Council Tax Charter (VO9695)

Council Tax Inspections & Photography Information

CONTENTS

• Purpose of this booklet
• Introducing the Valuation Office Agency
• This booklet is about council tax
• Our commitment to you
• If you call to see us at our office
• If you telephone us
• If you email or write to us
• If we need to see inside your property
• if you are unhappy about your banding
• If you decide to make a proposal to alter the entry in the council tax valuation list

• If you have made a proposal and decide to appeal our decision to the Valuation Tribunal and this is listed for a hearing
• If English is not your first language
• Provisions for people with disabilities
• Consulting our customers
• Our performance
• What if things go wrong
• Your views

The purpose of this booklet

This booklet explains the work carried out by the Valuation Office Agency for council tax and sets out the standards we seek to achieve. The booklet applies to England only.

Our service standards take into account the views of customers who take part in our annual surveys.

If you require this leaflet in an alternative format please contact your local Valuation Office - contact details are at the back of this leaflet

Introducing the Valuation Office Agency

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an Executive Agency of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Our main functions are to:

• Compile and maintain the business rating and council tax valuation lists for England and Wales. In Scotland council tax and business rates are dealt with by the Scottish Assessors.
• Value property in England, Wales and Scotland for the purpose of taxes administered by HM Revenue & Customs.
• Provide statutory and non-statutory property valuation services in England, Wales and Scotland.
• Give policy advice to Ministers on property valuation matters.

Further information is available at all our offices and on our website, explaining these areas of work and the standards of service we provide.

This booklet is about Council Tax

Council tax is a local tax based on what a home would have sold for at a fixed point in time: 1 April 1991 in England. Council tax is collected by local councils to help pay for local services.

If you would like to know more about council tax bandings ask for the booklet ‘Understanding your council tax banding – the current rules for council tax in England’ available from your local Valuation Office.

The VOA is the government organisation responsible for allocating a council tax band to all homes in England and Wales. Wherever you live, you can check your current council tax band and the council tax band allocated to all other homes in the council tax valuation lists, available on our website at www.voa.gov.uk. The VOA has offices throughout the country.

Our commitment to you

Meeting your needs is important to us.

We will do this by:

• Giving you the best possible service
• Providing helpful and impartial advice
• Helping you to understand your rights and obligations
• Treating everyone fairly by banding all properties impartially
• Keeping information about your property confidential, except when it is required for a Valuation Tribunal hearing

If you call to see us at our office we will:

• See you within 5 minutes when you call at the local office. (Our reception offices are open 8.30 am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday).
• Aim to answer your questions fully. If we cannot do this we will arrange to contact you in your preferred way, whether this is by email, phone or letter, when we have found out all the facts.

If you telephone us we will:

• Answer your telephone enquiries promptly and politely, giving our name.
• Aim to answer your calls within an overall average of 10 seconds.
• Aim to answer your questions straight away. If we cannot do this we will:
  • Put you through to another member of staff or,
  • Arrange to call you back within 48 hours, or, if you prefer,
  • Email or write to you.

If you email or write to us we will:

• Acknowledge your email or letter within 3 working days of receiving it.
• Aim to answer all your questions in plain language as soon as possible and within a maximum of 20 working days – our overall aim is to respond within an average of 6 working days. If we do not have all the facts there may sometimes be a delay. We will write to you and tell you if this is the case.

You can help us by giving accurate and full answers to our questions and telling us how we can be of more help to you.

We will check to see if we are meeting our aims and publish the results in our Annual Report.

If we need to see inside your property we will:

• Contact you to arrange a convenient appointment
• Give you at least 7 days notice (if writing to make an appointment)
• Be punctual in keeping the appointment. You can help us by letting us know in advance if the arrangements are not convenient.
• Carry identity cards
• Ask your permission if we need to take photographs of the interior of your home
• Tell you, within 2 months of our visit, about:
  - whether we think the existing list entry is correct and, if not, the proposed change to the council tax valuation list entry for your property
  - the banding we will allocate if your property is a new property

If at any time you are unhappy about your banding we will:

• Answer your questions and explain how the council tax band has been allocated.
• Make available the leaflet ‘What to do if you disagree with your council tax banding’ that explains what the VOA will do to check your banding.
• Advise you whether you meet the limited circumstances in which a valid proposal against your banding can be made, and how you do this.
• Review your council tax banding, even if you are unable to make a valid proposal, and send you a decision as a result.

