BUSINESS FRAUD
Rate rats
W HEN a smartly dressed surveyor cold-called at John Thornhill’s Cheshire veterinary practice, offering to try to reduce his business rates, it seemed serendipitous: Thornhill had been about to make inquiries himself because he was sure he was paying too much.
“This guy was professional and knew what he was talking about. He and a colleague spent half a day measuring up. There were no red flags and I had a series of emails from HMRC’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) which referred to Rateable Value Experts (RVE) as my representatives.” He paid £1,000 up front and would hand over 30 percent of any savings.
Months later, the man from RVE rang with good news: Thornhill’s company, Goostrey Lane Vets in Holmes Chapel, shouldn’t have been paying any rates and was due a refund of £50,000. There was, of course, a catch: they wanted the agreed commission up front before they got the money released to him – otherwise, they reasoned, he might not pay.