Our service is to reduce the rates charges you are liable for by ensuring your rates bill is as low as it should be if every opportunity to reduce it has been exhausted.
There are many potential areas we consider when we do this:
Billing Side
We find that around 3% of bills are actually charged incorrectly by the local council. This could be due to software used or not keeping up to date with charging legislation.
We hold details of all the schemes that are available to offer discount to bill payers. Over the years there have been many discount scheme introduced both at a local level and nationwide to offer a reduction in rates to subsectors of businesses. These are a multitude of schemes ranging from relief during flooding to reductions in charge because of closures due to covid. We will look at your business to work out if any are applicable for it.
Rating legislation regarding what constitutes empty is ever evolving, we will ensure that the property receives all discounts it should do while it is empty and if necessary, prove to the council it qualifies as empty under Rating Law.
There are exemptions available under certain circumstances which mean rates should never be paid while empty.
Rating Side
If your comparable properties have received a reduction you won’t automatically be told and will be overpaying. Our sophisticated software looks at your properties and identifies where there may be discrepancies. Once flagged up out team of auditors compare how and what they have been charged to see if the Rateable Value is fair. If we can reduce the Rateable value you will get a reduction in your bills.
If something happens to affect the rent a property may achieve, this might be temporary such as roadworks or permanent such as a new shopping centre opening and taking trade away you may be entitled to a reduction in Rateable Value which will lead to a reduction in your bills.
There are many reasons why a property should not be valued at all ranging from being used for agriculture to religious grounds. If we identify that you should not be paying anything then we will raise a challenge to have the property taken out if rating entirely meaning no further charges and usually a backdated refund.
It’s common that changes in Rateable Values can be applied incorrectly. There is legislation regarding when these changes can be made from so we will check the dates are correct.