Summerfield Browne Solicitors have recently been taking instructions from small businesses who are defending claims being issued in relation to small business rate relief. Typically, a surveyor or a company representative would attend a small business and tell the business owner that they could assist the small business owner in securing small business rate relief. A contract would then be offered and the small business owner, often being given very little time to read the small print, would sign the contract only to find out later that the contract terms were not what they had envisaged.
The surveyors would typically offer to assist a small business in obtaining small business rates relief on the provision that a percentage of any discount obtained would be paid to the surveyor. This figure could be as high as 40%. For example, if the small business owner secured a £1,000.00 reduction in small business rates then the firm of Surveyors would claim that they were owed £400.00. The contracts have typically been signed with an obligation to pay the percentage sum every year for the duration of the contract.
Due to changes in the way that small business rate relief is treated by the government this has led to the absurd position of some small businesses securing a 100% reduction in their small business rates only to discover that the small business owner now owes 40% of the saving to the surveyor! The contracts typically stipulating that the saving is owed whether or not the surveyor does any work to secure the relief.
We have been struck with how little work has been done to secure the small business rate relief and how small businesses have been ruthlessly targeted. We understand that many small business owners have never had to seek legal advice and if you are looking to appoint a Small Business Rate Solicitor to help you defend a claim please do get in touch
Should you require assistance please do get in touch by telephoning our office on 01858 414284.
Summerfield Browne have offices in London, Birmingham, Oxford, Cambridge and Leicester.
