A follower of Martin Lewis has disclosed how she bagged a whopping £3,000 council tax refund - whilst slashing her future bills. Bee contacted the MoneySavingExpert.com team to reveal how she successfully challenged her council tax band.

Up to 400,000 homes are thought to be stuck in unfairly high council tax bands. If this affects you, then you could be in line for a refund worth thousands - plus your council tax bill will drop going forward.

The standard Band D council tax in England for 2025-26 sits at £2,280, reports the Mirror. Bee penned a message to the MSE team, explaining: "I had my council tax band lowered after following the helpful guidance in your how to check and challenge your council tax band guide.

"I'd put off doing this for years but finally did it late last year. It's taken about 10mths to get a decision but resulted in a refund of just over £3,000. Thank you."

If you suspect you're stuck on the wrong council tax band, you should first check online to discover which band your neighbours have been assigned. Simply make sure you try to compare homes of comparable sizes and worth.

Use the GOV.UK website to do this for houses in England, or the Scottish Assessors Association for properties in Scotland. After this, you need to work out how much your home was valued at in 1991, as this is when council tax was brought in by the Government.

MoneySavingExpert.com provides a complimentary calculator tool, along with a table indicating the band you should have been assigned. If you believe you've been incorrectly banded, you can lodge an appeal with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in England and Wales.

For Scottish properties, contact the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA) to submit your challenge. If your appeal is successful, the valuation office will contact you, adjust the band, and you'll be eligible for a refund.

If you're unhappy with the outcome, you can escalate your case to an independent valuation tribunal. It's vital to do your research, as if it turns out you're in a lower band than you should be, your council tax bills could increase.

This could also impact your neighbours if it emerges that your entire street has been under-banded for council tax.