House Surveys Don't Get Done Get Dom

I've been fighting your consumer battles for years now.

But the same old problems just keep flooding in.

And it's all the usual suspects.

Poor customer service, faulty goods and hidden small print.

No wonder some of you are fed up with the way you're being treated.

Staff not being attentive to the customers. Talking to each other rather than the customer.

You're calling up someone to get through to the bank or your insurance company

and you don't actually get to speak to someone.

I find it really irritating.

I couldn't agree more. Things need to change. We're on a mission to get companies to treat us better.

I'll be taking on your cases and fighting your fight with the big companies.

Well, it started off very amicably,

and I said, "Please take note of these few questions." About a dozen!

There were a few stingers in there. I bet she was thinking, "That's going to cause me a lot of work."

And I'll be showing you how to shop smart and stay one step ahead.

-Can they do this to you?

-No.

-But it says it's a sale item.

-And?

So remember, don't get done...

Get Dom!

On today's show, one couple battle to save their house from crumbling down around them.

As you can see, Dom, this is actually a damp patch.

Do you know what, that's so noticeable when I walked in,

initially I thought that was just a shadow.

Plus we look at the dangers of using an unregistered gas engineer.

That took him about three months to do the boiler.

And roving reporter Rani Price steps up a gear and finds out how clued up we are with car insurance.

Is it the extra things that aren't covered, or the whole car?

I'd say, the way you're looking, it's apparently not!

There's no bigger purchase than buying your first home

and nothing is as exciting as getting the keys on the day you complete the sale.

But what would you do if on the day you moved in,

you suddenly discovered there was a major problem with the house

that was going to cost you thousands of pounds to sort out?

Unfortunately, that's what's happened to John Blanch and Hannah Stone.

They scrimped and saved for years to buy their first house together

only to discover shortly after moving in,

that it was riddled with damp.

John and Hannah met ten years ago

and recently got engaged.

But instead of spending a fortune on getting married,

they wanted to use their hard-earned cash to put a deposit down on the house.

We looked for a while, we saw a lot of properties.

This was the one that stood out more than any cos it was a little bit quirky.

A little bit quaint, and we fell in love with it.

They decided to buy the two-bed property so arranged a mortgage with Chelsea Building Society.

John and Hannah needed to get a homebuyer's survey carried out

to ensure there was nothing major wrong with the property

and the building society said they could help with that, too.

They used a company called Metropolis Surveyors

and they put everything in action for us and we sat back and waited for the report to come through.

The homebuyers report came back and there was nothing on it to worry John and Hannah.

There were a few things flagged up like we expected such as replacement of the heating system,

but there was nothing else that was suspect in there.

Underneath the risk sections it stated "Dampness - none noted".

But the couple had barely unpacked before they realised they had a problem.

We started decorating. Within a couple of days we noticed little marks appearing in the paint.

It was just apparent there was something wrong, wasn't there?

When we rollered the walls, the old paint was coming off on the roller.

It kept spreading and spreading.

Then it became quite obvious we had a problem.

And the problem just got worse and worse.

When I first saw the damp patches,

you try to tell yourself it's something else.

You think, "No, we had the survey done. No way it's damp.

"It said it was all clear."

And so you try to kid yourself that it's something you can rectify.

But obviously it wasn't.

Hannah got straight onto the phone to her surveyors.

We spoke to Metropolis several times back and forth.

And when they sent us the last email they said they couldn't help us any further,

they didn't feel it was their problem. That the was last we contacted them.

Not knowing where to turn, the couple sought advice elsewhere.

They were told to take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

They did look into the case

but it came back as, um...

That there was no case to put forward.

John and Hannah feel they've had the wind knocked out of their sails.

Moving into their first property

should have been really exciting.

But it's ended up causing them worry and stress.

I'm keen to see if I can help,

so I've come to meet them to find out what's happened since their initial complaint.

-Hiya.

-Hi. I'm Hannah.

-Good to meet you.

-John.

-John, nice to meet you.

-Come on in.

How you doing today?

