The Government has issued a fresh warning to businesses to ensure the name of any external agents they use to manage their rates match with its official system.
If you want to use an agent to manage your business rates, then you should appoint via the Check and Challenge service, it advises. If the agent’s name in its service does not match the name on your contract, you need to be cautious.
If this is the case, you should let authorities know by contacting agentstandards@voa.gov.uk. This is also the address to use if you’re concerned about poor behaviour by agents.
You can also find out how long an agent has been using their current business name and get a free update on them here.
The warning comes as the Government reports that some rogue agents change their name often. It adds you should be cautious of any agent who tries to pressure you to make a decision or sign a contract, says they’re acting on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) or forwards emails they claim are from them, demands large sums of money up front or makes claims about ‘unclaimed credits’ or similar.
The VOA’s agent standards set out clear expectations regarding their behaviour, professional practice and the service they provide. It takes breaches of agent standards very seriously and will always take action if it substantiates a breach of standards.
If you choose you do want an agent to manage your business rates, use the Government’s online checklist.
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