I challenged our banding 2 years ago when I discovered the identical property 3 doors away was banded a 'B' and we're 'E'. I received the standard reply stating that any band re-assessments have to be made within 6 months of moving in but then the Valuation Officer visited, measured all the rooms, photographed the house inside and out and then vanished for a month. We were unlucky - our house remained in the same banding but our neighbours had theirs increased. During the process it was also discovered that errors had been made on other properties, including 4-bed detached properties being mistaken for 1-bed flats and banded as 'A'. There were a lot of very unhappy people locally and I kept my head down for some time....!
c: finding out the rateable values of other nearby properties, some 1 bedroom larger than ours and a band lower! He took aerial photos and presented a very comprehensive case to the authorities. At first he was refused but wouldn't take no for an answer and pushed for arbitration. 2 days before he was due to go to the meeting he had to send all the papers into the court. Within hours the council contacted him and said they were withdrawing and would down grade us one band. Victory for the little man :wacko: 
