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Money Box: Should students pay council tax?

18/01/2020

Should students pay council tax?

BBC Radio 4 - Money Box, Should students pay council tax?

The students told to pay council tax, even though they are exempt under the law.

Students and council tax, concerns about an increase in so called 'courier fraud' and the financial hardship being experienced by owners of flats with Grenfell-style cladding.

Four students studying at Durham University received a surprise bill for Council Tax. They were billed hundreds of pounds for a period when no-one was living in the property over the summer. After Money Box got in touch, the council looked again at it and concluded that the request for payment was made in error. The charge has now been cancelled. It also reviewed their council tax records for 2019/20 and found no other cases of students being asked to pay. We speak to the editor of the Council Tax Handbook.

Police forces across the UK have seen a recent spike in cases of what is called courier fraud.  Criminals persuade older people to take cash out of the bank and then give it to a courier to keep it safe. What can potential victims do to avoid being scammed?

Earlier this year we looked at the history of financial mistakes.  We asked listeners to get in touch with their biggest financial mistakes. A number of people told us theirs was buying a flat with Grenfell-style cladding and then being billed tens of thousands of pounds for its removal. We hear from people in this position.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Emma Rippon

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