Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using ChallengeMyRates ("we", "our", or "us"), you agree to these Terms of Service. When you order or authorise work, these terms and the written scope shown to you form the contract for that work. If you do not agree, do not use our services.

2. Services Provided

2.1 Property monitoring

We offer free monitoring for relevant changes to a named property. Monitoring is an alerting service, not advice, representation or an obligation to prepare or submit a case.

2.2 Bill and relief review

Our free review screens property and billing information for possible council reliefs and valuation issues. Its results are estimates based on the information available. It is not a formal VOA Check, professional valuation or promise that a claim will succeed.

2.3 Council correction letter

One personalised letter for one property, addressed to the relevant billing authority, covering the council reliefs or billing corrections identified in the order. You are responsible for checking and sending the letter unless the order expressly says we will submit it.

The fixed fee does not include appointment as a rating agent, a VOA Check, a VOA Challenge, an Appeal, tribunal representation or ongoing case management.

2.4 VOA Check and conditional Challenge

One VOA Check and, only where we agree there are reasonable grounds and the customer separately authorises us, one Challenge for one property and one rating-list issue. A free Check does not oblige us to recommend or submit a Challenge.

Challenge and Appeal are separate stages in the VOA process. Appeal or tribunal representation is outside this contract unless we agree a separate written scope and price.

2.5 Manual review and monitoring

A verified agent appointment allows a manual record review; it does not mean that a Check or Challenge has started. If the available evidence does not currently support a case, we may offer monitoring and explain what future property, valuation or comparable change could justify another review.

3. Fees, VAT and Payment

3.1 Council correction letter

The fixed fee is £29 for each property and council correction-letter order. The fixed fee is charged at checkout, before the letter is prepared and delivered.

3.2 VOA Check and Challenge

The VOA Check fee is £0. The fee for an authorised Challenge is 10% of confirmed savings calculated under section 4, capped at £399 for the agreed property and rating-list issue.

The Challenge fee becomes due only when the VOA, billing authority or tribunal confirms a reduction that lowers the customer’s business-rates liability. We invoice after written confirmation; payment is due within 14 days.

If the Challenge produces no confirmed reduction in business-rates liability, the Challenge fee is £0.

3.3 VAT and payment processing

Fees are exclusive of VAT, which is added where applicable. Prices and caps are stated in GBP before VAT. Fixed-fee payments are processed securely by Stripe; conditional Challenge fees are invoiced after the payment trigger.

3.4 Cancellation and refunds

There is no subscription or automatic renewal under this service ladder. Contact us promptly if you wish to cancel. Unless applicable law requires otherwise, the council-letter fee is non-refundable once we have begun preparing the personalised letter. The no-reduction/no-fee condition for a VOA Challenge is not a refund guarantee for the separate council-letter fee.

4. Confirmed Savings

4.1 Definition

The actual reduction in business-rates liability caused by the authorised VOA Challenge, as confirmed in writing by the VOA, billing authority or tribunal.

4.2 Savings period

It includes backdated liability reductions from the confirmed effective date and future liability reductions through the end of the rating list in which the Challenge was made, or the date the customer stops being liable for the property if earlier.

4.3 Reliefs and transitional arrangements

Savings are measured after all applicable reliefs, exemptions, supplements and transitional arrangements. A council relief secured by a separate council letter is excluded, and we do not charge on a rateable-value reduction that creates no actual liability saving.

4.4 Evidence and rounding

The calculation uses the revised bill, refund or credit statement, VOA decision, tribunal decision and any other information reasonably needed to reconcile the before-and-after liability.

We calculate in pence. We round confirmed savings to the nearest penny, calculate 10%, round the result to the nearest penny, then apply the £399 fee cap. All of these amounts are before VAT.

5. Your Authority and Obligations

The customer must appoint ChallengeMyRates as its agent and provide accurate information and evidence before we can act with the VOA.

You also agree to:

• confirm that you are the ratepayer or have authority to act for the ratepayer;
• check that the appointment names the organisation and exact property/UARN shown in your reservation;
• provide accurate, complete and timely property, occupation, billing and evidence information;
• tell us promptly about relevant changes, decisions, revised bills, refunds and credits;
• review documents where we ask you to and not withdraw an authorised case without telling us; and
• comply with applicable laws and not use our services for fraudulent or unlawful purposes.

6. No Guarantee of Outcome

We may identify potential savings and prepare or submit a case, but we cannot guarantee a reduction, refund, credit, timetable or specific outcome. Decisions are made by the billing authority, VOA or tribunal, and a valuation challenge can result in no change or, in some circumstances, an increase.

Savings shown before a decision are estimates only. The Challenge fee is based on confirmed liability savings under section 4, not on our estimate.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• we are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential loss;
• our total liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the preceding 12 months;
• we are not liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances beyond our control; and
• we are not responsible for decisions made by the VOA, billing authorities or tribunals.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for fraud, or death or personal injury caused by negligence.

8. Intellectual Property

All content, trademarks and intellectual property on our platform are owned by or licensed to ChallengeMyRates. You may use documents prepared for you for their intended purpose, but may not copy, reproduce or distribute our platform content without permission.

9. Data Protection

We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

10. Termination

We may suspend or end work if:

• you breach these terms or the agreed scope;
• you provide materially false, misleading or incomplete information;
• a payment is overdue, fails or is disputed; or
• continuing would breach law, professional requirements or the VOA process.

We will give reasonable notice where practicable. Ending work does not remove fees already due.

11. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms for future work. The terms accepted when you order or separately authorise work continue to govern that work unless we agree a change with you.

12. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

13. Contact

For questions about these terms, contact us at:
Email: hello@challengemyrates.co.uk
Address: ChallengeMyRates, Farthing Corner, West Tytherley, Salisbury, SP5 1NR