Client terms (v2, 15 November 2026)

"We" means Rikard Radmussen, a UK sole trader trading as Owed Interest and operating Council Credit Check. We are independent and not part of, or acting for, any council. The client is the company named on the form or letter of authority ("you").

1. You can do this free yourself

You can ask the council's business rates team to refund the credit yourself, at no cost. In England, the council must repay an overpayment if the ratepayer asks (regulation 9(4), Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989). We do the work for you for the fee below.

2. What we do

We check the council's published list and Companies House and tell you what your company could be owed (free, no obligation). We send a one-page letter of authority for a director to sign. We then write to the council as your company's agent, ask for the credit to be repaid to the company's own bank account, ask the council to copy us on its correspondence and refund confirmation, and chase until it replies. We act as agent only: the refund right stays with your company, we never receive the refund, and we never handle your bank details. You give those to the council directly.

3. Our fee

• 15% of the amount the council refunds, capped at £3,500 per company per council, or 10% (capped at £2,333.33) if paid within 48 hours of the council confirming the refund.
• Worked example: the council refunds £1,732.83. The fee is £259.92 (15%), or £173.28 (10%) if paid within 48 hours. You keep £1,472.91, or £1,559.55 with the early price.
• Nothing is payable if nothing is refunded. If the council refunds less than its list showed, the fee is a percentage of what is actually refunded. No fee is payable on any amount the council sets off against rates or other money your company already owes it.
• If, after we have written to the council, you ask it to keep the credit against future rates instead of repaying it, the fee applies to that amount as if refunded, due when the council confirms it has been applied.
• We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added.
• We never take money before a refund is confirmed.

4. When the fee is due

The fee becomes due when the council confirms the refund (a refund confirmation, remittance advice, or a revised bill or statement showing the repayment), whichever of us receives it first. We email an invoice that day with a pay link and bank transfer details. The 10% price applies if paid within 48 hours of the council's confirmation; otherwise 15% is payable within 7 days of it. Lock in 10% (coming soon): you may set up a card or Direct Debit authority at sign-up. Nothing is collected unless the council confirms a refund; we then email you the 10% amount and collect it after the notice the payment scheme requires. You can cancel that authority before collection, and the terms above then apply.

5. What you agree to

• The person accepting these terms (by ticking, replying "yes", or signing the letter of authority) can bind the company.
• If the council contacts your company directly about the credit, or confirms or pays the refund, you will tell us within 2 working days (forwarding it is enough).
• Once we have written to the council, the fee applies to any refund it makes on the account(s) in the letter of authority within 12 months, whether it follows our letter or a later contact from you.
• Don't give the council your bank details through us. Give them straight to the council.

6. Late payment

The fee is a business-to-business debt. If it is not paid when due, we may claim statutory interest and fixed-sum compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (currently 8% a year over the Bank of England base rate, plus £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt) and reasonable recovery costs as that Act allows.

7. Cancelling

You can cancel free at any time before we write to the council (reply "cancel"). After that you can withdraw the authority in writing at any time; the fee still applies to any refund the council confirms on that account within 12 months of our letter.

8. Other points

The amount on a council list can change, so we say your company could be owed money, not that it is. This is not legal or tax advice. If a council refuses and court action would be needed, we will refer you to a solicitor; we do not issue proceedings. Personal data is handled as set out in our privacy notice. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. For a Scottish council claim, the Scottish courts may also have jurisdiction. Contact: rikard@councilcreditcheck.co.uk, WhatsApp +44 7984 098516.

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