Was my surveyor negligent?

yllop1101

To come back and give an interim update. I raised my queries/disputes with the surveying firm. They denied any liability and made lots of wish washy statements. When I questioned specifics in their report against the RICs survey guidance they had nothing to say, sticking to their 'we're not liable' line. After a bit of back and forth, they offered a 'goodwill gesture' which wasn't even half of the costs I'm incurring, so I declined and have commissioned an independent surveyor to write a 'expert witness' report. This is defined by RICS as a completely independent service for someone else to report the facts of the matter, not to be on 'my side', and the surveyor was clear in letting me know it may not be that he agrees with me.  

He spent 15 to 20 minutes in the house looking at the roof and drains, and concluded the roof is absolutely screwed and should have definitely been given a 3 rating, stating that it needs re-felting, with huge holes in the lining and completely worn at the eaves.  He also agreed that the surveyor overlooked the drain risks and should have advised a drain survey in the very least.


I will now commence the adjudication process with CEDR and seek to recover all my costs so far, using the report as evidence.