Major structural problem missed on full survey - Milliewilly you may be able to help!

Catscribe

Good evening all,
I'm new to this - please be gentle.

This matter was touched upon in a similar thread months ago but my circs are slightly different so wanted to start a new one.

I paid for the full all singing and dancing survey to be done (the £500 one), independent of the valuation survey, on my house before buying in Oct 2006. It is a 1900 end terrace.

The surveyor listed in his report that some pointing work needed between the bricks of the gable-end wall and the rear wall of the property.
In early 2008, the gap between the walls widened and my fiance became worried that the gable-end wall was collapsing.

Our insurer sent their own surveyor out to assess - had it been subsidence, they would have paid out. It wasn't.

The gable-end wall was pulling away from the rest of the terrace, apparently a common problem with old end terraces.

I discovered that the company which did the full survey had since folded. I wrote to RICS (having ensured I picked someone with RICS membership) and the firm's administrators and was told by both it was my problem.

I've had the work done in the meantime - the external wall was pulled down and rebuilt at a cost of £10k.

I have it in the report from my insurer's man that this should have been spotted on the full survey and the very reputable firm which rebuilt the wall is happy to provide me with a report saying the same.

I would like the cost of the rebuild back and the surveryor's reputation on a plate (I can't say here what I would do to his balls if I saw him).

From some web reading, I believe there is six years corporate liability even if the firm has folded. Is this correct?
Where do I get a sound lawyer from to tackle this? Do they do any sort of 'no win no fee' scheme for this kind of matter? If not, what cost am I looking at a) just for someone to take a look at the circs and say what my chances are and b) the whole process? How long will this take to sort?

Thanks in advance.

clutton_2

""I discovered that the company which did the full survey had since folded. ""

so who exactly do you plan to sue if the company has gone down - presumably you employed the company - so it was their responsibility - so i dont think you will be able to take this any further ......

realisitically if they have gone down and therefore have no money what is the point in suing them anyway ?

getting a judgment in your favour is one thing... getting the money out of them is entirely different.....

PasturesNew

Catscribe wrote: »

I paid for the full all singing and dancing survey to be done (the £500 one)

You must live somewhwere cheap. I paid £800 on three occasions for full surveys on houses I was trying to buy in 1999/2000!

Catscribe

Clutton,
If you are going to post sarcastic rhetorical questions, please keep your thoughts to yourself.
1. I am not an expert that is why I have asked for help and support.
2. Where I said, I have done some research (little and limited, bearing in mind I am a writer for a living not a solicitor, surveyor or any kind of housing expert) and I believe there is six years corporate liability from the firm's insurer.

The reason I came on here was to get help and support because I don't know about this stuff. Do you? Please tell me in a less confrontational way if so.

In the meantime, please be a bit more considerate. It is not just a house, it is my home and it means the world to me. It is incredibly traumatic to discover you have put your faith in a professional and they have let you down. The last thing needed, when you finally try and seek some advice, is your kind of nasty contribution.

ifonlyitwaseasier

Catscribe wrote: »

Clutton,
If you are going to post sarcastic rhetorical questions, please keep your thoughts to yourself.
1. I am not an expert that is why I have asked for help and support.
2. Where I said, I have done some research (little and limited, bearing in mind I am a writer for a living not a solicitor, surveyor or any kind of housing expert) and I believe there is six years corporate liability from the firm's insurer.

The reason I came on here was to get help and support because I don't know about this stuff. Do you? Please tell me in a less confrontational way if so.

In the meantime, please be a bit more considerate. It is not just a house, it is my home and it means the world to me. It is incredibly traumatic to discover you have put your faith in a professional and they have let you down. The last thing needed, when you finally try and seek some advice, is your kind of nasty contribution.

i think as you are upset you are taking cluttons post badly however they are right, if the firm has folded then you'll not get any money out of them.

pinkshoes

Perhaps THIS will help from the RICS webpage.

If I read it correctly, it implies that if a director/partner is made redundant and the business ceases to exist, they are then responsible for taking out their own personal indemnity insurance to cover any claims that may occur up to 6 years afterwards.

This would mean that you could go after the directors/partners of the firm, as they are supposed to have insurance under the RICS rules.

Milliewilly

Catscribe wrote: »

Good evening all,
I'm new to this - please be gentle.

This matter was touched upon in a similar thread months ago but my circs are slightly different so wanted to start a new one.

I paid for the full all singing and dancing survey to be done (the £500 one), independent of the valuation survey, on my house before buying in Oct 2006. It is a 1900 end terrace.

The surveyor listed in his report that some pointing work needed between the bricks of the gable-end wall and the rear wall of the property.
In early 2008, the gap between the walls widened and my fiance became worried that the gable-end wall was collapsing.

