Leohorsfieldsurveying Reviews

20 08 - the details of my issues with this firm have now been edited out of my review as they now need to stay confidential However the one star review remains as an accurate impression of my dealings with this firm whether or not the contents of their homebuyer survey can be trusted and whether or not i d use or recommend this firm again

Employed them to conduct party wall agreement 30th June Still on the 6th Aug no sign of a report and no communication after numerous emails and calls Also the surveyor turned up had to be asked to wear a mask to protect us against covid looking at this it seems we are not the only ones getting a 1 star service Serves us right not to have researched them more thoroughly

Awful service Surveyor turned up at property at 10 35 and subsequently left at 10 50 Property has both a ring doorbell and CCTV to verify how long they were there Was then informed by estate agents that they had failed to return the key Received a very brief call from surveyor stating they were on route to estate agents but several hours later the keys still had not been returned Appalling service Have lodged a complaint as they trying to charge 500

Very disappointed service First of all i selected the company to do home buyer survey based on lowest quote and earliest available date That was a complete mistake They kept delaying the booking date 3 weeks after the date they agreed initially and I had to chase regularly Secondly the survey was conducted so quickly max 20 mins without climbing to the loft The report was general and I felt it was a waste of money

I wanted to buy a house privately so I been searching for a survey company and come up a few companies before finally deciding to go with Leo Horsfield Surveying Before I go ahead with Leo Horsfield Surveying I have asked some questions like the valuation as I buying privately that one of the main questions they said valuation doesn t come as standard so you need to pay extra for it 100 and I agreed After the survey is done and they sent me the invoice that doesn t included the valuation cost I questioned and they replied it a mistake and they will resend it again but they haven t instead ask me to sign another survey approve document with the valuation to be included I signed and after I signed I realize in the valuation paragraph they included The property is Freehold with a sale agreed price of 200000 I thought it a bit strange as I never discussed any price of the property with them and I questioned why how the valuation is that price but have no response from them After a week they finally the sent me another invoice but again no valuation added to the invoice I email them that was what I been doing so I can get the written prove then I phoned them to make sure they will set it right and they said it a mistake they will sent it again with the valuation included I paid straight away and they send me the report straight away As I read the report on the valuation section the valuation is 200000 surprise surprise I phone them straight away and ask to speak with a manager they direct me to the official manager Patrick why the valuation is 200000 and how do they come up with that valuation their reason is the property sold in your postcode catchment area in the last few months but the list property they included is all 3 bedroom terrace house with decent size garden and in a nicer area 1-2 miles further than the property I wanted to buy the property I wanted to buy is a small 2 bedroom terrace house with a tiny backyard no garage and the house price in that street with a similar size the property have never sold over 100000 and the last one sold is 9 months ago for 83000 and 10 months ago 3 bedrooms with a garage sold for 136000 Patrick respond is the house do go up and down in that period of time I question how can be double the price in 9 months and he respond is he not going to be arguing with me for the valuation and if you don t like their valuation go privately to a estate agent to re-value the property or complain to the complain department if I choose to I said it you colleague haven t done the job properly that why I needed to sign another survey contract when I questioned the invoice price or the quote of the agreed sale of the property 200000 and why do I need to pay the extra 100 for you to go to the internet and get the average price of the property sold in last few months I can do that in Zoopla for free He disagree and just want to ended the phone call I brought lots of things online and sometimes things doesn t go right but I rarely do reviews at all but I think someone need to know it could be happen you if you choose this company and when they have not do their job properly Please don t bother contacting me as I have lost all trust with your company

I wish to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the services provided by your surveyors While the payment request was promptly sent the subsequent handling of our project has been nothing short of a nightmare It has been a full week past the due date and we are yet to receive a final version of the report This delay is primarily attributed to a plethora of critical issues within the preliminary version Some of the most glaring problems include Incomplete Responses Shockingly some questions we posed have been left unanswered part thereof This negligence reflects a severe lack of attention to detail and professionalism Inaccurate Information The report mentions TPO Tree Preservation Order in relation to our property despite there being no trees present This egregious error not only wastes our time but also raises questions about the competency of your surveyors Inadequate Photo Documentation The report includes an assortment of photos yet fails to provide any context or explanation This omission renders the images effectively useless and leaves us wondering about their relevance Negligence in Valuation and Measurements We explicitly requested a valuation and measurements of the rooms However we were shocked to receive a request for additional payment after the fact with the surveyors inexplicably opting to copy and paste measurements from the Property Agency s records into an email This blatant disregard for their professional responsibility and liability is deeply troubling Furthermore our attempts to seek clarification and address these issues through your complaints procedure have been met with blatant disregard We have been ignored three times already which is an affront to basic customer service standards Given the gravity of these oversights and the lack of professionalism displayed we feel compelled to escalate this matter further We are prepared to pursue resolution through RICS and the ombudsman as well as share our experience on various social media platforms In summation the services provided by your surveyors have proven to be woefully inadequate and not remotely commensurate with the payment we have made This experience has been both frustrating and deeply disappointing and we strongly advise others to exercise caution before engaging with your company Frankly it feels as though we have received less than our money s worth EDITS FOLLOWING YOUR REPLY survey conducted on instructions of my husband Karol I am not surprised you cannot find the file only shows how incompetent you are Unfortunately we made that mistake that we did proceed with a survey from you LH32290102