'First off, I'd like to see this damp for myself.'

This is an example of some of the damp we have in the property.

As you can see, if you follow this shadow, this is a damp patch.

Do you know, that's so noticeable, when I walked in, I thought that was a shadow.

No, that's actually a patch of damp.

Can you feel the damp? You can, can't you?

On your hands.

-So another plug socket there.

-Yeah.

-That's really damp, isn't it?

-Yeah.

What surprises me is you can see it go right round here,

but you've got a radiator that's on.

-Yes.

-You say this is mostly downstairs.

-Yes.

This runs throughout the whole of the downstairs. We've been told the damp is over 100% in the kitchen.

-And then through the hallway.

-Crikey.

'Time to get down to the details.'

After you reported these problems to them,

did anybody from Metropolis come back and have a look?

Yeah, the guy that did the original survey came back.

-It took quite a while to get to that stage, though.

-Right.

He checked the bits we said we weren't happy with

and went on his way.

When the couple complained to Metropolis, they were told that during the original survey,

the surveyor hadn't been able to check the walls

as there was furniture in the way.

They basically said that they couldn't test certain areas

and that's why they didn't pick certain stuff up.

'But the couple's homebuyer's report didn't say anything about being prevented from taking damp readings.

'And under the headings "dampness", it simply stated "none noted".'

Was there areas he couldn't get to?

There might have been the odd area, but the dampness runs through the whole ground area,

so if you can't test two walls, there's plenty of other areas to pick damp up from.

And also it runs so high. It's over a metre.

-Yes, it's obviously not a localised one corner spot or something.

-No.

It's pretty much the whole ground floor.

Even if somebody wasn't able to check a certain area,

cos it was cluttered or he couldn't get there,

surely they would have to report that and they'd have to state they weren't able to check whatever.

This is one of our arguments. In the report, there's a section that says "limitations".

He says, "There were no limitations to our inspection."

And I said to Metropolis if the house was so cluttered they couldn't do an accurate damp test,

then they should have put that in their limitations section.

-To which they didn't respond.

-Didn't even give you an answer?

-No.

-I don't feel that I've got what I paid for.

-No.

-At all.

-No.

When we got told by the people fitting the heating

that it was wet-through underneath the house,

the house was soaking,

that's when you realise that it was a really big problem.

'Understandably worried, the couple ordered an independent survey

'which stated they also had dry rot

'and the problems had been present for between five and seven years.'

Have you any idea how much it will cost to put all this damp right?

We've had sort of semi quotes, so to speak, of ten grand to start with.

-Ouch!

-And that's before they even find out what the problem is.

Because specialists have come round and they say, "It could be this, could be that",

-but they need to take everything out and find the actual fault.

-The root of it.

Part of the floor had started to fall away.

So one side of the floor has got no support to it at all.

Right. Now we're starting to talk about mega-bucks.

Once dry rot sets in, whether it's dry or wet rot,

once that sets in, that's obviously a disease,

and it spreads and before you know it you have to replace joists and rafters and God knows what.

-Yep.

-And it's a job that needs doing because it can destroy the house from the inside out.

How do you feel about this house right now?

I think we just wish we hadn't bought it.

-That's the bottom line.

-It's the biggest thing you'll ever buy

in your life, and it's not the sort of thing you should think it's the worst mistake you've made.

Talking about money, if you don't get anywhere,

-can you afford to get the work done?

-No.

-No.

So what will happen if we can't get this problem sorted out? What will you do about it?

-I really don't know.

-I don't know.

-Presumably, you can't afford to sell it because...

-We won't get nothing for it.

-Make a huge loss.

I notice you've got an engagement ring on. When are you getting married?

We haven't managed to set a date. We were going to buy a house and save up to get married.

But that hasn't gone to plan cos all our money's going back into the house.

-So you've had to put that on hold?

-Yes.

-Shame.

-Family life has kind of...

-Taken a back seat.

-Yes.

-Yes.

What a shame that should be the happiest time in a young couple's lives

has been marred by something like this.

I've got to start making some phone calls.

