Rates Auditing & Recovery

Delving into business rate liabilities—including credits, overpayments, or accounting slip-ups—is not only warranted but also fully enshrined in law. Every penny counts in business, and understanding your rate liabilities is a must. If you spot an error, remember: challenging it is more than an option; it’s your right.

Our Approach

Recover your historic rate liability overpayments with our unique and comprehensive Business Rates Audit services. Our process is meticulous and thorough. We examine your past rates liabilities for errors as unearthing them can result in substantial refunds for your business.

Step 1: Discover Hidden Savings in Your Rates Liabilities

Deep historical investigation: Unlike traditional appeals that focus only on the current rating list, we can claim refunds as far back as 1990.
Our forensic analysis can identify undetected errors, such as incorrect applications of transitional relief, unissued transitional certificates, and more.
Our expertise in securing Rateable Value reductions and spotting unenforceable backdated rates bills has the potential to deliver substantial refunds.

Step 2: Experience a Risk-Free and Time-Efficient Solution

Risk-free analysis: We don't charge any fees unless a rebate is secured.
Fast results: We obtain a return on average of 6 to 8 weeks.
No conflict of interest: Our service complements conventional rating appeal processes, ensuring a smooth analysis without interfering with your existing rating agent relationship.

Step 3: Benefit From Our Dedicated and Hassle-Free Service

Dedicated auditor: Your case will be managed by a single dedicated auditor from start to finish, ensuring a smooth and efficient process.
Minimal client input: We handle all investigation and council negotiations, requiring minimal effort from you.
Collaborate with a team of experts who specialise in delivering successful, customised solutions for your business rates.

Right to information

Courtesy of the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000, you hold the power to access public records, including details on business rates. It’s your legal right to dig into these details, ensuring that you’re equipped with the facts that matter.

Right to appeal

If the numbers don’t add up on your business rates, you're entitled—by law—to seek redress. Whether it’s a miscalculation or mishandling of your case, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is your avenue for setting the record straight.

Council Systems

Mistakes like duplicate payments or a drop in your property's rateable value mean you’re due a refund. It’s not just good sense; it’s your legal right. Yet some Council systems cannot raise credit notes to notify you and others choose not to publish their credit data. This means there are swollen Council coffers out there that need to be corrected.

Know your rights

Reasons for Credits

Businesses that pay their annual rates in full but then move to a new location may have credits remaining on their accounts. These credits are not always automatically transferred to their new location's accounts or refunded.
A company might successfully negotiate a business rates reduction or be eligible for a relief provided by the council, but may not be informed about the approved reduction. Consequently, the business continues to pay the rates at the unadjusted, higher amount. This can also lead to prior ratepayers being due a refund that they will remain unaware of.
Genuine errors made by ratepayers, like accidentally making multiple payments for the same bill, can also lead to credits, as can leaving standing orders running, and paying reminder notices as well as instalment plans.
Discrepancies may arise when there's a crossover period between the outgoing and incoming tenant. This can lead to the new tenant paying business rates that should have been the responsibility of the former tenant. For example, Company A vacates a commercial property on September 1, while Company B starts occupying it on September 14. However, Company B is mistakenly billed business rates for the whole month, resulting in excessive charges.
Businesses may be eligible for an MCC reduction when external factors, such as major construction work, negatively impact their operations. In such cases, the rateable value may be reduced temporarily. For example, due to nearby construction work involving a tram system, a retail business encounters a 5% reduction in footfall and turnover. As a result, the business receives a 5% reduction in their rateable value to account for the loss.
A business may have a credit (negative balance) on their account that is left unclaimed. This can be attributed to the account department's lack of understanding or not realizing that the credit must be requested, as it's not automatically given. Often, clients are unable to decipher credits on their rate bills as they are presented as negative amounts, leading to confusion. For instance, a business receives a rate bill displaying a negative balance as "-£2,000," which they perceive as an amount due, rather than a credit that the business should reclaim
In cases where a business vacates a property and either provides an incorrect forwarding address or fails to provide one at all, any credits due on their account could go unnoticed. For example, if Company X vacates its premises and moves to a new location without updating their address with the local authority, any future correspondences, including potential refunds, would be sent to the incorrect address.
Mismatches in dates concerning a property's vacation or a change in its usage can result in inappropriate charges and subsequently credits. For instance, Company Y vacated their property on June 30, but the local council recorded the date as July 31, causing them to overpay for a month they hadn’t used – resulting in a credit.
Certain internal errors within the council’s accounting system or discrepancies while calculating the rates may lead to unnecessary charges and consequential credits. For example, if the council accidentally charged Company Z twice for the same billing period due to a technical glitch, it would result in an overpayment and hence a credit on their account.
If business rate reliefs or allowances are not correctly applied, it may cause businesses to overpay their rates. For instance, if a small business entitled to a certain rate relief continued to pay the full business rates due to an oversight by the council, it would result in a credit owing to the business.
Sometimes, businesses might neglect to claim allowances they're eligible for due to a material change in circumstances. For instance, if construction work nearby leads to decreased footfall for Company B's shop, they're eligible for an MCC (Material Change of Circumstances) relief. If this is overlooked, there will be an overpayment and hence, a resulting credit.
In some cases, backdated rates bills turn out to be unenforceable and result in credits on an account. For example, if Company C was incorrectly billed for rates going back more than 6 years, those charges would be unenforceable, leading to a credit on their account.
If the rateable value of a property is reduced, similar properties in the area might also see an automatic adjustment in their value. If the local council is unable to find the company to notify them about the change, then that company may not know about a credit owed to them. For instance, if Company E closed its business and vacated its premise, and later a change in rateable values occurred in the area, the local council might send a notification of credit to the old premise, leaving the credit unclaimed.
Occasionally, a property's rateable value might be reduced retrospectively, leading to previous overpayments of business rates. If Company A had their property's rateable value decreased retroactively, the overpaid rates would become a credit on their account.