Research in council tax

Research in Cancel Council Tax

Research process

Start

Define problem

Formulate a

hypothesisSelect a research design

Carry out the

researchAnalysis

dataKey

finding

1

6

3

4 5

2

Background Households where everyone’s a full-time student don’t have to pay Council Tax. If you do get a bill, you can apply for an exemption.

To count as a full-time student, your course must:• last at least 1 year• involve at least 21 hours study per week

If you study for a qualification up to A level and you’re under 20, your course must:• last at least 3 months• involve at least 12 hours study per week

You’ll get a Council Tax bill if there’s someone in your household who’s not a full-time student, but your household might still qualify for a discount.

Reference: https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-full-time-students

According to the UK government, households where everyone’s a full-time student don’t have to pay Council Tax. But you will still get a council tax bill and you need to provided certain documents to cancel it , the cancel process is very complicate and international students are not familiar with the regulation. Base on the questionnaire we have done before, most of the landlord are not willing to give them a hand. Lots of the international students are confused on how to cancel council tax, and that’s the reason why we would like to provide this service.

Define problem1

Idea :Cancel Council Tax

Target Customer: International student

We would like to collaborate with the university in this service, students just need to use their university account to log in the app/website to autofill the information of the council tax exemption form(students will complete their personal information when they enroll), they just need to fulfill the rest of the information such as council account number, roommates’ information...

Questionnaire

Formulate a hypothesis2

• What kind of rogue landlord you have met before? [Multiple choices]

• If you can choose, which three services you will choose in this app/ website? [Multiple choices]

Interview

• Do you think it is very complicate to cancel council tax by yourself?

• It took how many days to you in cancel council tax?

• If there have an app/a website to help you cancel council tax, will you want to try?

Select a research design3

Secondary dataInterview

Primary dataQuestionnaire

Based on the question 2 in questionnaire,

What kind of rogue landlord you have met before? [Multiple choices]

Questionnaire

We have listed three main situations that international student would normally met and we found that most of the students think that the landlord they have met were “low efficiency to fix the broken equipment”, the other serious issue was the rogue landlord has deduct the deposit not reasonable. What’s more, their attitude also bad.• Based on the above results, we also have the other question

to got further research data.Q5. If you can choose, which three services you will choose in this app/website?[multiple choices]

Top 1 Use this app/website as a platform to keep deposit 70Top2 Cancel council tax 47Top3 Finding roommates 45Top4 Second hand recycling centre 31

Ref: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

Tenancy deposit protection

• Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007.

At the end of your tenancy

• Your landlord must return your deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you’ll get back.

• If you’re in a dispute with your landlord, then your deposit will be protected in the TDP scheme until the issue is sorted out.

ControversyUsing this app/website as a platform to keep deposit

Holding deposits

Your landlord doesn’t have to protect a holding deposit (money you pay to ‘hold’ a property before an agreement is signed). Once you become a tenant, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, which they must protect.

Deposits made by a third party

Your landlord must use a TDP scheme even if your deposit is paid by someone else, eg: a rent deposit scheme or your parents.Ref: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview


Information landlords must give tenantsOnce your landlord has received your deposit, they have 30 days to tell you:• the address of the rented property• how much deposit you’ve paid• how the deposit is protected• the name and contact details of the tenancy deposit

protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service• their (or the letting agency’s) name and contact details• the name and contact details of any third party that’s paid

the deposit• why they would keep some or all of the deposit• how to apply to get the deposit back• what to do if you can’t get hold of the landlord at the end

of the tenancy• what to do if there’s a dispute over the depositRef: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview


Solution This service is conflict to the law because there already have a platform to keep tenants’ deposit. The core problem is that lots of the international students are not familiar with the law in the UK and do not know TDP scheme( normally most of the landlord will conceal TDP

scheme), this made the agency and landlord get a chance to deduct the deposit. But we can’t have this kind of service after we had meeting with our client Caitlin from Citizens UK, she has pointed out that this issue should be taken seriously and they will focus on this issue later.

Focus on Cancel Council TaxInterviewee 1Mark Rao, male He has been study in the UK for 7 years

• He thought that the process of cancel agenda tax is quite complicate and this may spend him lots f time.

• He tried to ignored the council tax bill but the council keep sending him letter.

• He was quite interested in this service and he would like to use this app/website if there have cancel council tax service.

Focus on Cancel Council TaxInterviewee 2Julia Yang, female She has been study in the UK for 7 years

• The council was too slow to reply their application, this made her without patient.

• She was under 18 when she first rent house in the UK but still receive the council tax bill, she thought this wasn‘t make sense.

• She found that the information given is not the same form different council from different parts of London, and the information were ambiguous.

• She thought this service in app/website can help international students save their money and time.

Focus on Cancel Council TaxInterviewee 3Han Zheng, male This is the 1st year he study in the UK

• First time rent a flat in the UK and know nothing about council tax.

• He has spent one and half month to cancel council tax this year and thought this was low efficiency.

• The student letter he has provided was missing the home address, the council has dismiss his application and he must spent more time to solve this problem.

• He thought that this service should be very useful and he would like to try it.

Carry out the research4

International students in the UK

Ref: http://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk//Info-for-universities-colleges--schools/Policy-research--statistics/Research--statistics/International-students-in-UK-HE/

According to the data from UKCISA, through 2012-

2016 there have more and more international

student came to study in the UK. This service will be

able to help more international students

The same type of product

App/website that collaborate with University

Blackboard mobile learn Google

The same type of productExample:Google - Loughborough University

Loughborough University’s students can use their university username and password to log in Google, it is very convenient to student especially in calendar because they can see their lesson timetable and also can add the events to arrange their free time, this help them well organize their schedule.

Analysis data5

47%In the primary data research, we found that 47% of the interviewees were interested in the service Cancel Council Tax

In the secondary data research, I have interviewed 3 students in Loughborough University London and all of them thought this service is helpful to them and save their time.

Feasibility of the service

Base on the research we have done, we think

the service Cancel Council Tax do make sense

and it can effectively help international

students.

Relation Chart

Collaborate with the

university

Customer service team

Council

Key finding6

While tenants move into a new house/flat, they will receive a letter call council tax bill.

Customer Journey Map

Council Tax Bill

✘ Choose university name

✘ Use university username and password to log in the service account.

✘ This app/website will automatically fill your personal information which you provided to the university.

Customer Journey MapCancel council taxUniversity

Username

Password

Log in

Customer Journey MapCouncil TaxExemption Form

Christy LiFlat 405XX Building, LondonE00 1XX

ABC123456789

REF9876543

Account no

Reference no

Name and address

Sign

16-03-2017

Date

07480123456Telephone no

[email protected] address

The qualifying criteria for a full time student are:a. Undertaking a single course of higher or further education at a prescribed educational establishment lasting for at least one academic or calendar year.b. Undertaking study, tuition or work experience for periods of at least 24 weeks in each academic or calendar year.c. Undertaking periods of study, tuition or work experience which together amount in each such academic or calendar year to an average of at eat 21 hours a week***

✘ After log in their university account, students can fulfill some information that university doesn’t know then click auto generate council tax exemption

✘ Upload this form and this app will apply student letter automatically, university will send the student letter directly to customer service team.


University

Student letter



✘ The customer service team will double check all information and send them to the council.


Council

Double check


Council

Cancel successful

This service guarantee to help you cancel council tax successful in an easy, fast way. Customers just need to do it online and it can save more time.

Design

Research in council tax