When a Marple resident took a call from someone claiming he could get her a rebate of thousands of pounds on her Council Tax, she knew it was a scam. But instead of putting the phone down, she arranged for the scammer to visit her – and had the Police and Trading Standards waiting when he did!

Stockport Council is now warning all residents to watch out for this scam. If anyone contacts you claiming they can get you a big Council Tax rebate, it’s a con!

Dozens of residents throughout the borough have contacted the Council’s Trading Standards team reporting to have been phoned by companies who offered to save them thousands of pounds in Council Tax overpayments on the basis that their property is in the wrong Council Tax band.

The Council’s Trading Standards team are concerned with how these companies may be obtaining their business and are investigating into complaints of misrepresentation and fraud. A sales representative was recently arrested in the Marple area in connection with these enquiries following a complaint from a local resident.

Many residents claim that the caller misled them into believing they were acting on behalf of Stockport Council or the Valuation Office.

The companies cold call residents and advise that they are most probably paying too much council tax and often also that their neighbours could be paying a lot less than them.

They will then arrange a visit from a representative for the necessary paperwork to be signed and it is only explained during the visit that there is a fee upfront, often around £170, to process the paperwork and that the company will take a percentage of the successful claim which is usually around 25%.

Councillor Kevin Hogg, Stockport Council’s Executive Member for Public Realm, said: “Some of these businesses do not make it clear during the initial phone call exactly who they are and residents can be under the impression they are dealing with someone from the Valuation Office or the Council. Also, they cannot guarantee that you will move to a lower Council Tax band without knowing full details of your housing circumstances. The decision is made by the Valuation Office Agency (the VOA), not a private company.”

Stockport Council automatically refunds any over-payments and does not phone householders to ask for bank details.

If you think you may have overpaid, phone the Council on 0161 217 6014 and ask for it to be checked.

If you want to check whether you’re in the right Council Tax band, contact the Valuation Office on 03000 501501 or visit their webpages at www.gov.uk

If you wish to appeal against the band you are in, this is dealt with free of charge.

Residents who wish to report a Council Tax scam are urged to call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 04 05 06.

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