Business rates are not negotiable at the stage they are set by the Valuation Office (VO) but you can appeal against your rates if you believe they are incorrect.
When a new rating list is being formulated each ratepayer is asked to provide specific information regarding their property. This is then used by the VO to formulate the Rateable Value (RV). A draft list is then provided on line and ratepayers can check the information that has been used to formulate their RV.
At this stage, if you notice an error details of your valuation, such as the address, you can get in touch with the VO to inform them of this and get the information changed before the rating list goes ‘live’ and you are billed on that RV.
However, once the list is ‘live’ and the RV has been billed on you must then follow the Check, Challenge, Appeal process if you believe your business rates are too high or there is an error in your valuation.
A further option to check your business rates are correct is to carry out an audit of the, where all historical billing is checked for errors made by your local council and also checking for any relief that a ratepayer may be entitled to. (add link to audit page)
An audit can be carried out at the same time as an appeal, and is not the same process. It allows a further avenue to be explored for the recovery of any incorrectly billed business rates.