01618723897

Very happy customer Cambridge still waiting for a response to my message of the20 september.your lack of response makes me feel suspicious

As sj associates no doubt read these messages and they are so arrogant let me tell nadine worden and her cohorts that relevant information has been passed onto the media with a list of people who have in my opinion been scammed.i don't know how you have got away with it for so long.

You have given a list of a few successful appeals.i can counteract that by giving a list of clients you have scammed.the newspapers are aware of this and are speaking to the tenants direct.your firm has no conscience and no morality.

Help they are phoning all the time, Boss signed form, told there was cooling off period cant find term & conditions  now they want cancellation fee, very rude and threatening advice please on best course to take.

If you want me to help I will help.but what I want to know was there ever any chance of getting a reduction.

Could somebody please explain to me why there was a company at the same adress called Stanley James associates a hairdresser and beautician company which appears to have been dissolved.nadine worden was a director of this company who is now a partner in sj associates same initials as Stanley James.i have never heard of hairdressers becoming rating experts.

Businesses in the district are warned to be on their guard for phone calls from people claiming to be from a company which has taken over the collection of the council’s business rates, asking for bank details.


Lancaster City Council is issuing this warning after learning a local business has been contacted. The caller told the local business there was a discrepancy with their bill and that the business’s bank details were required in order to set up a bill payment.


The call came from telephone number 0161 872 3897 belonging to a company in the name of S J Associates. Peterborough City Council, having been alerted to similar concerns, has apparently contacted S J Associates which has stated that nobody from that company has made these calls.

Lancaster City Council has not appointed any outside companies to collect business rates on its behalf.
What to do if you receive a call

If you receive a call of this nature, do not give out any personal or bank details.
If you have any concerns please contact our Business Rates team on 01524 582920 to check whether the call was genuine. - See more at: http://www.ormskirk.gb.com/lancaster/news_lis ... h.Po9MeAal.dpuf

I haved saved money due to there work never asked for bank details etc for  me if its a scam why has the council not shut them down when going against them to get the rates  reduced they must be doing something right, the ones who moan you see it all the time are the ones who expect some thing for nothing and pay what they agree  and then moan as not all claims can be correct so its easy to say they are s..t but if you where a good business person you would have  done this yourself

You are one of the lucky ones.their success rate is abysmal.what I want to know from sj associates is how often they go to valuation tribunal if they cannot reach agreement with the vo.from my research hardly ever.i know for certain they put appeals in when there is no chance of getting a reduction.the clock is ticking.

Whenever anybody submits a message singing the praises of these firms I always ask can you give me details of the premises where they saved you money.lo and behold i never get a response.well will you.

An article appeared in yesterday's Sunday telegraph in the business section.it was discussing the length of time it was taking to settle business rates appeal.it was suggested that many of the appeals submitted were of a frivolous nature and with no chance of success.i have spoken to the author of this article and he has suggested the following.if you feel you have been scammed and you can back it up genuinely please email him. The email address is graham.ruddick@telegraph.co.uk.if you need any advice let me know.

I was contacted by S J Associates today. After 30 minutes on the phone with the smoothest operator I have ever encountered I agreed to their surveyor visiting me tomorrow at 12 noon as he was in the area. My closing words to the telemarketer was I would be googling their company for reviews prior to their visit.
THANK GOD I DID THAT!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post their experiences with S J Associates here I will not risk becoming a victim to these parasites!
When he arrives tomorrow I plan to record the conversation on my smart phone and simply tell him I have changed my mind. If he questions this I will hand him a printed copy of this thread and ask him to leave my premises. If he doesn't leave I will call the police without further conversation.
I will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again for those of you who have shared your experiences here.

This is what I would suggest.ask him why he thinks your rateable value is too high.dont sign a contract.make notes of his reasoning.then send me a message and let me comment on his views.

dont touch these scammers i have been waiting 18 months for a reduction only to be told there wasnt one

Could you please inform me where the shop was.i can then tell you if there was ever any chance of getting a reduction.all those who feel they have been scammed must get together or notify the media.if not then these firms will still carry on with their sharp practices.

http://www.lovemoney.com/blogs/scams-and-rip- ... ocal-businesses

These scammers have found a way to cash in on small businesses wanting to cut their business rates bill. Don't fall for this business rates scam.

