Party Wall [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

arrgee

coder101 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I've now spent a ton of time on this and it would have probably been cheaper for me to just use Vincent Brown, but after all the bullying, harassing and the rift they've caused between me an my neighbor, I believe they should be exposed. I will be copying this article to RICS, Watchdog and Trading Standards.

Coder101

also try The Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors
wwwDOTfpwsDOTorgDOTuk

Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors

In 1997 the Government introduced party wall legislation across the whole of England & Wales in the form of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. It was recognised by a number of experienced practitioners that the shortage of surveyors available to administer this legislation had to be addressed and the Faculty was born out of this national need for education and support for surveyors but also to enhance awareness and provide advice and guidance to the general public.

The objective of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors is to promote the highest standards of professional practice in this field of expertise and to expand the knowledge and study of all matters to do with party walls, to encourage the exchange of information and ideas amongst its Members.

coder101

Hi

Have had a few PMs asking for an update and here it is. Please excuse the rant!

I wrote to Vincent Brown & Associates in February and heard nothing more from them….BUT….My neighbour had basically signed her life away to them and insisted on using them.

I then spoke to a local surveyor who assured me he had dealt with them before and had sent them packing with strongly worded letters. Oh, he also “forgot to mention” that dealing with Vincent Brown wasn’t included in his quote, but would be charged at an additional £125 per hour. I’m really starting to hate surveyors with a vengeance.

Right now Vincent Brown & Associates are asking for £1,100 when the going rate for the Adjoining Owner portion of the work is £400 and now my “trusted” local surveyor is suggesting we use a 3rd surveyor. I’m really REALLY starting to hate surveyors with a vengeance.

In answer to the PM asking if you should ignore them, I’d say YES.

My letter to them basically explained that

1. Their costs were not reasonable as described in section 13 of the Party Wall Act.
2. They cannot perform the job reasonably based 60+ miles away.
3. There never was a “dispute” they contrived this.
4. I would take them to court under the Protection from Harassment act, 1997

It now looks like it’s going to cost me more than just using Vincent Brown in the first place

Hope this is of interest and will continue the saga as and when something happens.

If anyone wants to see the "Self Build & Design" article, go to photobucket . com, search for coder101, you can then see my profile and the article.

arrgee

wwwDOTpublicsectorreviewDOTcomSLASHsocialhousingSLASH?pid=4303&lsid=4309&edname=22802.htm&ped=22802

They write to the neighbour of a planning applicant informing them what their neighbour is doing.

They tell them that their neighbour is obliged to serve a Notice under the Party Wall etc Act 1996 upon them.

They get a letter of authority appointing them to act for them.

Armed with this letter they then write to the planning applicant stating that they have been appointed by their neighbour to act in this matter.

(At which point I would say is incorrect because the surveyor cannot be appointed until a Notice has been served).

The letter to the planning applicant is [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] and virtually forces the applicant to serve a Notice, this then triggers the whole mechanism of the Act into place.

They may very well return to the adjoining neighbour and get re-appointed properly now that a Notice has been served.

There are of course many other [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] routes and means at their disposal which they use.

However, the bottom line is that the Building Owner is tied into paying [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] fees with very high penalties for non-payment.

And of course any friendship that there was between the neighbours has long since disappeared.

The company will then have no hesitation in taking the matter to court to sue for their fees.

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM].

aboard_epsilon

[text deleted by forum team]

keystone

[text deleted by forum team]

arrgee

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

write to the BBC watchdog programe ..write to mps ..let as many people know what's going on as you can .

If you have had a party wall award from the company in question and you believe there are errors in it, please PM me.

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

i) Not having all Adjoining owners signing the notice. As an example if only one of the owners signs but their partner who has lived in the property for more than 12 months does not the appointment of the surveyor is invalid and the award is ultra vires. This means the award is not worth the paper it is written on and you should obtain a FULL refund.

ii) The works described do not relate to the notice. As an example, if the award is to build a wall, but your notice relates to building a loft conversion. This is blatant negligence, and you should obtain a FULL refund.

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM].

The point here is that all you have to do is prove the surveyors are negligent and the service was not performed with reasonable care and skill, nor for a reasonable price as described in the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. This is grounds for Trading Standards to investigate.

Many people are not aware that the awards are invalid. But check them and see if yours may be. The more examples of bad awards the better.

aboard_epsilon

arrgee wrote: »

If you have had a party wall award from the company in question and you believe there are errors in it, please PM me.

Typical errors are

i) Not having all Adjoining owners signing the notice. As an example if only one of the owners signs but their partner who has lived in the property for more than 12 months does not the appointment of the surveyor is invalid and the award is ultra vires. This means the award is not worth the paper it is written on and you should obtain a FULL refund.

ii) The works described do not relate to the notice. As an example, if the award is to build a wall, but your notice relates to building a loft conversion. This is blatant negligence, and you should obtain a FULL refund.

There are probably many more examples of errors in the awards.

The point here is that all you have to do is prove the surveyors are negligent and the service was not performed with reasonable care and skill, nor for a reasonable price as described in the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. This is grounds for Trading Standards to investigate.

Many people are not aware that the awards are invalid. But check them and see if yours may be. The more examples of bad awards the better.

Not me ..original poster ..and i was aggreeing with what you said in post 24 ..
I don't have any problems , just sympathetic from reading about anyone that has problems with the types of law firms listed above.; ...it should not happen ..and these types of companies should be closed down .

all the best.markj

arrgee

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

Not me ..original poster ..and i was aggreeing with what you said in post 24 ..

Was a more general request, not specifically for you, just used your quote.

arrgee

duplicate message

coder101

Still rumbling on after all this time…….

Having paid a local surveyor to do my part of the survey, and that the local going rate for Vincent Brown’s part is £400, (remember they are trying to charge [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]) it all went quiet for 8 months.

Vincent Brown has not made an award. Apparently it is “[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]” to withhold an award over fees. The Extension is now well out of the gound.

Vincent Brown are now [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] my neighbour who originally appointed them, and she’s now hassling me.

I have been told by my surveyor it still has to go to a 3rd surveyor and for “a small fee” will decide on who pays what. I am now just hoping that this 3rd surveyor decides to side with us so I’m not liable for their [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] fees.

I am a website developer and as a tribute to Vincent Brown I intend to publish a website with all the information that these forums typically are scared to publish. This is done solely to [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] about these kinds of business practices and help then navigate a course through this messy unpleasant business.

If anyone is interested in letting me use their story (in absolute anonymity) I would be happy to publish it along with mine and also along with the full cover story Self Build & Design magazine published on my behalf. Pretty much saying they are [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]. I am happy to back this up with the actual content from the magazine.

Please PM me if you can supply any content.