VICTORY IN RATES CASE

Shambolic is probably the best way to describe the latest attempt by RVA Surveyors to sue one of its clients. This lot claims to help get firms a reduction in their business rates but charges huge fees even if those clients have a small enough turnover to be automatically entitled to be zero-rated. I’ve previously told how clients who refuse to pay are routinely taken to court. In a case last week, it took on Lili Baston, who runs a family restaurant in Barking, East London, with her husband Liviu, claiming she owed £2,196. That was just the first instalment of its fees, the total claim over the life of the contract being nearer £18,000 – a sum likely to put Lili out of business. In the event, RVA’S legal executive, Kellie Hetherington, did not turn up at Romford County Court, which was told that she could not travel because she’d broken an arm two weeks earlier. That prompted Elliot Hammer, Lili’s solicitor, to say: “My client’s here and she’s got a broken leg.” Then a statement from RVA paralegal Sarah Matthews was ruled inadmissible because it was filed too late, leaving RVA with no evidence. Deputy District Judge Rodger dismissed its claim, ruling: “The claimant has failed to prove that there’s a legally binding enforceable agreement between itself and the defendant.” Lili was awarded costs of £3,500. “I feel so happy, the nightmare is gone,” she said outside court. “They told us there was a 14-day cooling off period after signing the contract and we rang them after five days and they said they’d already started the work and we had to pay. “They were calling five or six times a day, it made me sick.”

RELIEF Liviu and Lili Baston