Survey missed major issues - what can we do?

Dinah93

We paid for a full structural survey before buying our first home. At the time I wasn't overly happy as I thought it was superficial and didn't pick up anything I hadn't as a layman. Now we've purchased the house I realise it has missed some major issues (severe damp in 4 rooms, bowing to the roof where the conservatory meets the house, chimney needs repointing, no soil vent pipe, no trickle vents to upvc windows means there is mould all over the frames, bricked driveway has blocked two inspection chambers which need to be kept open etc).

If we had known about these issues we would not have purchased, or knocked a substantial ammount off the price as the survey indicated the biggest issue was the bathroom needed a new extractor fan, yet what we're faced with is thousands of pounds worth of work.

What come back to we have? If there was a bank I could report them to the financial services ombudsman, so is it RICS I should go to or is there someone else? I don't want to just accept issues were missed which were in plain sight.

Thanks for reading.

G_M

RICS Regulation deals with complaints about Members' and Firms' conduct and allegations of failure to meet the requirements of RICS' Rules.

• View How to complain about an RICS Member or Firm

Complaining about a Regulated Firm
If you are not happy about the service you have received from a Firm that is Regulated by RICS and believe that you may be entitled to financial compensation, you should ask the Firm for details of its 'Complaints Handling Procedure'.
Every regulated Firm must have such a procedure in place and the Firm should have told you about it in its terms and conditions of engagement. If you have not received details of it, ask the firm for its Complaints Handling Procedure in writing. Keep a copy of the request letter, along with proof that you have sent it (such as keeping the e-mail delivery receipt or sending the letter by recorded delivery).
The firm's CHP will have two stages:

• Complaints will be considered by a senior member of the firm or a designated complaints handler
• If the complaint cannot be resolved, it will be referred to an independent redress scheme such as an ombudsman. There are a number of redress schemes and the firm's CHP must give details of the redress scheme to which it refers complaints so that you know where to take your complaint.

Read more about using a Regulated Firm's Complaints Handling Procedure in the helpsheet How complaints to RICS Firms are dealt with.

Complaining to RICS
If you have a complaint to make, you should always contact the Member or Firm concerned first. We have a helpsheet about how to complain to RICS, how we investigate complaints and what can happen next.

• View the helpsheet How complaints to RICS are dealt with

To make a complaint to RICS, please download and complete the complaints form document and e-mail to [EMAIL="regulation@rics.org"]regulation@rics.org[/EMAIL].

Milliewilly

Dinah93 wrote: »

We paid for a full structural survey before buying our first home. At the time I wasn't overly happy as I thought it was superficial and didn't pick up anything I hadn't as a layman. Now we've purchased the house I realise it has missed some major issues (severe damp in 4 rooms, bowing to the roof where the conservatory meets the house, chimney needs repointing, no soil vent pipe, no trickle vents to upvc windows means there is mould all over the frames, bricked driveway has blocked two inspection chambers which need to be kept open etc).

If we had known about these issues we would not have purchased, or knocked a substantial ammount off the price as the survey indicated the biggest issue was the bathroom needed a new extractor fan, yet what we're faced with is thousands of pounds worth of work.

What come back to we have? If there was a bank I could report them to the financial services ombudsman, so is it RICS I should go to or is there someone else? I don't want to just accept issues were missed which were in plain sight.

Thanks for reading.

First call is to go back to the Surveyor and tell them you are challenging their report. RICS look after their own so don't hold out any hope there of an impartial answer. You will have to appoint an expert Surveyor yourself to give you a comparison and thus a value. If you are in S. Yorks I can recommend someone to you. Good luck - it will be a long drawn out process.

clutton_2

do it all in writing......

David_Aldred

Hi Dinah93,
The surveyor should have undertaken their inspection and written their report with reasonable care and skill of a person in their profession irrespective of the type of survey you paid for, how much experience that surveyor had, or how much you paid even if the survey was undertaken for free the same duty of care remains.

You can go through the RICS arbitration scheme but as indicated by others you may feel that this is something of an 'in house old boys self regulating system' such that you might feel that system would not be truly impartial. My experience of it is that it is by no means a quick resolution to any dispute.

The vast majority of claims against surveyors are settled by their insurers before the matter comes to court because of the cost of litigation. This will often tend to work in your favour. The cost you can recover is often the difference between what the house was worth and what its value would have been if the missed faults were known.

You will need to show factually that the surveyor was indeed negligent and don't be fobbed off by any initial denial of liability on their part and 'get out clauses'. You do however have to be sure you have a reasonable case and be able to prove the fact the survey fell short of what a reasonable competant surveyor would have undertaken. You will need somebody independent and competent to fight your corner and nothing puts the fear of god into a surveyor more than court proceedings issued against them. Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Indpendent damp and timber surveyor

Milliewilly

David_Aldred wrote: »

Hi Dinah93,
The surveyor should have undertaken their inspection and written their report with reasonable care and skill of a person in their profession irrespective of the type of survey you paid for, how much experience that surveyor had, or how much you paid even if the survey was undertaken for free the same duty of care remains.

You can go through the RICS arbitration scheme but as indicated by others you may feel that this is something of an 'in house old boys self regulating system' such that you might feel that system would not be truly impartial. My experience of it is that it is by no means a quick resolution to any dispute.

The vast majority of claims against surveyors are settled by their insurers before the matter comes to court because of the cost of litigation. This will often tend to work in your favour. The cost you can recover is often the difference between what the house was worth and what its value would have been if the missed faults were known.

You will need to show factually that the surveyor was indeed negligent and don't be fobbed off by any initial denial of liability on their part and 'get out clauses'. You do however have to be sure you have a reasonable case and be able to prove the fact the survey fell short of what a reasonable competant surveyor would have undertaken. You will need somebody independent and competent to fight your corner and nothing puts the fear of god into a surveyor more than court proceedings issued against them. Hope this helps, kindest regards David Aldred Indpendent damp and timber surveyor

The Surveyor's insurer (in my case Zurich) will be again 'impartial' but actually firmly on the side of the Surveyor to avoid having to pay out. All the loss adjuster will be interested in are your financial circumstances to guage how long they can drag the case on for before you (hopefully) run out of money. They won't take any notice until a Court Summons is issued....... then they won't pay on the Court deadline and it will take a threat of Baliff action to get the money. But you will in the end so PERSEVERE!!