smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Every business pays a contribution to the government to help fund the services provided by local authorities, such as the police and the fire service. These are often called business rates.

If you are considering appealing against the amount you are paying, an assessment by a surveyor can help.

However, you should beware of unscrupulous rating advisers, promising unrealistic savings, as it could end up costing you more - your rates bill could even increase if the appeal is not handled correctly.

How to identify an unscrupulous adviser

• You can make background checks on some of the claims they will typically make. Check with the professional bodies they claim to belong to.

You can verify the status of any supposed member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors by calling 0870 333 1600.
• Ask them for a list of the names and telephone numbers of a number of past clients to verify any reductions they claim to have made for them. Don’t let them pick for you, as they are likely select only the successful appeals if they are trying to hoodwink you. If they are genuine, they should have nothing to hide.


• Be wary of claims that a review can make you big savings before a full investigation of your property has been undertaken. Until a survey has been conducted, there is no way of knowing if you can save money.


• The contract between you and your adviser will detail the amount you have to pay for their services, so beware of salesmen who say you will have nothing to pay unless you succeed in your appeal. Check your contract carefully.

RICS members operate under strict rules for dealing with clients and their money and all carry full professional indemnity insurance.

To contact your local RICS chartered surveyor, call 0870 333 1600 or visit www.rics.org.

You can find more information about business rates from Business Link here.

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