So the surveyor did not notice this wobbly wall.....wwyd?

[PetiteMum]

we bought a house 2 months ago, been renovating and today our decorator noticed plaster coming off the inside wall in the lounge. Upon further inspection it appears the entire Walls breeze blocks are wobbly! We paid for the most expensive survey and it was not reported! Can we claim somewhere somehow? Will cost at least 700 to fix and we can't move in until it's done as we have no carpets down yet and don't want to do that until wall is fixed! So annoyed!

Well it really depends on whether it's something the surveyor could have been expected to spot or not. Was there any evidence of this before you started renovating, or did it only become visible once you started removing the plaster etc?

Sorry, meant Well you would have had to push the wall to notice it

what sort of survey did you have? Full building survey? Homebuyers?

I had a survey done once and they completely missed a room out of teh paper work - ie said it was a 1 bed flat when is was most definitley a 2 bed.

When I tried to complain I got no where as the small print said something like "we have no responsibility for what is contained in this survey even if it falls down the day after you've bought it"

Check the small print but complain any way as it is always worth a shot!

Is the surveyor a member of the RICS? If so you should be protected against negligence.

As members they are obliged to have a complaints procedure and Professional Indemnity Insurance. Ask for a copy of their procedure.

Complain by telephone and back that up with a letter.

It was done through e-surv?

We recently complained about our surveyor missing things.

Check that they are a member of RICS. The essential question is, should they have noticed? Would a surveyor doing their job properly, following the RICS guidelines, notice?

In the meantime, what did the decorator think - he'd probably have a view on how obvious the problem was? Take pictures and a film, if helpful.

You say you paid for the 'most expensive of survey' so a building survey (new name for structural survey)? This will have cost you about £500.

I'd suggest, as a first action, that you write to or call your surveyor, letting them know about the problem and asking them to come round and discuss it. It might be that they concede, rather than deal with a complaint. Our surveyor refunded his fee as a good will gesture (no admission of liability), which in your case, would be almost enough to pay for the work.

If you do instigate a complaint it will be helpful to get an informed view, so ask another surveyor to look, informally initially, free if you're lucky or perhaps for an hourly fee. Then, if necessary, once you've gone down the route of the surveyor's own complaints procedure, you'd have to pay for an expert witness report to substantiate court action - though bear in mind that this alone may cost as much as the work, so may not be worth it.

The work in our case was worth many thousands, so we pursued a complaint in writing. It goes on, now between our solicitor and his insurer, potentially (but hopefully not) arriving in court some time next year. I'd expect any resolution and payment to be reached within about 18 months of the original complaint.