URGENT!!! Help Please Secondary Flood Claim

hullstorage

Need help please, think my loss adjuster cunningham lyndsey trying to get out of claim....

sorry this is a bit long

I will try explain this the easiest way i can as the details below have been ongoing since October

Is the loss adjuster just tryning everything possible to get out this claim.

I was told by a builder that nobody can tell if a building has secondry flooding or it is simply just damp

WHERE DO I STAND... CAN I SEEK LEGAL ADVICE AS MY PROPERTY WAS FINE TILL THE FLOODS HAPPENED AND WHY ARE THERE MORE AND MORE HOUSES DOWN MY STREET STARTING TO HAVE WORKS DONE FOR THIS PROBLEM, WHY IS MY NEIGHBOUR NEXT DOOR FLOODED BUT APPARENTLY I AM NOT

About 6 or 8 months after the major flooding in Hull we noticed our walls beginning to bubble and the electrical sockets on certain walls coming away from them, there was also a musty and damp smell which we had never noticed before but never thought a great deal about it.. anyway my neighbour said that i probably had secondry flooding and they where claiming for this and that because i had the same problem as them i should to..

anyway the insurers AXA sent in a ROK building inspector and he said that it was probably just damp even though a couple of weeks later they had quoted to the insurers to do work in the hallway and the insurance said they would offer me a 2,000 settlement figure..which i refused as the damage was to the whole ground floor..

then a company was sent to measure up and later they sent us some sort of voucher for carpets to the value of £1,200

after this came Chemdry who confirmed that we had major moisture to the whole of the ground floor due to secondry flooding and advised of a full rip-out to the ground floor...

Loss adjuster came and he confirmed in his own words that he could see that we had suffered from some sort of flooding

then ROK builders came to estimate for the work to be done which would probably cost about 35,000

then cunningham lyndsey, the loss adjusters decided that the ROK engineers report stated that they could not confirm that the damage was due to secondry flooding

so cunningham lyndsey have now sent a surveyor from thomasons surveyors
who has stated that this is historical damage.. i am waiting for this report to come through the post and will update later


Please bare in mind that the loss adjuster is now going on ROK buiding inspectors report back in October, why send in all these different people who have confirmed that we have flood damage and send me vouchers and settlement figures to say sorry it is now Feburuary and we have now looked at the first report back in october and there is no damage

ANY ADVICE PLEASE

Regards

simon

hullstorage

oh sorry yes and the surveyor from tomasons said yes he could see that flood water had gotten through the air bricks

dacouch

Bearing in mind the scale of the floods in Hull I assume the council have some type of surveyor who assists with floods, it would be worth asking his opinion as he will no doubt have a vast experience of the how the flood affected the homes in Hull. Failing that if any of your neighboors have the same type of home and suffered the same extent of flooding it would be worth refering to them as you would assume your home would have suffered in the same way although there would be some variables you would need to take into account such as different types of flooring and different drying times etc etc

Try the council surveyor first as I feel this will be the best option and his opinion will carry some wait

Kittian_the_Blue

If you post on here the conclusions from Thomasons, I might be able to give you some more detailed advice as to how to proceed - you might need to appoint a specialist to give you a report, but the information in the surveyors report will also be important.
As a side question, do you have accidental damage cover on you buildings?

hullstorage

here is the report facts from tomasons in brief

i have left report at work but will post on here on monday


1.lack of ventilation under flooring ( he told me was fine when he came )
2.In his opinion not damaged from floods
3.Of Historical Nature
4.Defective Damp Course
5.Moisture in joists probably from moisture being drawn main solid wall
6.Hallway Damp due to Dampcourse failing because of deffective porch concrete slab.
7. Not enough air bricks ( these houses are over 50 years old ) and i have not made any alterations to the property.

Why again has all this damage suddenly appeared after living here for over 10 years happened just since the floods back in june 2006

My loss adjuster has agreed that i can seek a second report ( at my cost ) and will look at this report and take it from there although i cannot afford a surveyors report..

Just a thought but i have found out today having looked through my paperwork that i had another poilcy running from my previous mortagage that expired in march 24 2007, would it be worth trying to claim on this policy and hopefully this will get the report i need.

It all seems to boil down to who inspects your property first as apparnly my neighbours inspector came round got his prongs and basically said yes you have been flooded..

Why has this surveyor only checked the hallway walls not under the flooring
why has he only checked under small hole at joists in the front room and not the dining room
Why has he not inspected the kitched under the floor boards

any help thanks

dacouch

Generally if you commision you own surveyors report at your own cost and it confirms that further work is needed. that it is covered under the policy and is part of the original claim the Insurers will often pay the costs providing they are reasonable. It may be worth checking this with your Insurer first.

I still feel it would be worth speaking to the council as they have support for people in your position.

Their contact details are

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Telephone: 300310[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Website: www.hullcc.gov.uk,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In writing to: Hull Flood Advice Service,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Room 22 Guildhall,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Alfred Gelder Sreet,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Hull HU1 2AA[/FONT]


With regard to the second policy, you cannot claim off both policies. If you had a second policy running at the same time your best bet would be to ask them to refund the premiums you paid that were not needed
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

From my experience of the Hull floods, the major cause of dampness now is the fact that the water table has risen. Hull is in a big bowl. There are pumping stations that remove the water and one of the major contributing factors to the flooding was the failure of one of these pumping stations. This is information I was provided by someone on the ABI Flood Panel.

The problem now is that the basic level of water in Hull is higher than it was before. In many properties, this is highlighting defects in the construction that were not previously noticed, such as a failed damp proof course.

The cause of this issue is not the flood itself, but the rise in the water table.

This may seem like a trivial matter, but all UK insurers exclude rising water tables from "flood". This is because the water table is something that should fall under the control of government bodies such as the Environment Agency and your local council.

I am sorry to say that the lack of maintenance to the pumping stations caused your floods and the lack of investment by your council is now causing the further damage to your property.

My 2p: change your vote rather than your insurer.

hullstorage

thanks i will be calling the council first thing Monday morning..

This is just so annoying when i know that this is to do with the floods
and both my neighbours are haveing the work started in 2 weeks, where i am goind to end up with a bill for 15,000+ to put this right.... stinks!:mad:

Oscar_The_Grouch

There are lots of people in Hull in the same position as you. Check the website for your local radio station and see if there are any groups that have been getting together to discuss recurrent problems; there may already be a local lobbying group that you can join