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Taking action against dodgy surveyor
Hi,
My partner and I moved into our house a couple of months ago, at the start of January. We had a Home Buyer survey done back in September, stating in black and white that there were no problems with roof or signs of potential problems.
There were statements saying that there were no rips in the felt, for example, and no signs of water ingress.
Incredibly, when we moved in we found that water had been seeping into the upstairs room from the parapet walls. On inspecting the loft in detail we found a large number of tears in the felt, many botched patch repairs jobs, and visible daylight due to other defects. The walls were visibly wet. Not only this, but there was actually a 2ft plant growing from the coping stones. Of course, none of this was mentioned in the survey - it indicated GREEN and no problems with the roof.
Upon taking legal advice, I carried out the following steps:
1. Got another survey just 2 weeks after moving in, with photographic evidence taken. This was by another MRICS surveyor. They produced a report comparing the actual state of the house with the claims of the original surveyor. This new surveyor is on the Expert Witness panel of MRICS.
2. Obtained several roof repair quotations, and a statement of the condition of the roof from the company chosen.
3. Produced a letter of complaint, referencing 1 and 2.
In my letter I stated that I was forced to get the work done ASAP due to the water seeping into the upstairs of the house, which has already inflicted hundreds of pounds worth of damage to walls and ceilings. My legal advisor said I was at liberty to get who I wanted to do the roofing work, and that I should give the original surveyor 7 days to respond to my request that they pay for all the roofing work and associated repairs due to their clear breach of contract (you can't write clear lies in a survey as far as I know and get away with it unless contract law is fictional). I was also advised to ask the surveyor if they had notified their insurer of this event.
I also obtained the original surveyors complains procedure, which also stated that I should put my complaint into writing and expect a response within 7 days.
Well, the surveyor didn't respond to my letter within 7 days. It was sent my special delivery, and I phoned their office a week later. The receptionist said the surveyor had not picked up their mail, and my letter was on the desk still. I emailed the surveyor about this and got an apology, with the promise of a response within the next week. It didn't materialise.
To date I have no responses to my questions. I got a short email last week (the letter was received on 13th February!) stating that they would "pop over and have a chat with my roofer", to which I asked that they book a time with me and state what will be done during the visit (knowing that his last visit was the cause of all this trouble) - to which I got .... no response.
So, where are we in terms of the surveyors OWN complaints procedure?
1. It says my complains will be acknowledged within 7 days. This didn't happen.
2. It says the complaint will be given full consideration by the appointed person. This in my view has not happened.
3. It says every effort will be made to respond fully to the complaint within 28 days, and that if the complaint cannot be responded to fully, and update will be given. This has not happened either.
4. It says if the complaint cannot be resolved, I will be advised in writing that the internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, and that details of the independent redress mechanism will be included. This has not happened.
The redress mechanism is stated as being me taking my complaint to The Surveyors Ombudsman Service.
The complaints procedure seems to give the surveyor complete control over when we deem the internal complaints procedure to have failed. As such, I am left waiting for an indeterminate amount of time for an answer, which is rather unacceptable, not to mention disrespectful.
Given the surveyor has been so poor in handling this complaint, can I go straight to Ombudsman myself? I really need to do something NOW because the repairs have cost £5,500 and I had to get a loan to do this. I have also incurred the costs of getting the credit, and paying for the local authority building notice. The internal wall and ceiling repairs also have to be done later this year. It's a complete joke.
Thoughts anyone? This has all caused my partner and I a huge amount of stress. The surveyor needs to be held accountable for their breach of contract and the consequences.
My partner and I moved into our house a couple of months ago, at the start of January. We had a Home Buyer survey done back in September, stating in black and white that there were no problems with roof or signs of potential problems.
There were statements saying that there were no rips in the felt, for example, and no signs of water ingress.
Incredibly, when we moved in we found that water had been seeping into the upstairs room from the parapet walls. On inspecting the loft in detail we found a large number of tears in the felt, many botched patch repairs jobs, and visible daylight due to other defects. The walls were visibly wet. Not only this, but there was actually a 2ft plant growing from the coping stones. Of course, none of this was mentioned in the survey - it indicated GREEN and no problems with the roof.
Upon taking legal advice, I carried out the following steps:
1. Got another survey just 2 weeks after moving in, with photographic evidence taken. This was by another MRICS surveyor. They produced a report comparing the actual state of the house with the claims of the original surveyor. This new surveyor is on the Expert Witness panel of MRICS.
2. Obtained several roof repair quotations, and a statement of the condition of the roof from the company chosen.
3. Produced a letter of complaint, referencing 1 and 2.
In my letter I stated that I was forced to get the work done ASAP due to the water seeping into the upstairs of the house, which has already inflicted hundreds of pounds worth of damage to walls and ceilings. My legal advisor said I was at liberty to get who I wanted to do the roofing work, and that I should give the original surveyor 7 days to respond to my request that they pay for all the roofing work and associated repairs due to their clear breach of contract (you can't write clear lies in a survey as far as I know and get away with it unless contract law is fictional). I was also advised to ask the surveyor if they had notified their insurer of this event.
I also obtained the original surveyors complains procedure, which also stated that I should put my complaint into writing and expect a response within 7 days.
Well, the surveyor didn't respond to my letter within 7 days. It was sent my special delivery, and I phoned their office a week later. The receptionist said the surveyor had not picked up their mail, and my letter was on the desk still. I emailed the surveyor about this and got an apology, with the promise of a response within the next week. It didn't materialise.
To date I have no responses to my questions. I got a short email last week (the letter was received on 13th February!) stating that they would "pop over and have a chat with my roofer", to which I asked that they book a time with me and state what will be done during the visit (knowing that his last visit was the cause of all this trouble) - to which I got .... no response.
So, where are we in terms of the surveyors OWN complaints procedure?
1. It says my complains will be acknowledged within 7 days. This didn't happen.
2. It says the complaint will be given full consideration by the appointed person. This in my view has not happened.
3. It says every effort will be made to respond fully to the complaint within 28 days, and that if the complaint cannot be responded to fully, and update will be given. This has not happened either.
4. It says if the complaint cannot be resolved, I will be advised in writing that the internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, and that details of the independent redress mechanism will be included. This has not happened.
The redress mechanism is stated as being me taking my complaint to The Surveyors Ombudsman Service.
The complaints procedure seems to give the surveyor complete control over when we deem the internal complaints procedure to have failed. As such, I am left waiting for an indeterminate amount of time for an answer, which is rather unacceptable, not to mention disrespectful.
Given the surveyor has been so poor in handling this complaint, can I go straight to Ombudsman myself? I really need to do something NOW because the repairs have cost £5,500 and I had to get a loan to do this. I have also incurred the costs of getting the credit, and paying for the local authority building notice. The internal wall and ceiling repairs also have to be done later this year. It's a complete joke.
Thoughts anyone? This has all caused my partner and I a huge amount of stress. The surveyor needs to be held accountable for their breach of contract and the consequences.
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