I was overcharged £11,000 on council tax bill due to massive blunder but had no idea for 19 YEARS

A HOMEOWNER was stunned to find out that he had been overcharged up to £11,000 by his local council over nearly 20 years.

Brian Reichel, 64, was unwittingly being billed for the equivalent of the council tax as a renter instead of an owner-occupier.

7 News

Brian Reichel began checking after stories of mistakes emerged[/caption]

It wasn’t until stories began to emerge about other homeowners being in the wrong category that he checked his own situation and contacted Gold Coast Council, in Australia.

He then realised his category had not been changed from residential 2 to residential 1.

“Previously it was a rental, so I contacted Gold Coast city council and informed them I am the homeowner and I’m going to be living in it,” he told 7News

“Nineteen years later, I found that they stuffed up and I’ve been paying 40 per cent more.”

He estimates he has been left between £6000 and £10000 – and wants repaid with interest.

“Now if it was the other way around, they’d want their money back,” he said.

“I went through a very tough time financially about six years ago when I was on my bare bones.

“Meanwhile, I’m forking out all this money. Be fair to us.”

Gold Coast Council is currently reviewing its rates following more than 100 complaints about from residents saying they are in the wrong rate category.

Mayor Tom Tate urged “anyone who’s just bought a property, check your rate notice”.

He said the property “might have been an investment property before, and now you’ve become a principal resident”.

“Check your bills, any bills,” he said.

It comes after it emerged 80 households in one area are owed thousands of pounds back after overpaying on their council tax.

These overpayments often result from houses being in the wrong council tax band.

This resulted from a review conducted by the local valuation board which discovered that far too many properties were in the wrong council tax bands.