Are you owed almost £200 in council tax?

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Croydon council is sitting on £4.7 million of overpaid council tax.

Nearly 30,000 people in the borough are owed a refund by the authority.

The millions in unclaimed overpaid council tax is owed to 29,494 people – working out at an average of £176 to each account – a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The cash figure is current as of July 16 and goes back to when the current council tax system started in 1993.

But leader of the opposition, Councillor Jason Perry, said he was surprised the number is so high in the borough.

He said: “They should be paying it back promptly, it is residents’ money sitting in the bank.”

Croydon council said residents usually received an updated bill within 24 hours, explaining that they need to apply for a refund which happens within a fortnight after the application.

A council spokesman said: “When this money goes unclaimed, it is usually because the resident has moved borough and not left a forwarding address.

“The £4.7m unclaimed in Croydon is the cumulative total since the current council tax system began in 1993.

“We want to make sure all residents are refunded any money owed to them, so if you get an updated bill from us please make sure you read it because you might qualify for a refund.”

The sum in Croydon is far higher than that of neighbouring boroughs.

In Sutton, the council owes £368,022 across 993 overpaid accounts.

In Merton there were 629 overpaid accounts amounting to £136,220.

Merton council’s cabinet member for finance, Councillor Tobin Byers, said: “Overpayments stay with the council for as long as it takes them to be reclaimed.

“We encourage council tax payers to check the amount carefully when they are paying their bill.”