Ashford borough Council have notified us of a phone scam around council tax which is currently in circulation.
This particular scam involves calls from a company called Greystone Recovery. The caller claims to have information relating to incorrect council tax banding and saying that the recipient is entitled to refunds.
These calls are not coming from the council, and are unrelated to genuine text messages that get sent out from the council about council tax arrears.
If you are in any doubt about the legitimacy of a call, whether they claim to be calling from the council, or another organisation, it is important to hang up and not give any information to the caller.
If you have a query about your council tax band you can visit the Ashford Borough Council website at www.ashford.gov.uk/council-tax/valuation-and-band-charges/ to find out more.
You can find out how to identify and avoid this kind of scam at
www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-and-business-rates-scams.
If you think your house may be in the wrong Council Tax Band read Martin Lewis’s advice on Money Saving Expert on how to check and and request re-assessment. Do read the whole of the article as, although there is no charge for re-assessment, it includes warnings about what could happen if the current banding is correct or too low.
There are a number of legitimate companies named Greystone or Grey Stone. We are not aware of any which provide Council Tax recovery services.