Erroneous report, insults, and overall horrendous experience

I hired Graeme to do the valuation of my flat in order to proceed with a remortgage and reimburse Help To Buy (HTB). Naturally, the higher the valuation the higher the amount you need to pay back to HTB. All I wanted was to get a fair valuation... After they viewed the flat, I received the valuation report and my heart skipped: Graeme evaluated the flat as £60,000 more than their 'initial calculation' because 'the subject property is unique'. Which was the same as saying "Here are our calculations but hey, can't really tell you why but trust me it's unique so let's bump up the price by £60,000 - no more explanation needed" I reviewed carefully the valuation and realised that the report was also full of errors: - There was a mention of private parking, which was not the case (I wish!) - The comparables used were 3-bedroom & 2-bathroom flats with 24h concierge and swimming pools, while my flat is a 2-bedroom and 1-bathroom flat with no concierge or swimming pool (I also wish!) I raised the errors to Graeme, even more so about the parking (which he supposedly saw) and he then told me that he 'would like to see evidence from your legal representative that you do not have parking allocated' (?!) I asked for a refund and Graeme started shouting at me on the phone and insulted me. I then hired another surveyor who was a lot more thorough and professional. They used fair comparables and provided a report without errors, and their valuation was £40,000 LESS the one from Pridmorecox... After this unfortunate event, I raised a complaint to RICS which was unsuccessful. So please, spare yourself the time, the energy and the money and hire real professionals.

Julian Maillet - 07/12/2022 | report this review