East Renfrewshire man slams council over tax refund policy

Stephen Martin, 60, found out last year he and his wife were in a higher council tax banding than the rest of their neighbours.

The council agreed to pay the couple a four-figure sum, without interest, which left them frustrated.

Stephen said: "They have taken the money off us at a much larger rate for the last 30-plus years.

"You would not put hundreds of pounds a year into a zero per cent interest account.

"The council has had the benefit of this money but is refusing to pay it back with any interest."

He added: "The interest over the last 30 years will be much more than what has been paid back.

"I am unsure how much exactly we are owed but it must be at least double what we have received already."

The couple, who live on Clarkston Road, checked their home on the Scottish Assessors Association website which showed they were paying Band F, as opposed to Band E, like the rest of their neighbours.

They got in contact with East Renfrewshire Council to express their concerns in July 2023 and were subsequently sent a letter from the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board last September confirming that, according to their research, the property was in the correct band.

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Stephen has been overpaying council tax on his home in Netherlee for 30 years (Image: Colin Mearns) The document Stephen was sent stated that he should have informed them within six months that he thought his property fell into the wrong council tax band. 

Stephen contested this, however, eventually approaching local MSP Jackson Carlaw who wrote to the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board on his behalf.

Stephen had got in touch with East Renfrewshire Council after discovering he was in a different bracket than its neighbours (Image: Colin Mearns) It was then in April of this year that the couple's house was evaluated again and the board admitted the property had in fact been in the wrong band for 31 years.

They instructed the local authority to reduce the council tax to the correct band, which they did.

In May, Stephen wrote to the council requesting a refund for the money he and his wife had overpaid over the previous three decades.

The couple received a letter from the council in July saying "there is no provision in council tax legislation for local authorities to pay interest on any sums refunded, regardless of the reason for the refund."

It also states that "previous bills for the higher banding were correct at the time of issue and the council have followed legislation correctly in respect of billing council tax."

Stephen contested the decision and received a further letter in August explaining that his complaint had reached the final stage of the process.

Stephens home was in Band F when his neighbours were in Band E (Image: Colin Mearns) He remains unsatisfied with the outcome.

He continued: "The council have said they do not need to pay interest so aren’t doing it. 

"They are hiding behind legality that has allowed them to take money off the taxpayer without paying the true value of the money back.

"You just hope the relevant organisations are doing things properly."

A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Council said: "Council tax bands are set by valuation joint boards, which are separate organisations from councils. The council is then responsible for billing and collecting council tax using the information provided to them.

"Following the valuation joint board’s decision to re-band this property, a full refund of the overpaid council tax has been made to Mr Martin, in line with our standard processes. The banding of properties across the area change on an ongoing basis and there is no provision within the legislation for interest to be paid on any refunds.”