Business rates.Check,challenge,appeal.

[friar 8]

Was contacted by company who say they can get business rates reduced.
They.go by the name of ‘check challenge appeal’

£995 upfront then 1/3 of reduction.Has anyone used a company to do this,they can recommend?
Is it risky,they could go up?
 

 

[MarkTVS 209]

If it’s too good to be true then it usually is.

[It's me 615]

you can fill in the voa application yourself but I think you will find covid has slowed the wheels down

don't pay anyone for something you can do better yourself without perjuring yourself

[whitestone679231 113]

be careful, if they put in an application for you then years later govt suddenly turns round and says business rates are free like they have with this covid crap the company will want a percentage of the saving even though nothing to do with them,,, read the small print.

[beenaroundtheblock 21]

Check, challenge, appeal is the governments slogan for this. They are either scamming you or trying to charge for something that can be done easily yourself. 

https://www.bsm.uk.com/blog/business-rates-appeal-the-new-3-step-step-system-explained-and-explored/

[grant8064 219]

I've heard some horror stories surrounding these rates assistance companies. Avoid IMO.

I successfully challenged our rateable value myself and it was really easy to do with the councils assistance, bit of a faff but worth the effort.

1) I compared my rateable value to similar forcourts/sites in our area online via the councils website/planning portal. Found out we were paying more per sq metre/foot than others for comparable surfacing (gravel, tarmac, hardstanding etc attracted differing rateable value for some reason). 

2) Downloaded that info, drew a kids sketch birds eye view of our site with a pen with annotations and sizes, got my old rates bills and chucked it all in a scanned document and sent to the council simple covering letter explaining the issue. 

3) Matey from the council came down and couldn't have been more helpful. Given the reputation councils have I was surprised and it seemed like they really just wanted to correct their mistake.

Remember to work with them not against them and have all your documentation physically to hand and in a PDF or something you can email. 

[friar 8]

Thank you all for help,think I will have a go myself.
Have got used to not paying business rates,so getting ready for the end of free time.

[Frank Cannon 812]

No, no, they are not all bad, some amazing savings to to had but, the puka ones work on 10% commission (my experience) on savings achieved.

They work better when dealing with huge PLCs, not a car pitch.