Martin Lewis reveals how to slash monthly bills by 50% & get £1,000s back as he asks ‘are you overpaying council tax?’

MARTIN Lewis has revealed how to slash monthly bills by 50% and get £1,000s back - asking "are you overpaying council tax?"

The Money Saving Expert said Brits should "check and challenge" their council tax bills.

Speaking on his ITV show tonight, Lewis said more than 400,000 people are in the wrong council tax bands.

Look up your postcode on the government's to see which bracket you should be in.

If you are in a higher band than your neighbours, your next step should be to check how much your house was worth in 1991.

This might seem a strange thing to look up - but the government uses this information to decide which band you should be in.

There are lots of free online tools which can help you with this "valuation check".

Be careful - challenging your council without doing this check might get your neighbours' bills raised without lowering yours.

But if both the online tool and the valuation check suggest you are paying too much council tax, ring up your local authority.

If it turns out you have been paying too much, you will get a back-dated payout - and your neighbours might too.

Patrick and Helen follows Martin's advice - and cashed in.

They carried out the checks and contacted the council, who decided they were overpaying.

The couple were given a rebate of £1,755 and their bill went down from £245 to £200 a month.

Patrick and Helen's neighbours also received rebates for the switch, with one home getting £7,058 back while the other got £2,830. They also didn't have to pay council tax for a year.

Lewis added that people on low incomes, pension credits or benefits can apply for council tax reductions of up to 100%.

Households made up of someone with a severe mental impairment like dementia or Parkinson's and their carer get 50% off.

Adults living by themselves can get 25% off, and students don't need to pay council tax at all.

On tonight's show, Lewis revealed a "rule of thumb" which will slash household bills by £500.

He also shared his 3-step method to bring your phone bill down to £3.50.