If you decide to make a proposal to alter the entry in the council tax valuation list we will:

• Send you an acknowledgement of the proposal within 3 working days of its receipt
• Review the list entry and aim to reach a decision on your proposal as soon as possible and within 60 days of receiving it in 98% of cases
• Send you a ‘notice’ that sets out our decision and our reasons. Where this decision requires a change to the council tax valuation list, we will make that change and write to confirm that this has been done. Your local council will then revise your bill and make any adjustments to your payments.
• Give you the information you need so that if you still think the list entry is incorrect you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal (VT). This needs to be done within 3 months of receiving our decision. The Valuation Tribunal is an independent body, separate from the VOA and the local council, which deals with and makes decisions about appeals relating to council tax. The clerk of the Valuation Tribunal will send you a notice of acknowledgement and guidance about the appeal process.
  

If you have made a proposal and decide to appeal our decision to the Valuation Tribunal and this is listed for a hearing we will:

• Give you a written copy of any sales evidence we intend to use at least 14 days before the hearing (note, arrangements for hearings are made by the clerk to the Valuation Tribunal).
• Not charge you for any part of the process (but you will be expected to bear your own costs).
  

If English is not your first language

Other languages - If you write to us in the language you prefer we will answer in the same language; if you would like to talk to us, we will arrange for a translator to be available by telephone link. Alternatively, you can help us if you have a friend who can act as a translator.

Provisions for people with disabilities

We are fully committed to help all our customers and have introduced the following facilities to cater for people who have special requirements.

• If you have a hearing difficulty please tell us, so that we can make arrangements which will most suit your particular needs.
• If you have a sight problem we will provide information and communicate with you in a format you are able to use. We are happy to talk to you on the telephone. If we need to write to you we can do so in large print or Braille or we can enclose a copy of the letter on audiotape. If you let us know your preference we will communicate with you in that way.
• If you would prefer to be visited at home please let us know and we will arrange a convenient time.

Consulting our customers

We believe it is important to ask you about the standard of service we provide and the kind of improvements you want. We carry out regular customer satisfaction surveys, and we look at and act on the information we receive. Additionally we meet groups of customers to give them information and find out what they want so that we can improve our service.

Our performance

We publish our performance against our main targets each year in the Agency's Annual Report. We will be happy to give you a copy of our latest results. You can get these by contacting any local office or you may view our Annual Report online.

What if things go wrong?

We welcome your comments as they provide valuable feedback on the service we have provided. We are anxious to put things right if things have gone wrong and to learn the lessons from them.

If you have a complaint about the service we have provided you should write to the Group Valuation Officer at the office concerned who will look into the matter. We will do our best to put things right if we have made a mistake. We let you know that we have received your complaint within 3 days. We aim to deal with most complaints within 20 working days but in complex cases this may take longer, we will let you know if this is the case.

If you are still not happy you can write to:

The Chief Executive
Valuation Office Agency
New Court
Carey Street
London
WC2A 2JE

Telephone 020 7506 1801
Fax 020 7506 1996

You can send complaints and suggestions by email if you prefer at: customerservices@voa.gsi.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied after you have had a reply from the Chief Executive's Office you can ask an impartial adjudicator to look at the matter and recommend appropriate action. The Adjudicator's services are free. You should contact:

The Adjudicator’s Office
8 th Floor
Euston Tower
286 Euston Road
London
NW1 3US

Telephone: 020 7667 1832 or 0300 057 1111

Fax: 020 7667 1830 or 0300 057 1212

Website: www.adjudicatorsoffice.gov.uk

The Adjudicator’s Office aims to reply to your initial contact within ten working days. Complaints or enquiries can no longer be accepted by email.

Also, if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint or the way in which it has been handled (by ourselves or the Adjudicator) you can ask a Member of Parliament to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman will accept referral from any MP but you should approach your own constituency MP first. For further information contact:

The Parliamentary Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Helpline 0845 015 4033
Fax No. 020 7217 4000

email: phso.enquiries@ombusdman.org.uk

or visit the Parliamentary Ombudsman Website (www.ombudsman.org.uk) which contains further information and guidance

We welcome your views on the aims we have set out in this Charter and on the service we provide. To do this please contact the Customer Service Manager at one of our offices or

Head of Customer Services
Chief Executive's Office
Valuation Office Agency
New Court Carey Street
London
WC2A 2JE

Telephone 020 7506 1801
Fax 020 7506 1996

VO9695 (05/08)