Ratings agency RVA Surveyors claims to be able to help firms get a reduction in their business rates, charging hefty fees for its service.
But it sues so many of its own clients who dispute the invoices that it should have a County Court loyalty card.
The latest client it’s taken to court is Steven Snell, who has run his east London window company Advanced Woodford Glazing for 31 years.
RVA Surveyors sued Mr Snell when he refused to pay its demand for £610, saying his signature on a contract had been forged.
RVA charged 45% plus VAT of the saving it said it had achieved for Mr Snell and claimed that the fee had to be paid each year of the five year contract.
Mr Snell paid the bill for the first year, but would not pay the second year, insisting that he would never have signed a five year contract - not least because his business premises face demolition.
He maintained that RVA sales rep Andrew Crostin had told him that the contract was for one year only.
RVA’s case was fatally undermined when Mr Crostin ignored a witness summons and did not appear in court to dispute Mr Snell’s account.
It also wasn’t helped when Mr Snell produced documents including his passport and driving licence, which showed a different signature to the one on the contract.
Anne Hogarth, representing RVA, told the court that there had not been any expert evaluation of the signatures and insisted: “This is most likely a case were the defendant simply has not read the contract.”
Deputy District Judge Lynds, sitting at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court in London, threw out RVA’s claim.
He ruled that although he found it “quite remarkable” that a salesman might forge a signature, the contract was not signed by Mr Snell.
“Ordinarily I would not come anywhere close to make an assessment of these signatures but it's plain to me and I think anybody that none of the signatures that Mr Snell says he has attached to any documentation and his driving licence and passport bear any resemblance to the signature at the bottom of the contract," he said.
Since the sales rep did not appear in court, the judge accepted Mr Snell’s version of events, saying: “The defendant’s evidence is quite clear, so I take the defendant’s evidence today together with this document and I accept that it’s not his signature and he did not sign this contract.”
"It's been such a stressful time for me and my family," Mr Snell told the court.
“From start to finish I’ve told the truth,”
“This company that’s made me come here are and have proven to be a scam company, it’s in the Daily Mirror a lot of the time.
“I find it appalling that I’ve been pulled through the forest to be here and spent money to defend my company and my name because of a scam company, I think it's outrageous.”
RVA Surveyors faced more claims of forging a signature on a contract in a second case.
Helen Pease and David Bond run Withyslade Farm, near Tisbury in Wiltshire, and were visited by an RVA sales rep in May last year.
Ms Pease says she signed two documents, one confirming that the rep Tony Mullen had turned up for the appointment and the other giving RVA authority to act on their behalf.
But she denied signing a contract, saying that Mr Mullen agreed to proceed only after checking with the council that they were eligible for a reduction and then further discussing the matter with the couple.
When they realised that RVA had pressed ahead regardless, Mr Bond asked for an explanation. Christa Kay, on behalf of RVA, replied by sending them the signed letter of authority and the application form - but did not provide a copy of the supposed signed contract.
RVA also wanted £2,888, which the couple refused to pay.
Yeovil County Court heard last week that Mr Mullen was paid £30,000 a year plus £30 each time a new contract was signed.
The court was told that he faced so many cases involving angry clients that he had given RVA a generic statement defending his actions before this particular case was even started.
He insisted that Ms Pease had signed the contract, but she replied: “I didn’t sign it at all. I have never seen that document before.”
Fay Collinson, for Ms Pease, said: “RVA and Mr Mullen deserve their own episode of Rogue Traders.
“Mr Mullen is continuously being faced with similar types of allegations and that could cause the court to conclude that this is a gentleman who is not afraid of using sharp business practices.
“He put signatures on documents or at least misrepresented to this couple the documents they were signing.”
Deputy District Judge Emma Davy dismissed RVA’s claim and ordered it to pay punitive legal costs of £3,428.
“Mr Mullen was here against his will and plainly he did not want to answer questions about his other cases,” she ruled.
“His statement was clearly made before these proceedings and drafted to deal with similar allegations and those issues go to the heart of the aspect of misrepresentation and creates a serious problem for the applicant.