Our insurer sent their own surveyor out to assess - had it been subsidence, they would have paid out. It wasn't.

The gable-end wall was pulling away from the rest of the terrace, apparently a common problem with old end terraces.

I discovered that the company which did the full survey had since folded. I wrote to RICS (having ensured I picked someone with RICS membership) and the firm's administrators and was told by both it was my problem.

I've had the work done in the meantime - the external wall was pulled down and rebuilt at a cost of £10k.

I have it in the report from my insurer's man that this should have been spotted on the full survey and the very reputable firm which rebuilt the wall is happy to provide me with a report saying the same.

I would like the cost of the rebuild back and the surveryor's reputation on a plate (I can't say here what I would do to his balls if I saw him).

From some web reading, I believe there is six years corporate liability even if the firm has folded. Is this correct?
Where do I get a sound lawyer from to tackle this? Do they do any sort of 'no win no fee' scheme for this kind of matter? If not, what cost am I looking at a) just for someone to take a look at the circs and say what my chances are and b) the whole process? How long will this take to sort?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Catscribe - your problem mirrors mine on several levels other than I only had a valuation survey and my Surveyor was still in business when I sued them. It does sound to me like you have a case for claiming and you would be successful.

I found like you that RICS was effectively only interested in looking after their own. I cant offer any advice on the insurance after a surveyor has ceased to exist but the link provided appears to say its possible but you will have to track them down - a Solicitors letter to RICS will probably sort this for you you will get fobbed off unless its via a Solicitor i'm afraid.

There were no no win no fee's available for me when I took my case on only an 'insurance' to cover you for costs if you lost. The problem with this was the insurer effectively took over the case and if the other party made an offer that the insurer deemed acceptable you had to accept. I was confident enough to decline.

Time wise my case took 4 years from start to settlement but with hindsight it could have been sorted much quicker if I had instigated court proceedings sooner.

I suppose a positive thing for you is in the scheme of things £10K is not a lot to an insurer to get things settled and will certainly be cheaper than going to Court for them so they may settle swiftly. My Claim was £110K. My legal costs were £13K on top of which I got 75% back (thats all you get in litigation cases if you win)

I can pm you the name of my solicitor / Surveyor etc but they are all in Sheffield.

I paid a barrister £500 to look over the details of my claim to see whether it was worth fighting or not and it was money well spent.

An expert witness statement from a firm of surveyors giving their opinion on liability was £400 (this was 2005)

As you paid for a full survey I would think it will (should) be settled swiftly - I imagine there is a good chance the Surveyor who did your survey is still working for another firm so you can still sue him personally. I would concentrate on tracking him down first and sending a solicitors letter.

Good Luck!

kinglewis

I paid for the full all singing and dancing survey to be done (the £500 one), independent of the valuation survey, on my house before buying in Oct 2006. It is a 1900 end terrace

Certainly makes you think doesn't it... Is paying the extra worth the paper it's written on???

clutton_2

""If you are going to post sarcastic rhetorical questions""

OP you are obviously extremely sensitive as i fail to see how you can imagine sarcasm in the written word.....


i did not post anything sarcastic, nor were my questions rhetorical ....

a company which has been dissolved/bankupted etc cannot be sued as they no longer have control of their assets ....

Therefore you can only then have a go at suing the surveyor - but you have to prove negligence, and even if you can, you still have to get the money out of him.....

You may wish to drop your claim to less than £6k and then you can use the small claims court and your costs will be less

Milliewilly

clutton wrote: »

""If you are going to post sarcastic rhetorical questions""

OP you are obviously extremely sensitive as i fail to see how you can imagine sarcasm in the written word.....


i did not post anything sarcastic, nor were my questions rhetorical ....

a company which has been dissolved/bankupted etc cannot be sued as they no longer have control of their assets ....

Therefore you can only then have a go at suing the surveyor - but you have to prove negligence, and even if you can, you still have to get the money out of him.....

You may wish to drop your claim to less than £6k and then you can use the small claims court and your costs will be less

I think that it will be straightforward to prove negligence. the hardest bit is going to be tracking the Surveyor down. If the Surveyor himself is bankrupt then I agree there's no point suing someone you can't get any money out of.

Catscribe - did you commission your survey independantly or was it through your mortgage Lender as that may be a way of getting some info?

clutton_2

finding someone is relatively easy in this day and age... private investigators can track most folks down for a relatively small fee

Catscribe - there is a most useful thread on here by Eagerlearner about getting her deposit back and it outlines in great detail the difficulties in taking someone to court who does not want to be found, and who is intent on opposing the law suit... you will learn a lot about the legal procedures if you read it.... but set aside 3 hours to do so....