Companies Offering Business Rate Reductions

coops7

Just a quick note to say, we applied to one of these companies that help get your business rates reduced following the huge hykes us small businesses have had to endure, tried to fill in the endless flow of paperwork direct with the council, but this was to no avail, through the complexity of the paperwork, I do like to think I have a degree of intelligence as well. So we paid a company to do this on our behalf Higgins & Thomas, which took 7 months for a response from the valuation office, in the end, we not only wasted our money, which we are currently trying to get refunded, but our Business Rates also increased because of their action. So please be aware of this and do not fall into the trap of believing their sales people or their website, which does look professional.

I could be one of a few people who have had this experience, where others may have had a great result through them, but at no point was I told that my rates could go up, I would only be looking at a reduction of potentially 20%. So please beware!!!!!

paulwf

I feel for you Coop, as you say this is a specialist area so it is something you want to leave to an expert rather than do it yourself...everything on the bill went way over my head!

I had a much better experience with Allsop. I think the key thing is to use a company that charges a percentage fee (bit like no win no fee I guess) as then they have a very strong incentive to save you money. The appeals process does take a long time but they managed to save me quite a bit of money. Oddly the saving for revaluation was small, the large saving came from challenging the calculations used by the council. Basically my council got their maths wrong so I saved a lot of money, something I'd have never have been able to pick up on my own.

CDWIng

[FONT=&quot]I totally agree, this area is a minefield; it is best to seek the help of a professional and not to pursue an appeal on your own behalf .[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A business colleague suggested that I contact RateRecovery; they always work on a no win no fee basis, come with great references and as such are now pursuing an appeal on my behalf. They have to date provided a professional service, I am under no illusion that the appeal process may take a long time but I have confidence in RatesRecovery and would highly recommend them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If any business finds themselves in the unenviable position of needing to reassess their rates they should always remember to:[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Seek the help of an agent who is a member of the RICs[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Never agree to pay upfront fees[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Use a company who only charge on a no win no fee basis[/FONT]
· [FONT=&quot]Seek a recommendation and/or research the rates agent online [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

coops7

Just a quick Update, I took Higgins and Thomas to the small claims court and won, got the money back into my account last Friday, they are currently being in the process of being Struck off at companies house, but that may change, but we have already had phone calls from a new company claiming to do the same thing from the same office, a Wolf in Sheeps Clothing, won't be bitten again, but beware of any offers from any companies like this, where you need to pay up front.

ciano125

I am a Rating Surveyor and have seen the name mentioned above so many times. I'm glad you sued them, but unfortunately they are not the only ones giving the rest of us a bad name.

As has been mentioned, only use a firm who are regulated by the RICS first of all. Rateable Value can go up, so it is important that the property is valued correctly before an appeal is served. There should be no charge for this (some of the cowboys try claiming that it costs several hundred pounds for them to do a valuation first, that's rubbish). Speak to your neighbours, see if any of them have used specialists and if they would recommend them or not. Make sure the surveyor is suitable qualified and experienced enough to deal with your type of property.

Ultimately, you can do your appeal yourself, however you can also cut your own hair yourself as well!! It is a very complex area, the Valuation Office are NOT there to help YOU get your laibility as low as legally possible, they are there to get the RV correct. If that mean increasing it, they will do it because they have to.

It does take a long time to get the process done, this is because the Valuation Office have so many appeals to get through (it is a five year cycle after all) and if your advisor and the VO don't agree it goes to the Valuation Tribunal which again takes ages to sort though.

Bottom line - no win no fee works.

bionic_banjo

Hi -just to add a bit - please always use a Chartered Surveyor i.e. an RICS qualified person. Agree no win no fee - its normally about 10% of the saving. Theres plenty of RICS freelancers on the 'people per hour' website promoted by this web site so no need to go to a big firm who will have heavier 'on' costs. Make sure they have experience in rating - just ask them how many rating cases they deal with per year, how many tribunals they have done and property types so you can establish they are suitable for your type of property & your situation.
An RICS qualified surveyor is reponsible to the RICS for upholding decent standards - so if you have any issues on their perfornamce or case handling, they will take your complaint seriously and deal with your complaint- and if they dont you can complain to the RICS who have strict regulatory powers over their members.

Please dont be put off looking at your business rates though. I have seen many mistakes in the rating list, increases in floor area between the 2005 and 2010 list where there has been none, assumptions on other fixtures etc so it really is worth looking at.
If you are a small business contact the Council every 6 months whatever to double check there are no exemptions or reductions you can apply for as the rules can change on a regular basis. The definitiion of 'small business' can change and you have to apply for exemptions - you dont get them automatically.
good luck