Most independent Surveyors are good at what they do and the vast majority of the reports they produced really help clients in the home buying process. However, as with all services mistakes can happen and it is possible that you as a client will need to make a complaint about your Home Survey. Perhaps you have a found a problem at your new house that you would have expected the Surveyor to tell you about and need it fixed. So what is the best way to do it? This is my step by step guide to getting the best result.
Step 1 – Reread your survey report
When you are buying a house there is a hell of a lot of paper work, your conveyancer will send you piles of it as will your mortgage lender, broker, even the removal company. It can be a struggle to keep up with it all that especially while you are busy thinking about packing, changing the kids school or one of the other hundreds of things there is to manage during a home more. With all that it is understandable if you skim read some of the documents you receive including the survey report.
So, the first thing you should do if you find a problem is go back over the report and see if it is mentioned. Perhaps the Surveyor spotted it and explained why it is not a problem or even suggested a simple fix. It could also be that the Surveyor explains in the report why they could not access an area and, therefore, could not have spotted the defect. You should expect a report to be comprehensive, especially if it is a Level 3 or Building Survey, but what ever the level of report there will always be things a Surveyor can not tell you about a building.
Step 2 – Reread everything else the Surveyor sent you
When you booked the survey, you should have been set a set of terms of engagement, these will have set out exactly what level of service you should expect from your Surveyor. Importantly it will also explain anything that is excluded from the survey. Any level of Home Survey is a non-invasive inspection which means that the Surveyor can not damage anything whilst carrying out the inspection. They can not lift fitted carpets for example or removed fixed panels. It could be that the problem you have found would have been hidden from the Surveyor.
Also take a look at all the other correspondence you had with the Surveyor, they may have mentioned something in an email which is relevant.
Step 3 – Contact the Surveyor and request a copy of their complaints procedure
If you have completed steps 1 and 2 and that has not answered your questions, then the next step is find out exactly how the Surveyor handles complaints. If they are a member of a recognised professional body such as RICS or CABE then they will have a formal complaints procedure, often this will be published on their website. It might even be set out at the of the survey report.
The complaints procedure will set out how you can expect the complaint to be dealt with, how long it will take and who will deal with it.
Step 4 – Pull together all the details of the complaint
Now it is time to get all your information together which should include any reports you have received from other professionals or builders who have looked at the problem along with photos of the issue. If there are costs involved make sure you obtain at least three quotes for the work. For a genuine opinion make sure you don’t mention to any contractors that you are thinking about making a complaint to the Surveyor. Often contractors will see this as an easy way to push up the price or even a reason to exaggerate the works required. Another good option is to have the issue inspected by a different Surveyor who can provide an unbiased report.
It is important to get everything together at this stage as it will speed the process up later on.
Step 5 – Send your complaint in writing to the Surveyor
The complaints procedure should provide you with details of how to make your complaint, usually including an email address. Set out your complaint as clearly and as simply as you can including how you would like it resolved. Don’t forget to attach the pictures and any reports or quotes.
Step 6 – Reinspection by the Surveyor
In some cases, the Surveyor may want to come out and take a look at the problem before responding to your complaint. This will help them fully understand the situation and make sure they can provide you with a full response.
Step 7 – Final decision
After investigating the matter, the Surveyor should then provide a full response, often referred to as a final view point. This should explain the Surveyors position and any offer to resolve the matter. It should also tell you what you can do if you are unhappy with the outcome.
What to do next?
In most situations the complaints procedure should have helped you resolve the problem either by offering some form of settlement or explaining why this issue could not have been cover by the survey report. However, if you are not satisfied then you do still have options.
The first will be to register a complaint with the relevant ombudsman service. There are a couple of different ombudsman services which cover Surveyors, the main one for RICS members is The Property Ombudsman but there are others. The decision from the Surveyor should set out which ombudsman service they are registered with and how to contact them. If it does not then either ask or if you visit the ombudsman websites you can search to see if they are members.
All ombudsman services are free for you to use but you do need to make sure you have completed the Surveyors complaints procedure first. You have 12 months from the date of final decision to register your complaint with the Ombudsman.
Can I take legal action?
If after all that you are still not happy, or if the claim is too substantial to be settled by an ombudsman service, then you can make a legal claim for professional negligence. There are specialist solicitors who can help you with this and often you will need to appoint an expert witness to assist. This process can be expensive so should only be considered once you have exhausted all other options.
Can I complain to the RICS?
If your Surveyor is a member of the RICS and you believe the quality of their work falls short of the standards you expect of a professional then yes you should make a complaint to the RICS. However, you should know that the RICS complaints service is not there to settle any dispute you have with the Surveyor. Making a complaint can only result in the RICS taking disciplinary action against the Surveyor.
Can I complain if I am not a client of the Surveyor?
If a Surveyor has visited your property you are selling on behalf of your buyer you can still make a complaint but only if the Surveyor has caused any damage to the property or left it insecure and there has been a theft. If you disagree with their findings, for example you think a defect mentioned in the survey is not serious or does not exist, then there is no route to complain. The Surveyor is appointed by your buyer and has a responsibly only to them, they will not even be permitted to discuss their findings with you. If you disagree with the findings of a survey report then the best option is to speak to the buyer directly and pass on any information you may have. For example if you have a separate report covering the defect noted by the Surveyor then send that to your buyer. They will then pass it on to the Surveyor who will then advise them if it satisfies their concerns.