'Martin Lewis tip helped us get £4k back after 10-year council tax battle' (2025)

The money-saving expert's advice helped Peter and Tracey get a refund for paying the wrong amount of council tax

A couple who were stuck in a 10-year long battle over their council tax have been given a £4,000 refund thanks to a tip from Martin Lewis. Over the last decade, Peter and Tracey Craigmile had repeatedly questioned why their home was in a more expensive council tax band than any other property on their street.

In July 2015, the couple moved into their three-bedroomed bungalow in Milltown in Rothiemay, Scotland. They were struggling to understand why their new home was classed as Band F when it was similar to the Band E homes of their neighbours.

They then requested Moray Council to organise an assessor to carry out a review after spotting advice from money-saving expert Martin Lewis.

Recalling the brief encounter which took place the month after, Peter explained: “The guy barely got out of his car. He certainly didn’t go in our home.

“He just stood on the driveway and said it was definitely a band F property because it has a large double garage. I replied, 'We don’t live in the garage’.

“He then mumbled something about the fact he was retiring in a fortnight and drove away.”

Peter said he knew that of the eight properties on their street, theirs was the only one classed as Band F. He also suspected it was the only one in the whole village.

Over the following years, the couple repeatedly asked for a fresh assessment, but didn't have any success.

Then, in 2023, Peter told the council that he and Tracey would only be paying the same sum as their neighbours, and were prepared, if necessary, to go to court over it.

Peter then decided to go on Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website. “Without going on his website I’d never have known you can go to court if you think your property is in the wrong band," he explained.

After being promised a new assessment by the council, Peter then decided to relent and pay the full Band F amount after all. However, when the new assessment was never carried out, they finally opted to go down the legal route in 2024.

A date was set for a hearing in the upper tier of the Scottish Tribunal system. But before the case could be heard, the council arranged for an inspector from Grampian Assessors to visit their property.

“A woman came around with a laser measuring tool and looked around the whole place, as well as the outsides of the other properties on the street," Peter explained.

“Her verdict was what we’d been saying all along.”

Their bungalow has now been reclassified as Band E, with the judgment being backdated to 1995 - the year that it was built. The couple say that the previous owner has also got a 20-year refund after their victory against their local authority.

“However, there is a complication. You need to be able to prove you lodged an appeal within six months of moving into your property. Luckily, we could show that," Peter said.

“According to Martin Lewis there may be hundreds of thousands of households across the UK who are paying the wrong amount of council tax.”

A spokesperson from Moray Council said: “Any homeowner with a query about the valuation band of their property can contact the Grampian Assessor where any appeal to a band’s valuation can be made.

"Moray Council cannot change the band of a property, the Assessor is responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the Council Tax Valuation List.

"In this case, the band was appealed and changed through the Assessor, who notified us of the error in valuation, resulting in our issuing a rebate as standard where this has occurred.”