Writing’s on wall for forgery firm
Another business proves RVA Surveyors’ deception in court
HOW long can a firm stay in business in the face of repeated allegations that it forges contracts?
I ask because RVA Surveyors has been in court yet again to face claims that it faked customer signatures.
This outfit claims to be able to help business get a reduction in their rates, and takes a 45% cut on any savings.
But you can get small business rates relief automatically if you qualify for it by contacting your council – there’s no need to pay RVA or anyone else to do it for you.
No wonder so many of its supposed clients have refused to pay, saying they were duped into signing a contract, or never signed at all.
RVA’s routine response when this happens is to sue.
Among the latest customers dragged to court is David Hurst, whose small business Braided International Lines sells fishing line for anglers.
He admitted signing a contract in 2013 that ran to March 2017, paying RVA a total of almost £4,000 out of the saving on his business rates.
RVA, which claims “we pride ourselves in our integrity” then hit him with more bills after the contract ended, demanding £1,400 for 2017 and 2018, and sued when Mr Hurst didn’t pay.
Last week at Leicester county court RVA claimed Mr Hurst had signed a second contract that meant the deal ran until 2022. This contract was supposedly signed in July 2014, just eight months after the first one.
Mr Hurst told the court it was a forgery and Deputy District Judge Henderson agreed.
He said that while two different people had purportedly written the two contracts, the handwriting looked the same and no explanation for this had been offered by RVA, which was only represented by a solicitor advocate – there was no sign of sole director 55-year-old Stephan Hughes.
“On the balance of probabilities I say it is the same writing written by the same person on both contracts,” he ruled. “The only conclusion I can reach is that the second contract is a forgery. I cannot see there is any other explanation for why Mr Hurst would sign a contract signing over 45% of the recovery of business rates up to 2022 when eight months before he had signed one up to 2017.”
The judge threw out RVA’s claim and served it with an “unreasonable behaviour order”, meaning it must pay the court costs and Mr Hurst’s legal costs. “I was a fool to ever sign up with them but I took that hit and honoured the contract,” Mr Hurst said outside court.
“What they then did was to forge another contract in an attempt to extract more money out of me for doing nothing.
“They would have broken my business. It has been a terrible ordeal, they are relentless in chasing their invoices.
“Once we read the stories about RVA in the Mirror we knew who we were dealing with, we went through all this to give hope to others in the same position.
“It was a huge relief, there is justice out there.”
RVA Surveyors has offices in Denton, Manchester.
Previous cases I’ve reported where courts have heard forgery claims made against the business include: London window company Advanced Woodford Glazing; a farm near Tisbury in Wiltshire; Osiris Water Management of Lingfield, West Sussex, and London physiotherapist Carol Darvell.
They all defeated attempts by RVA to sue them.
‘‘ It has been an ordeal, they are relentless in chasing their invoices