A COUPLE have got the £1,400 they paid in stamp duty refunded thanks to The Northern Echo.

Chris and Norma Nelson found their Pease Street home in Darlington was exempt because it is in a disadvantaged area.

Since a change in the law, it means they do not have to pay one per cent of the cost of a house by way of stamp duty to the Inland Revenue.

Mr and Mrs Nelson bought their house in April and were charged by Smith and Graham Solicitors, which has offices across the North-East.

They realised they should not have been charged when The Northern Echo ran an article in August highlighting the postcode lottery.

The Nelsons say they have been contacting the firm since then, but were told there were problems with the Inland Revenue returning the cash.

The Northern Echo called the company and next day Mr Nelson received a phone call to say there was a cheque for the full amount waiting for him.

He said: "It is all down to the Northern Echo. I am overjoyed, but I would like to know how many other people have been affected."

A spokesman for Smith and Graham said: "It was our error, and we have been trying to get it back from the Inland Revenue, but we realise it is right to give Mr Nelson back his money.

"We have been trying to get it back, but it got to a point where we could not make any more progress. We have paid him back and it is case of making sure our systems work."

A spokesman for the Inland Revenue said that it did not discuss individual cases, but added that it would immediately refund stamp duty paid in error.