An estimated £230million could be due to the British public in council tax refunds, an investigation by MoneySavingExpert.com has found. A 1.7 million council tax accounts are inactive or closed but still hold credit which should’ve been refunded when the account was closed.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Councils are sitting on a staggering amount of money, at least £230million spread across 1.7 million accounts, which works out at an average of well over £100 sitting in each closed account.
“And while councils do make efforts to track down those who are owed, many don’t do it well enough, especially when people have moved out of their area and are no longer their responsibility. That means we all need to take responsibility for ourselves.”
He noted that savers are not encouraged to call up their council as it would “waste people’s time”, but suggested taking a few other steps first – including reading the Money Saving Expert guide.
The credit in these accounts compounds as households pay their council tax a month or even a year ahead.
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