Why do you charge for your surveys?

WHY DO YOU CHARGE FOR YOUR SURVEYS WHEN SOME OTHER COMPANIES DON’T ?

Please let me explain:

As a company we take pride in our efficiency.  Everything is communicated in writing for complete transparency and clarification.   ( we love a chat too though!! )

In order to provide an exceptional service to you, we pay our staff a decent living wage which takes into account holiday pay and non-productive time due to sickness, holidays, bank holidays etc

The Surveyors and Survey

Our Surveyors have taken years to become qualified at considerable expense and as a honourable company we also pay for regular training and updating of skills. It is this training and their skill that enables them to inspect your cause of concern and propose a viable diagnosis.

All our surveyors are provided with vehicles that are regularly serviced, repaired and taxed – not to mention the fuel they use  ( and time spent sitting in traffic at some point )

Upon arrival, they will spend an adequate amount of time examining the defects and explaining this to you, all the time writing up notes and taking photographs.   (We pay for their stationery, camera and surveying equipment too)

At the end of the day, the surveyors return to compile their notes and photographs

Admin and Office 

Once at the office they look at their notes and photographs to refresh their memories then start dictating the report which may include a drawing. This is then given to the office staff who will spend time typing up the report, inserting the photographs and drawing before emailing it to you. The file is then registered, documented and filed away, in a filing system which is kept on our premises.

In order to run the office, we pay for  lighting, telephone, stationary, computers, websites, print cartridges (extortionate!!) Additionally the office staff insist their offices are heated!!

As as a registered company we are also  obliged to pay rent, business rates, bank charges, accountancy fee etc.

A day in the life of our office

TAXES!!

And don’t get me started on the taxes we have to pay!!  : National Insurance for Staff, VAT, Corporation, CITB & CIS Tax to name a few which then we have to pay someone to process.

Insurances

Then there’s the insurance   – to protect you, in case things go pear shaped!   – Public Liability insurance to protect you.  Not to mention office insurance should we go up in flames and Personal Insurance for the surveyors!

Trade Bodies

We also pay to be included in the PCA Trade Association. The reason we have joined this association is primarily for the customers benefit as you have a means of complaint should things go wrong – rather than having the costly expense of going to court. This Trade Association vets us every 2 years where they visit to inspect all aspects of our business. This ensures that all aspects of our businesses operate to the highest standards.

 Consumer Sites
We also pay membership to a couple of Consumer websites to help you make the correct choice. These sites allow you, our customer,  to review what other customers have said about us so you can make an informed decision.

client reviews available

But what of the so called “Surveyor” who does this for free I hear you cry?

The majority of companies that offer free surveys do not have qualified surveyors but merely salesmen.     Do you honestly think  they work for free.    NO of course they don’t !

Is it worth the risk?