A rogue firm that I’ve repeatedly exposed for fleecing small businesses has caused such a stink that the scandal has now reached Parliament.
One MP says he’s going to raise the “cynical” tactics of RVA Surveyors Limited in the Commons and is demanding that the company is shut down.
Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton in North Yorks, has written to RVA saying: “I will be applying for a debate to highlight your disgraceful business practices in Parliament and will invite other MPs to share their own constituents’ experiences.”
He was prompted by the case of one of his constituents, Jude Carter, who runs Dreams Hair Salon in Hunmanby, near Scarborough.
RVA Surveyors is run from Denton, Manchester, by 55-year-old Stephan Hughes and claims it can get reductions in business rates for clients, taking a 45% plus VAT commission from any savings.
It charged Jude £1,458 for the 2019-20 financial year, and £1,482 for 2020-21 – even though the reductions she got were entirely due to Government measures to help businesses by cutting rates.
“I get small business rates relief, so they are saving me nothing,” said Jude.
After Mr Hollinrake stepped in, RVA wrote to him insisting: “We believe that Ms Carter has benefitted from a substantial historical rebate as well as a reduction in business rates payable going forward as a result of the work carried out by RVA.”
It added: “We would respectfully remind you that this is a commercial agreement and that any dispute by either party should be remedied through the legal process.”
Mr Hollinrake is having none of it, telling me: “RVA are clearly a bunch of parasites who are more than happy to feed off unsuspecting, unprotected SMEs (small and medium enterprises).
“Their sales methods are immoral at best. They are using highly dubious, hard-sell tactics to press business owners into signing punitive long-term contracts that effectively allow them to take monies in the form of government business rates discounts from struggling businesses without providing any meaningful service.
“I am calling for Trading Standards to close them down and for government to expand consumer protection laws so that they include small and micro businesses.”
In a separate case, a publican says he faces going out of business after being sued by RVA and being ordered to pay £5,458.
Vladimir Nasadovich and wife Larissa run the George and Dragon pub in Portsmouth and he says the bill dwarfs the rates savings he’s got of £2,804.
More importantly, he denies even signing a contract with RVA, saying he was away celebrating his son’s birthday on the day in question.
Vladimir, whose English is not good, says he struggled at the court hearing which was conducted by telephone and in which RVA failed to produce either the original of the claimed contract or its representative who supposedly witnessed him signing it.
“I am appalled and horrified by the court’s decision as this could end my business,” he said.
“RVA have now asked for an additional £4,000 for the years I have not paid.
“The signature had been forged, there are multiple witnesses to my absence from work that day.”
Vladimir is appealing and a new hearing will decide on this serious allegation.
I would not like to speculate on the outcome – I have previously reported on cases where courts have ruled that client signatures on RVA contracts were forgeries - see here and here - while in other cases accusations of forged signatures have not been upheld.
Stephan Hughes of RVA has not replied to my emails about the latest cases.
