Angry homeowner pays more council tax than neighbour despite living in identical house

Furious Fraser McLellan and Michael Purss fork out an extra £200 a year compared to six other homeowners in their street - who all live in three-bed semis.

They are just two of an estimated 400,000 homeowners in the country who have been put in the wrong bands since the council tax was introduced in 1993.

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But because they missed a 30-day window in which they could appeal the valuation of their properties when the tax was brought in 15 years ago, they've been told theren is nothing they can do about it.

The retired neighbours, from Kennington, near Ashford in Kent, have vowed to take legal action after their protests were turned down by government property valuation officials.

Former oil salesman Mr McLellan, 64, said: "We're consulting a solicitor. We're being robbed.

"It is plainly unfair that we have been asked to pay more than our neighbours.

"We live in the same style properties, in the same road, and have the same number of bedrooms.

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"It is outrageous that this has been allowed to go on for the last 15 years. Back in 1993 we never knew we were paying more. We just assumed that the banding was right. We couldn't ask our neighbours how much they were paying.

"People just don't talk to each other any more - it's very difficult to find any information out. But we will be taking legal action - we have a cast iron case."

The couples were only recently informed of the massive discrepancy when a kindly neighbour informed them how much she was paying.

Mr Purss, a former settlements manager for a stockbroker company, added: "When we found out we were quite rightly annoyed.

"And it doesn't just affect us with our council tax bills - water rates are based on what the rateable value of a house is. So we've probably paid way over the odds for that as well.

"But the really sickening thing is that the valuation office has point-blank refused to listen. They went about doing drive-by valuations in 1993 but it's clear they just got a lot of their estimates wrong."

The couples are in property band D in Woodstock Way paying £1,329 a year - despite six others in identical homes paying £1,100.

In February it emerged government officials knew couples like the McLellans and the Purss's were being overcharged since 2005 - but did nothing about it. Instead they tried to hide mistakes concerned that the cost of rebates to affected families.

Mr McLellan said: "It's a whitewash."

Both Mr McLellan and Mr Purss took their fight to the Kent Valuation tribunal service on February 14. However their case was rejected on March 12 on the grounds that their appeal was outside the 30-day window after the initial valuation was made in 1993.

Spokesman Diane Russell said: "The proposal by the appellants was not accepted as the tribunal decided it was out of time."