Party Wall [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

aboard_epsilon

wish you the best of luck

There isnt anything to stop this vincent brown threatening the isp who host your website ..and then the isp crapping it ..and taking it down without even looking into things. (the easy way out for them)

all the best.markj

panchenlama

the root cause of the problem here is the act itself. It is sh*t and needs binning.

this vincent or whoever it is (I can't even remember their name now) are just [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] worrying the middle classes out of money

zax47

Why not let them sue and have the whole thing tested in court - it seems to me like a complete scam in that a 3rd party can, apparently, employ someone without your knowledge or consent to work "on your behalf" and at your cost.

If only your neighbour had spoken to you about it before signing anything....

coder101

Ok, Here’s the final chapter in this sorry story. Probably!

Everything went quiet and there were no demands from Vincent Brown but my wonderful neighbour denied me access to her property until I paid them.

I then decided to appoint a 3rd surveyor as local firms were charging much less than Vincent Brown.

I now have the decision and whilst it is a reduction it is still above what I would have been charged locally.

This is a rubbish law and from my experiences with surveyors, they are mostly [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] (sorry guys)

1. The surveyor I appointed for advice before I started my extension failed to advise me I may have problems due to the close proximity of next door’s garage.
2. The surveyor I approached for advice once Vincent Brown started writing to me said “I’ve dealt with them before, appoint me and I’ll make it go away”
3. Once he was appointed (remember, you can’t un-appoint a surveyor), he then tried to charge more for this service.
4. He then suggested appointing a 3rd surveyor (more fees) who would be “sympathetic” to the cause.
5. 3rd surveyor was not sympathetic and whilst there was a reduction in Vincent Brown’s fees, this was eaten up by the 3rd surveyor’s fees.

This whole system is utterly crazy and makes me sick.

I had an article published in a national magazine where the magazine’s lawyers said they were [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]. I can’t add links to the article here, but will start another forum where I can.

I wrote to the chairman of RICS – Didn’t want to know
I wrote to Watchdog – Didn’t want to know
I wrote to the Citizens Advice Bureau – Didn’t want to know
I wrote to the head of Planning for my local council – Whilst he was sympathetic, couldn’t offer any advice.

My next step is to attempt to get Vincent Brown and My local Surveyor as much bad publicity as possible.

They will get about 1/3 of their original bill and hopefully if more people stand up to them and make some noise, someone will do something.

coder101

Ok, so after my award from the 3rd surveyor last week, I wrote to them explaining the following:

“Both My Surveyor and myself have been quoted around £450 + vat for local surveyors to perform the same job.

When My Surveyor appointed you, he told me that as a 3rd surveyor, you were aware of the practice adopted by Vincent Brown.

They are based some 60 miles from my site and in your report, you are allowing them 2.5 hours on site [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]. It took My Surveyor about half an hour to perform his part of the survey. The only building on the boundary is a 4m pre-fabricated garage. I cannot believe it takes 2.5 hours to survey this.

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

With this in mind it looks like you are condoning the practice of surveyors mailshotting adjacent owners from impractical distances and allowing charges to go above and beyond the local rates for such jobs.

In your award, you mention “reasonable fees”, surely reasonable fees are what we could have procured services for locally, i.e. £450 + vat.

Your award also mentions that such surveyors as Mr Gold (Vincent Brown) have a statutory duty only to charge “reasonable” fees. My initial [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] “demand” from them was over £2200 (My Surveyor has the original paperwork.) Would you consider this to be reasonable against £450. Do we have proof that Mr Gold is an experienced Practitioner that justifies these fees? [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]?

If my neighbour chooses to appoint an [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] surveyor over 60 miles from my site surely it should not be me who is responsible for costs over and above what we have been quoted locally. "

I have had no response from the 3rd surveyor so will be referring this to RICS. Hopefully because the 3rd surveyor is a RICS member and is giving the Vincent Browns of this world the green light to continue they will have some comment now.

If anyone can think of anything else to try I’d be greateful!

ASF1000

IMPORTANT.
VINCENT BROWN SEARCH PLANNING APPLICATION LISTS FOR HOUSEHOLDERS LIKELY TO NEED THEIR SERVICES. DO NOT RESPOND TO THEM.
They are not part of the RICS so the RICS cannot help. Anyone can be a Party Wall Surveyor and VB make use of this to [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] householders in a fee stucture outside of the control of the people who instructed them to start with. Its not the fault of the Party Wall Act either.
Signed
A Surveyor

ASF1000

IMPORTANT.
VINCENT BROWN SEARCH PLANNING APPLICATION LISTS FOR HOUSEHOLDERS LIKELY TO NEED THEIR SERVICES. DO NOT RESPOND TO THEM.
They are not part of the RICS so the RICS cannot help. Anyone can be a Party Wall Surveyor and VB make use of this to [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] householders in a fee stucture outside of the control of the people who instructed them to start with. Its not the fault of the Party Wall Act either.
If they have managed to 'become' appointed by mistake, they can only be paid if they have done something and they can only do something if the work proceeds, so if it is put on hold they cant claim anything, and if you get on with your neighbour get a quick signed letter between you that the work is OK and send it to VB telling them that you dont need them- that letter of signed drawing etc satisfies the Party Wall Act . QED.
Signed
A Surveyor

coder101

Thanks for the input and clarification ASF1000.

The trouble with trying to "unappoint" them in this way is that the Adjoining owner is then "intimidated" into sticking with them. My neighbor had ample opportunity to use my surveyor or choose a local on but insisted on using Vincent Brown & Associates.

I now need to decide whether I pay their bill or contest it further along the lines of:

1. Why do Vincent Brown & Associates need to spend some 3 hours on site surveying a 4m garage when my surveyor took less than 30 minutes. [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM].

2. Why is the 3rd surveyor who is a RICS member allowing them to spend this amount of time on site and effectively dismissing my surveyors submission. When I questioned him, he says he is not “condoning” this practice!!

Also, I had an article published in Self Build & Design magazine last April and they have now published another article from someone else with the same problem.

I contacted their lawyer to give him an update on my situation, naming all parties involved and he reckons this is “outrageous” situation [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]. He is now taking this up with various industry bodies to see just how big the problem is.

More to follow.

panchenlama

. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ..

coder101

.....also, is there any comeback on my surveyor for failing to notify me that the whole mess could have been avoided by this jointly signed letter saying we don't need them?

At one point I wrote to Vincent Brown telling them the job was on hold. They told me I could not continue with the build for a year if they were not paid (about £2500). They also told my neighbor the was "obliged" to notify them of any works.

It seems that there are simple ways around this, but surveyors you appoint to look after your interests do not do so and adjoining owners are so intimidated, they fail to go along with these solutions.