Dan initially was fantastic He answered all questions quickly and made the booking process really simple The gentleman who carried out the survey was good too - he called us and was very informative When the report came through it was a little different to what the surveyor had told us on the phone but largely we were satisfied with it The report was sent to the mortgage company and the mortgage company had some questions this is when Leo Horsfield stepped in His email to me on 10th January read The report is stating there is minor cracking to the right hand side consistent with defective drainage and the recommended further investigation is to assess the underground drainage for defects only The degree of movement is minor and there is no requirement for structural movement monitoring at this property There are likely to be some drainage repairs required but the movement is not severe and does not appear to be progressive After obtaining a CCTV drainage survey and them confirming that there were no major issues with the drainage just two minor hairline cracks which could be repaired with resin for 285 the mortgage company again asked for the surveyor to confirm that the property is structurally sound without the need for further monitoring after reviewing the drain survey A simple reply was needed for them to be satisfied Leo Horsfield reply was received at 7 46am maybe after a bad nights sleep and sharply read Repairs are needed to the drains You will need to get quotes for the repairs from drainage companies Our fees for any further work on this case will be 150 00 per hour plus vat with a min charge of 2 hours To say I was shocked was an understatement I had simply asked for clarification on one point After pointing out how unbelievably unprofessional this reply was especially after reading through the terms and conditions which read 10 Professional FeesWe will usually provide a fixed fee estimate for surveys and reports This fee will include 1 site visit and preparing a report We will endeavour to answer any questions arising from the inspection or report as part of this service I emailed him asking why his position had changed so much from 10th January to 24th January He had no reply The mortgage company have now refused to lend because they were not satisfied with his replies and wondered why when the drainage survey was showing the smallest of issues he made them sound so terrible I hope this review helps others before they engage this company - after they have received your money they are not interested in helping you and have cost me a property

We engaged Leo Horsfield Surveying LH in October 2021 to carry out a full Building Survey for a property we were buying in South Manchester at a cost of 740 The survey was completed promptly and the report arrived around two weeks later as promised The report was some 115 pages long and although some key issues were identified mainly associated with the roof and damp in the cellars there were large sections of generic text and even some marketing material Half of the report was taken up by photos but NONE of these were labelled which made it difficult to identify what you were looking at Based on the findings in the report we decided to proceed with the purchase however within a couple of days of moving in we identified a significant woodworm attack to the open staircase to the cellars We considered that this insect attack should have been spotted by an experienced surveyor and so we took this issue up with LH by email The initial response from LH was that the attack was likely to be historic and therefore should not be of concern We were not satisfied with this and requested that LH take some action They requested some more photos and said they would look into it Then all went quiet and LH stopped responding to emails After a period of 3 months with no response we decided to take the matter to LH s nominated arbitration service called CEDR We duly submitted our complaint using their online system Initially LH did not respond at all asking for an extension of time on no less than three occasions CEDR then advised that in the absence of any response from LH the case would be sent to adjudication This seemed to spark LH into action and they then submitted a response citing a generic clause in their report recommending that a specialist timber survey be carried out on older properties Unfortunately CEDR found in LH s favour based on the clause referred to above but in reality how many people undertake a timber survey on top of the Building Survey Our main grumble with LH isn t so much that they missed the woodworm but more that they refused to even come and look at it and then just stopped responding to us and then to their chosen arbitration service It was as though they just couldn t be bothered

This company is simply a front for a database of substandard surveyors who are not fully qualified to provide the service they claim to offer One example of this recent experience is that the surveyor who attended failed to identify a collapsed flat roof at the top of a two meter garage which was clearly visible They then avoided any and all engagement and simply denied everything They ignored all the evidence and sent out a response later denying everything They also have not provided the details of the surveyor that came out or taken any accountability of their actions It is up to you as a consumer whether you choose to take these guys on thinking that they might be slightly cheaper but believe me when I tell you you will regret it Don t shortchange yourself over a major purchase and go to a local surveyor that takes accountability for their actions Avoid these incompetent Cowboys at all costs UPDATE 1 It s interesting that this company has suddenly engaged referring to their complete incompetence as a procedure of complaint which they know they will simply drag and delay rather than face up to their failing In addition their own incompetent surveyor stated to the homeowner that he was an agent for this cut paste reporting company Once again everyone AVOID THIS USELESS ENTITY AT ALL COSTS to protect the integrity of your home purchase

My experience of this company providing simple 3rd party wall services that they report to have expertise in has been extremely poor and frustrating They appear disorganised and unable to communicate or respond to even simple requests from their client I would not recommend using this company