“His recollection was poor and he cannot recall any specific meeting or where he went before or after and it seems to this court that he can remember which forms were signed. I would describe that as convenient.
“In the case of fraud the bar is set very high and would require the assistance of handwriting experts which we do not have here but I have no difficulty in finding misrepresentation which renders any contract or agreement void.”
I get the feeling that some legal representatives of RVA Surveyors are embarrassed to be associated with them.
After Steven Snell’s hearing, its solicitor’s agent Anne Hogarth asked me: “Could you only use my surname?”
Legal practice clerk Ryan Murray, who represented RVA at the Helen Pease case refused to confirm his name to my man in court. We found it anyway.
He insisted that he was “contracted on an ad hoc basis” and had no choice but to accept the case, poor chap.
RVA Surveyors is based in Manchester and run by sole director Stephan Hughes, 54.
He responded to these latest cases through his lawyers Gateley Legal, who said: "Our client is in the process of seeking to appeal the two cases you cite. In such circumstances, it would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the legal process is ongoing."
You can find some of my previous stories about RVA here and here and here .
A different ratings agency has billed a fitness centre £1,839 despite doing nothing useful to cut its rates bill.
Chris Andrew runs The Lock Gym in Worksop, Notts, which was visited by a rep for SJ Associates (UK) Limited while he wasn’t there and who talked to his wife Amanda.
“The rep gave her two forms to sign which were empty at the time and said these forms were to give them permission to do a survey of the building to see if they could save the business money,” says Mr Andrew.
He explained that the first he knew about this was the following month when a surveyor arrived and asked for the first instalment of £954.
Mr Andrew ordered him to leave and cancelled the deal, telling SJ Associates that his wife was a self-employed trainer and not authorised to sign contracts on behalf of the business.
SJ Associates responded by adding an £885 cancellation fee to the bill, which it forwarded to debt collection firm Federal Management Limited.
“I have received no rates reduction and no service was carried out by SJ Associates,” said Mr Andrew.
“I have repeatedly requested Federal Management to stop contacting me unless they wish to take the matter to court, to no avail, they say they have a process to follow and will follow it.”
The debt collectors threatened to issue Mr Andrew with a statutory demand, saying his business would be put into compulsory liquidation if he didn’t pay.
This was a nasty move because statutory demands circumvent the need for a court hearing and are usually issued only when a debt is not in dispute.
Federal Management and SJ Associates have since fallen out.
The debt collection firm says that it had ended its relationship with the ratings company following “an investigation into their modus operandi and adopted business practices.”
It added: "If we had been aware of their reputation prior to allowing them to use our services, we would have refused to assist them outright. We acted in good faith and when it became apparent that all was not well, took immediate action to terminate the relationship."
SJ Associates is run from Manchester by Terence McKenzie, 39, the other director Nadine Worden having just resigned after ten years.
It responded by saying that it regretted using Federal Management because it added its own “excessive” charges to claims.
In Mr Andrew’s case this resulted in the latest demand reaching £2,516 and other clients having up to 40% added to bills.
It stated: "We queried this and attempted to bring the contract with Federal Management to a halt immediately but were advised that if we attempted to cancel SJ Associates UK Ltd would be liable for all debts as if collected and would be subject to a charge of 25% on top per each client debt."
It remains adamant that the contract signed by Mrs Andrew is valid, denying that its rep told her they operated a no win, no fee policy, and saying she is jointly responsible for the rates bills.
“I understand that Mr Andrew may be upset that he is in a contract with SJ Associates UK Ltd and has been issued a cancellation invoice but we believe that Mr Andrew was aware of the meeting and our subsequent instruction," it said in a statement.
One of the common complaints I receive about rates reduction firms is that clients didn’t realise how easy it is to check and challenge your rates for free.
There’s no skill involved in applying for small business rates relief and you don't need to employ anyone else to do it for you, just start by contacting your council’s rating office.
If you want to query the valuation of your business property that is used to calculate the business rates bill, then the Valuation Office Agency can help.
There’s useful advice on rates relief on the government website here .
