Michael Fielding, an 83-year-old retired accountant from Penwortham, Lancashire, is being taken to court for refusing to pay his council tax bill of £3,011.90 plus £58.50 in costs. He claims he has overpaid approximately £15,000 over the past 30 years due to an incorrect property banding.
Dispute over property banding
Mr Fielding argues that his detached home was wrongly moved from Band D to Band E in 1993, while several near-identical neighboring properties remained in Band D. He also contends that official records, including the number of bedrooms, are inaccurate. His house was originally purchased in December 1987 for £55,995, and the couple later converted it from four bedrooms to three.
In 1995, the Fieldings received a letter stating the property had been reclassified to Band E, a change they accepted without question until six years ago. After seeing Martin Lewis on television discussing council tax checks, Mr Fielding investigated and found that identical properties on his estate were still in Band D, paying about £500 less per year.
Legal action and potential jail time
The maximum penalty for unpaid council tax is up to three months in prison if bailiffs cannot recover the debt and the court finds deliberate refusal to pay. Mr Fielding insists he is not refusing to pay altogether but is withholding payment while challenging the banding error, which he estimates has cost him around £42,000 in total.
He appeared before Blackburn Magistrates' Court on July 15 and planned to request an adjournment until South Ribble Borough Council completes an investigation into his formal complaint. He stated, "I don't like the authorities thinking they can take advantage of the little man in the street."
Failed appeals and official responses
Mr Fielding's appeals have been rejected three times by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and a Valuation Tribunal case was dismissed. He claims he has been branded a nuisance customer and told officials will no longer respond to his letters. Despite this, he has lodged a formal complaint with South Ribble Borough Council.
Council leader Matthew Tomlinson said, "South Ribble Borough Council has a legal duty to collect council tax and follows the recovery process set out in law when payments are not made." He added that the council bills based on VOA information and cannot comment on individual cases.
VOA stance
An HMRC spokesperson, representing the VOA, stated: "We have engaged with Mr Fielding extensively over a number of years and, based on thorough consideration of the evidence, we’ve concluded the Band E classification is correct." The spokesperson noted that comparable three-bedroom properties in the area are valued well within Band E, so the bedroom count does not affect the outcome. The VOA has dealt with Mr Fielding since at least 2018, and the tribunal struck out his case on procedural grounds. The matter has been reviewed by the VOA Complaints Investigation Team and formally closed.
