{"id":1056,"date":"2025-06-04T09:15:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T09:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/?p=1056"},"modified":"2025-06-10T00:13:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T00:13:02","slug":"martin-lewis-says-400000-brits-are-due-1000s-in-council-tax-refunds-could-you-be-owed-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vecimasupport.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/04\/martin-lewis-says-400000-brits-are-due-1000s-in-council-tax-refunds-could-you-be-owed-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Lewis says 400,000 Brits are due \u00a31,000s in council tax refunds \u2014 could you be owed money?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The MSE founder says a few simple steps could show you if you’re due a payout (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Martin Lewis<\/a>, up to 400,000 UK households are overpaying their council tax<\/a> \u2014 and could be due a sizeable refund<\/a> as a result.<\/p>\n

In the latest edition of his Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter<\/a>, the consumer champion described the council tax<\/a> system as ‘broken’, adding: ‘We still rely on a supposedly stopgap valuation done 34 years ago, to dictate what band a home’s in… even though much of the country is now unrecognisable compared to then.’<\/p>\n

Last month, when he interviewed senior Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden on Good Morning Britain<\/a>, he was told the Government<\/a> would soon be launching a consultation on the issue.<\/p>\n

In the meantime however, Martin shared practical advice to make sure you’re paying the right amount, along with how to claim any money back you may be owed.<\/p>\n

Check if your home is in too high a band<\/h2>\n

First off, Martin explains that, in England and Scotland, current council tax bands<\/a> (from A to H) were decided back in 1991. <\/p>\n

But in order to urgently get the system up and running, many homes were classified through ‘second-gear valuations’, with estate agents driving down streets and ‘allocating each property a band with just a glance’.<\/p>\n

Although a full valuation was done for Welsh properties in 2005, almost half a million Brits could still be in the wrong band.<\/p>\n

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Current council tax bands were decided on in 1991 (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While you can’t ask for your band to be lowered, you can ask for it to be reassessed. And whether you should do so depends on whether you pass both <\/em>of these simple tests:<\/p>\n