who successfully challenge their Council Tax band assume that once they win, everything else will simply fall into place. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience.

I submitted my Council Tax band challenge through the VOA's online service and received an email confirming that my application had been received. I then heard absolutely nothing for around nine months. Eventually, I telephoned the VOA to ask what had happened. [...]

I have to say [the customer service adviser] was excellent. Whilst I remained on the telephone, he accepted my evidence again, reviewed it himself and commented that I appeared to have a very reasonable case. He then resubmitted everything for formal consideration. Approximately two months later, the VOA agreed that my property had been incorrectly banded and reduced it to the correct Council Tax band. [...] The story should have ended there.

Richmond Council accepted that I had overpaid Council Tax by £7,602.71 over approximately 18 years. Instead of refunding the full amount, however, the Council refunded only £4,564.14. Without consulting me or obtaining my permission, it retained the remaining £3,038.57 and applied it to my 2026/27 Council Tax account.

I was never asked whether I wanted this to happen. The Council simply:

• Retained £3,038.57 of my agreed refund;

• Applied it to my future Council Tax account;

• Cancelled my monthly Direct Debit; and

• Did not notify me or seek my consent before making these decisions.

I have always paid my Council Tax by monthly Direct Debit and intended to continue doing so. Had the Council simply asked me, I would have requested that the full refund be paid directly into my bank account.

When I queried what had happened, I spoke with several members of the Council Tax team over a number of weeks. Following one conversation, I sent a detailed email explaining the issue. I was later informed that there was no record of that email having been received either, meaning I had to begin the process again.

I have now submitted a formal complaint asking the Council to explain under what statutory power or policy it believed it was entitled to apply part of my refund to future Council Tax without first obtaining my consent. One aspect of the whole process strikes me as fundamentally unfair.

I fully appreciate that the law does not require councils to pay interest on Council Tax refunds, even where someone has overpaid for many years. However, had interest been payable, my own calculations indicate that the lost interest over approximately 18 years would have exceeded £2,000. That is frustrating enough.

What makes it even harder to understand is that, having finally accepted that the £7,602.71 belongs to me, Richmond Council has chosen to retain a further £3,038.57 rather than returning the full refund. As things currently stand, that money remains in the Council's bank account rather than mine.

The irony is that your advice worked perfectly. I would encourage anyone who believes they may be in the wrong Council Tax band to follow the guidance on MSE because it genuinely can save thousands of pounds. However, my experience has taught me another important lesson.

If your Council Tax band is corrected and you become entitled to a substantial refund, don't simply check the amount. Check that your council has actually refunded all of the money due and has not unilaterally credited your account or altered your payment arrangements without your agreement. [...]

Once again, thank you for giving people the confidence to challenge incorrect Council Tax banding. Without your website, I would almost certainly still be paying the wrong amount today.

With best wishes,

MoneySaver John