Is it normal to charge to get a damp proofing quote?

Pandilex

I've been phoning companies, only got through to two companies so far, one is gonna ring me back, the other said they charge £82 for a survey to get a quote.

Seems a bit steep? I know there's a damp problem as it is in the structural engineer's report, but I don't really want to pay £82 to find out how much it will cost.

Even a rough estimate, eg. £500, £1000, £2000, £4000 would be enough to decide a course of action.

steve2005

Perhaps they charge for the survey but then deduct it from the premium?

FWIW, we have damp-proofing in our sub-basement flat, all the way round the building (100SqM) and the premium for that is around £150 a year with Rentokill.
Will double check price for you though when I get home.

Pandilex

Just phoned them, rentokil say they charge £125 for a report which is then refunded if you use their service.

As a huge company I do place a certain amount more faith in them than I would a local company. Wonder if they're a good company to go with?

maas

I think thats normal. If you own the property then they are usually free as there's a likelyhood of them getting the work, but as soon as you mention you are looking to buy the property then they often charge as there's hardly any chance of them seeing any work, and time is money.

maas

Pandilex wrote: »

Just phoned them, rentokil say they charge £125 for a report which is then refunded if you use their service.

As a huge company I do place a certain amount more faith in them than I would a local company. Wonder if they're a good company to go with?

The problem of course is that you'll pay much more with the big companies.

I was quoted £2600 from Peter Cox and a local firm quoted £1400. And the local guys said that Peter Cox usually subcontract a lot of work to them and just stick a premium on the price anyway!

steve2005

Pandilex wrote: »

Just phoned them, rentokil say they charge £125 for a report which is then refunded if you use their service.

As a huge company I do place a certain amount more faith in them than I would a local company. Wonder if they're a good company to go with?

We've called them out on two occasions where we thought we might need to make a claim. Each time they sent out an independent person at a time to suit us, and always within a few days of being called.

No complaints with them at all as far as I'm concerned.

kingstreet

A free report could mean the possibility of a damp course being "required" when only a leaky gutter, or soil bridging the damp course is to blame.

Paying for a report could mean considerably lower cost to put right the issue. There are plenty of stories on here of quotes for new damp course which were unnecessary.

http://www.independentdampsurveyors.co.uk/

Presence of moisture does not mean rising damp. There can be several cheap minor fixes.

Pandilex

The structural engineer's report said it's pretty bad.

I guess I'll fork out £82 and hope it doesn't cost too much. If the total cost is more than about £4,000 then I can't justify continuing the purchase.

Seller already said they're not interested in lowering the price.

millysg1

When I bought my house our report recommended getting a damp professional in to do a survey. They also charged to do the survey but would minus it off any work we contracted to them. It was worth it for me in the end. Their report got me £5k off the original agreed price of the house. then I contracted them to do about £1k of work.