Surveyor negligence claim?

lucas20042004

Good morning!

I have a question that related to my other post. In short we bought a 1950s house and after moving in turned out we had VIR cabling which is very very dangerous and needs to be replaced. It's going to cost a few thousand to rectify. We'll also need a new consumer unit as it doesn't meet standards.

During the process we had a level 3 survey done. Now they do state that they are not qualified electricians to cover themselves, however for a level 3 survey I'd expect them to pick up on blatant non compliant and dangerous wiring and fuse box.

In fact the the report stated that the consumer unit has RCD protection along with explaining the benefits of said protection, which is does not, so this is a clear error. They also scored it a 2 and stated "There are no areas of concern".

Do I have a claim or should I not bother?

Yes, I should have got an EICR done before signing, but hindsight...

Thanks!

user1977

Please tell us in full what they said about the electrics.

lucas20042004

"Although there were no areas of concern, a precautionary electrical inspection should be undertaken, to ensure that circuitry complies with current electrical regulations prior to a legal commitment to purchase. All recommendations should be implemented. The electrical installation is provided with an RCD which is designed to protect the users from electric shock. These installations are extremely sensitive and consequently occasional tripping of switches will occur, effectively shutting down the affected circuit(s). It can often result when a light bulb fails, or it may be the result of a defective appliance. When this happens, the ‘trip-switch’ must be reset. If this occurs with any frequency, an electrician should be instructed to investigate."

However there is no RCD and there is pictures showing the dated fuse box and VIR wiring. 

CSI_Yorkshire

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6467144/how-bad-is-vir-wiring#latest

Link to related thread.

TheJP

lucas20042004 said:

Good morning!

I have a question that related to my other post. In short we bought a 1950s house and after moving in turned out we had VIR cabling which is very very dangerous and needs to be replaced. It's going to cost a few thousand to rectify. We'll also need a new consumer unit as it doesn't meet standards.

During the process we had a level 3 survey done. Now they do state that they are not qualified electricians to cover themselves, however for a level 3 survey I'd expect them to pick up on blatant non compliant and dangerous wiring and fuse box.

In fact the the report stated that the consumer unit has RCD protection along with explaining the benefits of said protection, which is does not, so this is a clear error. They also scored it a 2 and stated "There are no areas of concern".

Do I have a claim or should I not bother?

Yes, I should have got an EICR done before signing, but hindsight...

Thanks!

This answers your question on whether you have a claim or not. They recommended you have the electrics inspected, you ignored the advice. If it was that blatant why didn't you pick up on it?

johnhenstock

as long as the installation works, you're fine. nothing for the surveyor to pick up, cables are hidden behind the wall, but do start saving money for a full rewire. it would've needed doing regardless, electrical installations don't last forever.

lucas20042004

TheJP said:

lucas20042004 said:

Good morning!

I have a question that related to my other post. In short we bought a 1950s house and after moving in turned out we had VIR cabling which is very very dangerous and needs to be replaced. It's going to cost a few thousand to rectify. We'll also need a new consumer unit as it doesn't meet standards.

During the process we had a level 3 survey done. Now they do state that they are not qualified electricians to cover themselves, however for a level 3 survey I'd expect them to pick up on blatant non compliant and dangerous wiring and fuse box.

In fact the the report stated that the consumer unit has RCD protection along with explaining the benefits of said protection, which is does not, so this is a clear error. They also scored it a 2 and stated "There are no areas of concern".

Do I have a claim or should I not bother?

Yes, I should have got an EICR done before signing, but hindsight...

Thanks!

This answers your question on whether you have a claim or not. They recommended you have the electrics inspected, you ignored the advice. If it was that blatant why didn't you pick up on it?

They did yes, but why are they even giving opinions and making statements then if they're void because they are not a qualified electrician? "No areas of concern" means exactly that. My expectation for a level 3 surveyor is to have some degree of knowledge. I assumed that they recommend an electrician for the finer detail so I took their word for no areas of concern at the time.

