RVA’s Thorough Approach Helps Communication
Agency Reduce Their Business Rates
Case study:
VSM Healthcare | North West
With almost twenty years’ experience, it is no wonder that VSM Healthcare is the leading oral healthcare marketing and communications agency in the UK. This drive has not only put them at the top of their field, but also pushes them to reach for more.
KEY
FACTS
5.5%
REDUCTION
£10,000
BACKDATED SAVINGS
Office building
PROPERTY TYPE
The Challenge for the Client
While aware that they could be overpaying on their business rates, VSM Healthcare decided to engage with RVA Surveyors in 2017 rather than attempt to tackle the complicated government process themselves. RVA’s ‘no reduction, no fee’ policy was just the cherry on top of a proven track record of achieving reductions and end-to-end case management.
The Solution
RVA quickly dispatched a surveyor to expertly inspect the property in question. The surveyor noted not only the office building’s rental information, but gathered evidence from similar properties in the area to help build a more comprehensive case. During this inspection, the surveyor found that a storage room was incorrectly deemed as an office space – something which could give them a lower Rateable Value (RV) if corrected.
The Outcome
As such, RVA submitted a Check (the first step in the government’s Check, Challenge, Appeal, process) on behalf of VSM Healthcare.
Once this Check was submitted to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), they evaluated the recommended changes before agreeing. This agreement meant that the RV of the property dropped from £13,750 to £13,000. This resulted in over £10,000 in savings for the client; backdated to the beginning of the Rating List on 1st April 2017 and in effect at least until the end of the Rating List, 31st March 2023.
Client Comments and Recommendation
“We started working with RVA Surveyors back in 2017. They contacted us to offer a no win, no fee package for the investigations into how much we were paying for our business rates. Our only involvement was that we had to invite the Surveyor to come round to our office, the next thing we heard, the cash was in our account.”