As Metropolis Surveyors carried out the Homebuyer's Report,

they're the people I most want to speak to.

But what about John and Hannah's mortgage provider, Chelsea Building Society?

After all, they gave the couple Metropolis's name.

Chelsea Building Society have told us this is standard practice for a mortgage lender

and that, "We offer applicants access to a wide panel

"of professional and accredited surveyors

"to carry out a survey on the home.

"There is no obligation on an applicant to use one of these surveyors

"or indeed, to have a survey done at all."

They are also keen to point out that "the agreement to carry out a homebuyer report

"or a building survey is between the applicant and the surveyor

"and as the lender, we do not see it."

So, it looks like my focus needs to be on Metropolis Surveyors.

The company was set up in 2004

and offer...

Metropolis say they have over 100 surveyors working for them throughout England and Wales

and they are committed to ensuring that their surveyors work to the highest standards possible

in terms of...

'I think John and Hannah would beg to differ.

'I'm going to try and get hold of someone at Metropolis.'

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Welcome to Metropolis Surveyors.

In order to direct your call to the relevant department,

please select from the following. Press one...

'The automated message reels off a list of departments

'and after a bit of button pressing, I finally get through to a manager.'

-'Melinda speaking.'

-Hello, Melinda. Good morning.

It's Dominic Littlewood calling from the BBC.

-Hello!

-Hi, there.

We've had somebody contact us and they've got an issue with you/ Chelsea Building Society.

It's linked together. But I think it's mainly you. You're the first call I've made.

I'd like to give you all the details.

I don't expect any answers or anything now, so don't worry about that.

-'OK.'

-I can email everything over.

'I bring Melinda up to speed on John and Hannah's case.'

'If you can let me have the email, then we'll get on it for you.'

Smashing. I'll get it over to you a little bit later on.

-'All right. Thanks, Dominic.'

-Lovely talking to you. Bye.

-'Bye'.

'I send the email to Melinda straightaway

'and I'm glad I've got the ball rolling

'because it's clear John and Hannah have a serious problem on their hands.

'And when we call in some expert advice,

'we learn just how serious those problems are.'

That's significantly in the red.

This is something that needs to be addressed. Quite soon.

I'm Rani Price and there's nothing I like better

than helping you, the buying public,

through the minefield of regulations to make sure you stay savvy shoppers.

Consumer law can be very confusing.

And it doesn't stop there.

But knowing just a few of these laws can save you not only money

but a lot of hassle as well.

Do you know what this is?

'Today, I'm out on the streets armed with questions to put to you, the buying public.

To find out if you know your consumer rights from your consumer wrongs.

Car insurance. You can't get behind the wheel without it.

But if you're not careful, when taking out insurance or making a claim,

you might find you're not covered if the unthinkable happens.

'So I'm going to conduct a little quiz with shoppers

'to find out if they fully understand their road rights.'

-Do you have car insurance?

-Yeah.

Can I ask you how you chose who to go with?

Did you use one of those comparison sites?

Yeah, I went online to look.

-I use search engines. Confused.com, things like that.

-Yep.

I will go directly to organisations and I use a number of third-party websites as well.

-Go Compare. One of them comparison websites.

-Why did you choose one of those?

Easier. You don't have to look through all the websites.

They do it for you. Put in your details and they find the best price.

-OK. You go to the comparison sites.

-Exactly.

Are you any good at filling those in when they ask all those questions?

They say things like, "What's your job title?"

Is your job listed on there?

No. I had to put in... What did I have to put in?

-I think I said "other".

-OK.

I think there was an "other" option.

Your job isn't there, so what do you normally do?

I just put generic office-based job!

You have a bit of a bump. You try and claim,

and your insurance company say, "Your job isn't what you said it is.

"We're not going to pay out."

-Are they allowed to do this?

-No, I don't think they would be allowed to do that.

They do say that certain people are a higher risk.

So people who work in bars, around alcohol,

people who do night shifts, they say, actually, your insurance should be higher.

So if you do have a bump and you haven't told them your real job,

they can refuse to pay out.

