 | Small businesses warned about 'cowboy' rating surveyors
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| 09 Mar 2010
Small businesses are being urged to watch out for 'cowboy' rating surveyors attempting to profit from the recent rates revaluation.
The warning from the Forum for Private Businesses (FPB) comes as the March 31 deadline for contesting rates approaches.
According to the FPB, there has been a surge in complaints from small businesses about rogue operators offering to reassess businesses' rateable value, with a view to appealing for a reduction from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
FPB senior member services representative, Philip Moody, said, "This is a problem that seems to come about every five years after the rates revaluations have been carried out.
"These cowboys spring up and start cold calling businesses offering to get them big reductions on their rates. However, in reality, it's often the case that any savings they make are minimal and are quickly dwarfed by the fees they charge."
There are many legitimate companies offering to help small companies, with an estimated 160,000 firms having already won backdated reductions in their rates since April 1 2005
However, many more may be eligible for a reduction without realising it, and it is these companies that the cowboy surveyors are believed to be targeting.
A lack of knowledge of business rates is also being blamed for the rise in rogue operators.
The FPB's business rates adviser, chartered surveyor Andrew Bacon of LeaseholdersUnited, said, "It can be difficult to check the accuracy of your ratable value if you don't know what you're looking for. But this also allows 'cowboy' rating advisers to take large upfront fees supported by plausible reasons for reduction or spurious claims of success.
"To help combat this, we publish a list of rating surveyors with at least a one in three success rate at appeal. If you are approached by someone not on the list, be wary of paying an upfront fee and read their contract wording very closely for hidden charges."
Despite the warning, the FPB is still encouraging small businesses to contest their rates before the March 31 deadline if they feel the charges have been unduly high or wrongly calculated.
There are two main grounds on which businesses can appeal against their rateable value. They can show that they are paying more than neighbouring properties – the VOA's website at www.voa.gov.uk allows business owners to find out what neighbouring premises pay and whether or not they have appealed against the amount.
Alternatively, they can prove that there has been a 'material change' in their circumstances since 2005. This means something in the business's immediate surroundings has changed and had a detrimental effect on trade.
Appeals can be made free of charge, and rarely result in a tribunal case, according to the FPB.
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