I didn't pick up on it because I haven't a clue and don't have a job with a primary function of checking for issues in homes.

caprikid1

" a precautionary electrical inspection should be undertaken, to ensure that circuitry complies with current electrical regulations prior to a legal commitment to purchase."

Did you get an additional survey done ? Those are the people to persue.

If not spend the money on an electrician not legal bills.

TheJP

lucas20042004 said:

TheJP said:

lucas20042004 said:

Good morning!

I have a question that related to my other post. In short we bought a 1950s house and after moving in turned out we had VIR cabling which is very very dangerous and needs to be replaced. It's going to cost a few thousand to rectify. We'll also need a new consumer unit as it doesn't meet standards.

During the process we had a level 3 survey done. Now they do state that they are not qualified electricians to cover themselves, however for a level 3 survey I'd expect them to pick up on blatant non compliant and dangerous wiring and fuse box.

In fact the the report stated that the consumer unit has RCD protection along with explaining the benefits of said protection, which is does not, so this is a clear error. They also scored it a 2 and stated "There are no areas of concern".

Do I have a claim or should I not bother?

Yes, I should have got an EICR done before signing, but hindsight...

Thanks!

This answers your question on whether you have a claim or not. They recommended you have the electrics inspected, you ignored the advice. If it was that blatant why didn't you pick up on it?

They did yes, but why are they even giving opinions and making statements then if they're void because they are not a qualified electrician? "No areas of concern" means exactly that. My expectation for a level 3 surveyor is to have some degree of knowledge. I assumed that they recommend an electrician for the finer detail so I took their word for no areas of concern at the time.

I didn't pick up on it because I haven't a clue and don't have a job with a primary function of checking for issues in homes.

It couldn't be clearer, there are no obvious areas of concern from what they can see but recommended you have a qualified electrician carry out a check to make sure all is ok. You ignored that and are now blaming the surveyor. Ignorance is bliss and all that...

Schwarzwald

lucas20042004 said:

TheJP said:

lucas20042004 said:

Good morning!

I have a question that related to my other post. In short we bought a 1950s house and after moving in turned out we had VIR cabling which is very very dangerous and needs to be replaced. It's going to cost a few thousand to rectify. We'll also need a new consumer unit as it doesn't meet standards.

During the process we had a level 3 survey done. Now they do state that they are not qualified electricians to cover themselves, however for a level 3 survey I'd expect them to pick up on blatant non compliant and dangerous wiring and fuse box.

In fact the the report stated that the consumer unit has RCD protection along with explaining the benefits of said protection, which is does not, so this is a clear error. They also scored it a 2 and stated "There are no areas of concern".

Do I have a claim or should I not bother?

Yes, I should have got an EICR done before signing, but hindsight...

Thanks!

This answers your question on whether you have a claim or not. They recommended you have the electrics inspected, you ignored the advice. If it was that blatant why didn't you pick up on it?

They did yes, but why are they even giving opinions and making statements then if they're void because they are not a qualified electrician? "No areas of concern" means exactly that. My expectation for a level 3 surveyor is to have some degree of knowledge. I assumed that they recommend an electrician for the finer detail so I took their word for no areas of concern at the time.

I didn't pick up on it because I haven't a clue and don't have a job with a primary function of checking for issues in homes.

the core issue lies within the words in bold:
- You made "assumptions" about their work without clarifying them.
- You had "expectations" without making sure these will actually be met.

if you had bothered to clarify these upfront or upon receipt of the survey, you had learned that these were apparently wrong. the section you copied also VERY clearly recommends an electrical inspection, a recommendation which you apparently didnt follow.

So this one is on you, first you didnt check that your assumptions and expectations are correct, second you didnt follow the advise, which the advisior whom you paid for gave you.

theartfullodger

So you were told to do further but presumably did none.  You know who you need to complain to - whoever decided to do no further tests...