Residents across North Norfolk are being warned to avoid paying private companies that charge for appealing against council-tax bands.
North Norfolk District Council has received reports of people being asked to hand over their bank details by these third parties – all for providing a service that is actually free for householders. Employing one of these companies does not help or influence the outcome of an appeal, and is a complete waste of money.
What makes matters even worse in this instance is that some of these third parties are trying to impose a fee simply for filling out a form, regardless of whether the application to lower the council-tax band proves successful or not.
Cllr Wyndham Northam, NNDC Cabinet member for Revenues and Benefits, said: “If you are a council-tax payer and you want to appeal your council-tax band, it is easy to do this yourself and there is absolutely no charge for doing so.
“Some private operators are very clever at selling their services, but signing up with them means paying an unnecessary fee and receiving absolutely nothing in return that council-tax payers can’t do themselves.”
NNDC warns people to be wary of all cold-callers, especially those demanding bank details. People should never hand over their bank details or other personal information in situations such as this and should always make further inquiries if in any doubt.