Business rates are a significant overhead, a major headache and a major source of controversy. It's hard to read business pages without finding a call from major retailers for these costs to be cut. And local media are full of stories about how “rip-off business rates” are ruining neighbourhood stores, leading to half empty high streets.

These rates affect us all because their expense is built into the cost of what we buy.

Now if someone could dramatically reduce business rates in return for a moderate fee, it would be well worth paying. Or that's what one of my local shopkeepers thought – until I warned him that this is just the latest scam to hit the UK's million or more small businesses with premises.

An appealing suggestion

My greengrocer had been approached by a firm based in Manchester. It claimed that it could significantly reduce costs across the board by appealing against the current assessment. The fee would be £750 now and £500 a year for “ongoing” monitoring.

The only trouble is, as I pointed out to him, that it does not work. Yes, there are a tiny number of premises that have been wrongly assessed, just as there are homes in the wrong Council Tax band. No system is perfect and changes in a property over the years can push the bill down on appeal.

But in an equally small minority of cases, an appeal will push the bill up. For the vast majority, there is no solution other than paying and perhaps lobbying MPs to change the system.

Failing to deliver
Just recently, however, a firm involved in “business rates reductions” was closed down in the public interest – government code for “it's a rip-off”. J&S Surveyors Ltd, (“J&S”), David Scott Surveyors Ltd (“DSS”) and C&R Surveyors Ltd (“C&R”) made unsolicited calls to business operators claiming they could get business rates significantly reduced for a fee, but failed to deliver what they promised.

According to the Insolvency Service, J&S was the first to be set up, but ceased trading in July 2011 at around the same time that DSS started to trade. DSS was abandoned around October 2011, when C&R started trading in its stead, before it too was later abandoned. Each of the three companies was controlled by the same two individuals and continued the same business model as its predecessor company.

Insolvency service investigations found that that once a business owner agreed to make an appeal against their business rates, a cancellation fee was payable. However, clients said that the cancellation terms were not explained to them and they encountered difficulties in contacting the companies.

The success rate of C&R was estimated at between 1% and 3% and yet potential new clients were assured that a significant reduction could be achieved in every case.

Clients were encouraged to sign a 15-year contract, but the contracts were abandoned along with the companies when each ceased to trade, despite clients having paid between £495 and £1,295 for the service.

All three companies failed to maintain or preserve adequate accounting records, such that, with particular regard to J&S and DSS, it was impossible to adequately account for their income and expenditure.

Scott Crighton, Investigation Supervisor with the Insolvency Service, said: “Each of these companies misled clients, mostly proprietors of small businesses, into paying money through deception. Those in control continued these sales practices from one company to the next with little or no expectation of success and no apparent regard for the interests of those clients, who were systematically abandoned.”

Anyone who believes that their business rates assessment is incorrect, can contact the Valuation Office Agency which will review it for them, free of charge.

It's not the only scam targeting small business owners

Companies undertaking this activity tend to come and go faster than the seasons. The three which were shut down were run as successor companies. But there are plenty more using the same script, including the one which contacted my greengrocer, first by phone. And when he showed interest – who wouldn't? - he was visited by a “representative”.
Oddly enough, the Manchester area was also the centre of two other scams aimed at small businesses. One now shut down racket offered to find EU grants for local traders. These took £499 a time from businesses and delivered EU grant application forms (available free). But while anyone can fill out a form, that does not mean there is money. All the forms were rejected, including that from a London pet shop – there have never been EU grants for stores selling dog and cat accessories.

A second Manchester-based scam was “data protection registration”. This relied on a misplaced fear that legislation would force anyone who has kept a record of customers to register. There was a £135 charge for this. But the vast majority of businesses do not need data protection registration. And for the minority which do, application is free.

I really have no idea why these rackets seem to come mainly from the Manchester area. Any ideas?

We used them. We got scammed !!!! Was stupid I did not read all the reviews. Just got the letter we are not getting any money back. THE WORST THING IS WE PAID THEM !!!!!!!!! I am gutted. We are a new business and we do not have such money to throw away. I dont know what to do next. Is there a chance to get our money back ?!?!
Please read reviews !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont be as naive as I was.

I am not a retailer.actually I know more about business rates than all these firms put together.but what I would ask you is if there is any way you can tell me where your shop is.i can then tell you if there was ever any chance of getting a reduction.then if there was no chance of getting a reduction you can sue them for taking money under false pretences.there is no need to use a solicitor.