Business Rates Rent Review

simpywimpy

I didnt realise that Savvy I have sent them a letter saying we arent happy with the cancellation request but no reply from them as yet.

mattype

There are a lot of rogue business rates scams about. They have convincing websites and literature, and even more convinving sales men.

They promise no win no fee, but always end up asking for an up front fee to the equilavent of a months business rates payment - often thousands of pounds. They mascarade this as a 'deposit' and although the paperwork makes it appear that if you do not succeed in a reduction the fee is returnable, the company is often disappeared by the time you seek a refund. IT IS A SCAM! No Gov't deposit scheme - it is NOT a deposit.

They promise a rebate and tell you that you are being grossly 'overcharged'. They will tell you ANYTHING to get a fee, and tell you that they will lodge an appeal which you can do yourself for FREE. Often the grounds they use to lodge the appeal is the same grounds they use for everyone, which is sufficient for generating a generic letter from the Valuation Office. You will always receive this letter, and they claim this is 'ACKOWLEDGEMENT OF A VAILD APPEAL'. IT IS NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the time you need their so called 'RICS Surveyors' to attend a tribunal, you discover that the company has disappeared with the upfront fee and there is no-one to represent you at a tribunal.

DO NOT PAY ANYTHING UNLESS THE COMPANY ITSELF IS REGISTERED WITH THE RICS AND YOU HAVE CHECKED THE COMPANY OUT. 'USING' RICS SURVEYORS IS A CON FOR COMPANIES GAINING CREDIBILITY, AND NOTHING MORE.

PLEASE DO NOT BE CONNED BY THESE FLY BY NIGHT COMPANIES. A WEBSITE AND GLOSSY BROCHURE IS ALL YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH.

IF THEY ARE SIGNING YOU UP FOR THE FEE, YOU MAY END UP GETTING AN INCREASE IN YOUR RATES, IF THE VOA HAVE UNDERVALUED YOUR PROPERTY.

IT IS A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mattype

Also been contacted saying that (as a pub) if I sign up for a business rates appeal / reduction, my sky subscription will plumett.

I HAVE CHECKED OUT THE COMPANY AND IT IS A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is part of a sales pitch to get you to part with an UP-FRONT FEE for a business rates appeal, and the company(ies) are fly by night firms who sting you for an advanced fee and leave you high and dry.

DO NOT BELIEVE SKY REDUCTIONS IN SUBSCRIPTIONS THROUGH THESE UNREGISTERED COWBOYS.

THEY EXIST TO CON YOU. IF YOU ARE UNFORTUNATELY A VICTIM, NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU THINK IT IS, CONTACT THE POLICE AS YOU MAY GET AN OUT OF COURT REFUND. THESE GUYS PAY UP TO QUIETEN THEIR SCAM TO THE PUBLIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ciano125

Mattype is quite right, avoid at all costs.

However, if you are using a reputable firm of Chartered Surveyors, and you are a pub, and they do manage to reduce your RV, then your Sky subscription may also reduce because that is based on RV as well.

Pub valuations are based on trade, so if someone doesnt have your trade figures, they can't know if you are under or over assessed.

dark1

Hello. First post. This topic is something I might have a little insight into. And there's one further warning I think is worth highlighting.

In making an appeal against your business rates assessment, you are saying to the Valuation Office that you think they've got it wrong. Now there are various factors as to how they would have arrived at your particular rateable value (RV), and the physical parameters of your property - i.e. its survey - is one of the the main factors.

When you appeal against, or ask the VOA to 'review' your assessment, if the survey hasn't been looked at for quite some time, they may decide to send out an inspector to check and update it. So are you absolutely positively sure they're not going to find something they hadn't previously accounted for in their survey last looked at in 1956? Because if their updated survey results in an increase in RV, they will put your rates up. And then you'll wish you'd kept your gob shut!

If you decide to employ an agent, a reputable one will check your survey and compare with the VOA's (available from their website) before submitting an appeal. A not-so-reputable agent will bang in an appeal regardless, and could end up landing you with the exact opposite of what you expected.

The moral of the story is, don't assume your rating assessment must be excessive just because rates payable seem high, because it is my anecdotal observation that the opposite is just as common, if not more so.

Message ends.