Warning over council tax claims in leaflets

Firms have been targeting homes in different parts of the city with flyers claiming they can help people challenge their home's council tax band, with a suggestion that they could save money if they did.

While the practice is not illegal, the flyers often claim that properties in the area have already had their council tax bandings lowered. But Leeds Council is alerting residents to the fact that they can easily find out if their council tax band is incorrect – free of charge.

Steven Carey, Leeds City Council's chief officer for revenues and benefits, said: "While there's nothing illegal about these leaflets, people may be fooled into thinking that they need to pay someone to see if they are in the wrong tax band.

"Our advice is that you can do it yourself for free, you don't need to pay, so if you think your house might be in the wrong band, contact the valuation officer and check for free."

The council tax band is used to work out how much council tax is paid for each property.

People can challenge their band themselves, and if successful, could reduce the amount of council tax they have to pay.

Properties are put into council tax bands by the Valuation Office Agency and the band is an indication of how much a property was worth on April 1 1991 – not its current value. Even new properties are valued on what they would have been worth in 1991.

Information about challenging a property's band can be found on the agency website at www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax. Anyone who thinks the banding of their property is wrong can contact the agency on 0113 3884500 or visit its website.