The VOA, or Valuation Office Agency, gives your local Council and the Government the property advice and valuations it needs to define your taxation and benefits as a ratepayer. The role we play at Goodman Nash is to interact with the VOA and the Council on your behalf to ensure you are on the correct rates and are not due any rebates or future discounts.
The VOA recently announced a new set of standards that all agents, such as Goodman Nash, must follow to do business on a client’s behalf with the VOA. How will this affect Goodman Nash? The short answer is that it won’t.
As a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) we have aligned ourselves against a set of professional standards which protect our clients. The new standards from the VOA work in conjunction with these and have been jointly published by three professional bodies:
- Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV)
- Rating Surveyors’ Association (RSA)
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
The new VOA standards
We must meet the following standards of behaviour:
- Act with integrity and honesty
- Be open with the information we share with you the ratepayer
- Be respectful and treat others with courtesy and respect
- All of our materials and communications must not misrepresent the relationship we have with the VOA
We must meet the following standards of professional practice:
- Be reliable with our commitments to you the ratepayer and the VOA
- Be accurate with all of the information we provide and take steps to show supported evidence of this information
- Ensure we are due-diligent to prevent errors, and we must correct mistakes as soon as they are identified
- We must have correct and up-to-date knowledge of all areas of ratings and valuations that we deal with
- We must fully comply with all the relevant legislation and regulations relating to our professional activity
We must meet the following standards of service:
- Our communications must be clear
- We should respond to contact promptly
- We should be approachable and available
- We must use our experience and expertise to provide the correct and appropriate advice
What will happen if we don’t meet these standards?
These standards have been brought into effect to help take action against the small number of agents who are not appropriately conducting themselves or do not have the ratepayer’s best interests at heart. In most cases, the VOA will work with the agent to resolve any issues. If things are more serious then the agent could be referred to the HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service or the Advertising Standards Agency.
With 30 years of experience helping ratepayers, the endorsement of two professional bodies and a 4.8 rating on Google, we’re never going to not meet these standards. However, if you have dealt with an agent who you feel has let you down then you can contact the VOA here.
If would like to know more about Goodman Nash and how we have helped ratepayers save thousands of pounds then please see our client case studies or get in touch via our contact form or call us on 01380 739112