The need to claim on a guarantee in respect of previous rising damp treatment or timber treatment will expose the consumer to a world about which they probably know very little. A common situation is that damp or timber treatment has been undertaken on a property in the past, probably when it was purchased, following which the contractor responsible issued a long-term guarantee. The property is now on the market again and a prospective purchaser’s surveyor conducts a survey and locates ‘above average moisture content’ or ‘evidence of woodworm holes’. The owner remembers that he has a guarantee, telephones the contractor responsible for the original work and informs them of the surveyor’s findings. They duly attend the property and either confirm nothing is wrong or attend to whatever problem may be present and everybody is happy. Life unfortunately is not always that simple so let us look at what else can happen and the reasons why.

Is it right to pay for a guarantee inspection?
Provided it is clearly set out in the conditions of a guarantee, it is normal within the remedial treatment industry to pay in advance for an inspection under guarantee. If no such condition exists then a contractor, whilst being entitled to request payment, may experience difficulty enforcing it as it could be regarded as a post contractual condition.

Genuine reasons to claim on guarantees do occur but the main reason why guarantee claim inspection fees were introduced was mainly due to the huge amount of time wasted attending possible guarantee ‘claims’. Many such calls were found to be for reassurance purposes only – in other words the householder knows the reason for their suspicions but requires confirmation. Other calls are triggered by surveyors who acting in the best interest of their clients, but also looking to protect their own liability, suggest to their clients to ‘get it checked’ just in case.

The considerable cost of sending a surveyor to a property to inspect an area for reassurance purposes or because a chartered surveyor suggested to ‘get it checked’ is often not appreciated and it has to be paid for. Guarantee inspection fees should always be fully refundable if the claim is found to be valid but always check this to be the case.

Vested interest inspections – Beware!
Most contractors are honest and will always try to do the best for their clients past and present. But it is also true that in nearly all circumstances those deciding whether or not treatment is necessary will have a vested interest in their diagnosis and recommendations. It is not unusual in a guarantee claim situation, even before consulting with the original contractor responsible for the guarantee, the property owner or their enthusiastic estate agent will ask another commercially trading and competing contractor for their opinion. This course of action is often taken in the innocent belief that the opinion will be ‘independent’. Clearly such an opinion is not independent as the competing company is a commercial organisation that has a vested interest in their diagnosis and recommendations. It never ceases to amaze just how many contractors will spend time and money attending a property in the knowledge that it is already covered by guarantee and offer an opinion on another contractor's work. One has to ask what they expect to get out of this. A job? This is extremely unlikely because it is already under guarantee to someone else.

In a guarantee claim situation, the differing opinions of two commercially competing companies, with completely opposite vested interests, has the potential to leave the property owner or purchaser in the middle not knowing whom to believe. In most cases adopting this course of action only serves to cloud the waters, antagonise the situation and cause delays. Very often it leads to a third and even fourth opinion being sought in an attempt to discover what is right.

A real independent expert opinion from a suitably qualified and experienced person with no interest in whether or not work is necessary obviously has cost implications. This may put some people off  but it  often saves money. This type of opinion becomes even more valuable when the original contractor has ceased trading and the consumer has nowhere else to go except to other contractors who have a vested interest in finding work necessary because after all that is how they earn their living.

© Property Guarantee Administration 2003

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