Beware Bogus Council Tax Rebates

The Council’s Trading Standards Service is advising the public of bogus calls being received by local households, claiming residents are due a rebate of their Council Tax.

OIC’s Trading Standards Manager, Gary Foubister, advises: “This scam may be feeding on the recent review of council tax gradings on certain bands, which has been in the news of late.

“The reports we’re getting from concerned locals involves scam callers claiming to be phoning from Orkney Islands Council.

“The scam callers reported to us to date have all been described as having foreign accents.

“However, they know the identities of who they are calling, including addresses, which increases plausibility.

“The callers claim that properties have been incorrectly banded for which the householder is due a substantial rebate.

“However they insist an advance admin fee of £79 is required to facilitate payment of the rebate.

“Orkney Islands Council will never ask for any advance payment on occasions when a refund is genuinely due in a financial matter.

“It’s worth being aware that a similar scam has also been circulating in other areas of the UK via email, asking residents to provide bank account details by clicking on a link.

“Again, our advice would be to ignore it, and delete the email.”

For further information or advice, please contact Trading Standards at the Council Offices on 01856 873535 or by emailing Trading Standards.