Surveyor - Professional Negligence

[inkboy]

Hello All

I don't know if anyone can help me but my issue is this -

I purchased a property in August 2015 for £335,000. Prior to completion I had a Home Buyers Report carried out which didn't show up anything out of the ordinary. However soon after moving in we discovered it has a major issue with subsidence. The surveyors came back to view the property and accepted that there is a problem, although they have not yet accepted liability in writing. They then arranged a visit from a Structural Surveyor on behalf of their Insurance Company and have now instructed a Loss Adjustor.

The initial costs I have been quoted to fix the problem are in excess of £130,000.

I have however been told that the normal course of action is for the Surveyor only to be held liable for the difference in value of what we paid to actually what it was worth if the problem was known. The cost of rectifying the issue has to found on my side via an insurance claim on my own house insurance.

Can anyone possibly shine any light on this as it seems most unfair.

How can all of the costs be down to me/my insurance company to find when it was their failure?

Am I understanding it correctly that for example - the surveyor pays me £130,000 which I can do what I want with and my insurance company then pays for the house to be rectified?

I have so far followed the surveyors complaints procedure set out by RICS.

If anyone can offer any advice then it would be most welcome and very much appreciated.

Best Regards

[paulajayne]

Re: Surveyor - Professional Negligence

I would be tempted to put this in your insurance companies hands to deal with, if they will accept it, as I would guess taken out after the survey completed.

Have you got a copy of the surveyors contract? Terms and conditions?

[inkboy]

Re: Surveyor - Professional Negligence

Hi Paulajayne

Thanks for the response.

I have used the Legal Protection part of my Home Insurance and they are about to take control of it but I didn't know if this was separate to that of pursuing the surveyor? Yes I do have the Home Buyers Report which is a contract directly between the surveyor and myself - not the mortgage provider.

Best Regards

[Openlaw15]

Re: Surveyor - Professional Negligence

Your insurance will not give you money, it will use your quotations and choose the most competitive one and pay them direct. You will not have contract with anyone else except as a third party interest perhaps.

The bank's interest in your property is that it likely has legal charge of land like via a deed. Your property is the bank's security in other words, ie were you to stop paying they'd take action to repossess it. Negligence is not that simple to prove and it seems more likely that your home insurance company will claim off the Surveyor's insurance company whatever it costs to put the subsidence right, ie 130k.

This is not the same as an ambulance chaser solicitor. In tort the defendant is responsible for all losses....you could however tell your insurance company 6the nature of other losses that you may have. You could technically take the surveyor to court in your own right but what would be the point of that? I agree with the forum members who said let it go through your insurance company to sort out - less stress.

Professionals such as surveyor's likely have liability insurance for these type of situations. You could contact a tort lawyer but you can only claim for actual losses in tort, you can't claim x amount of money because you think you deserve x amount because you are angry at the surveyor. Then you have to deal with lawyer costs even though your home insurance policy could pay for these.