I didn't know that.

Well, you do now!

Here's someone to fill us in with more of the facts

about your work and the wheels you drive.

If you're buying your insurance online,

then check very carefully how they define risks such as occupation.

If the occupation listed doesn't match what you do,

call the insurer up or check with the comparison website.

Because the last thing you want to do is put down a description of your occupation

that doesn't tally with what you actually do.

Unfortunately, you've had a bit of a bump.

The car is written off.

And the insurance company go, "I'll give you 1,200." And you go, "Hang on a minute!

"My car's worth more than that!" What can you do in that situation? Can they do that to you?

What would I do? I'd probably make a lot of noise and see what else they could do for me.

Um... I would say yes!

I think they'd do it from market value and stuff.

Insurers go from the information they have on the vehicle.

So if they're offering you an amount of money that doesn't enable you to go to your local garage

and make a similar make and model of vehicle,

you're within your rights to go back and argue your case.

Give them evidence, for example, what it costs to buy a similar make and model of vehicle

in your own garage. Then you can normally reach an agreed settlement with your insurer.

You get your car. It's all lovely.

But you decide to pimp it up a bit.

OK? Get a sat-nav in there, a CD changer in there.

You haven't told the insurance company. The car is stolen.

You try to claim but the insurance company say it's void.

-Your policy is void. Can they do that?

-Yes.

Do they still need to pay out for those things?

I would imagine so. But you're going to tell me that they don't.

-Can you claim?

-You're not insured for all the extra things you put in it.

-Yeah?

-OK.

But what about for the car itself?

Is it just the extra things that aren't covered, or the whole car?

I'd say, from the way you're looking, probably not!

If your car is stolen, you'll normally claim what the value of the vehicle is to replace.

So if you've upgraded the vehicle

then provided you've told the insurer, that would form part of your claim.

But if you are making significant changes to your vehicle,

you should always tell your insurer cos it could increase the risk.

So, there you go. Knowing your rights when it comes to car insurance

could save you a lot of pain when it comes to making a claim.

'I've been answering a plea for help from John Blanch and Hannah Stone

'who moved into their treasured first home

'only to discover the property they've sacrificed so much for

'was suffering from damp.'

Everything is wet through, so we can't put a dining table in here

or making it a room at all.

We can't get on with putting our own touches on the property

because there's no point in doing anything cos it's just going to get ruined.

'Before the couple moved, they had a homebuyer's survey done

'by a couple called Metropolis Surveyors.

'Unfortunately, this survey made no mention of any damp problems

'and it wasn't until the couple moved in

'that they realised what they were facing.'

What will happen if we can't get this problem sorted out? What will you do about it?

-I really don't know.

-We don't know.

'I've spoken to Metropolis Surveyors to let them know I'm on the case

'and have emailed them an outline of John and Hannah's issues

'and asked a few basic questions.

'A chap called Richard has replied

'so I'm going to give him a call.'

Good afternoon. Is Richard there, please?

'The guy who answers tells me Richard no longer works there.'

I got an email from him recently. How long ago did he leave?

'He tells me he left a few days ago and will find out who I should talk to now.

'He's quickly back on the line

'and says I need to deal with a chap called Geoff,

'the commercial director.

'But he says Geoff's not in the office,

'so can I send him an email.'

Smashing. Is Geoff around this afternoon?

'He tells me that he won't be.

'But if I email him, he'll get back to me soon.

'Not good enough. So I change tack.'

Now, I'm struggling here, because I tried to get this guy's mobile number.

They wouldn't give it to me. They said, "He's out of the office. Email him."

I don't want to send an email. I want to speak to somebody personally.

So I've said, give me his direct dial number and I'll leave a voice message.

So I've got his direct dial number. There'll be no firewall to stop me getting through.

'The guy comes back on the line and tells me the commercial director doesn't have a direct dial number

'and goes on to say he doesn't even have a phone in his office!'

Hang on. He's your commercial director and he hasn't got a landline number?

He hasn't got a phone on his desk?!

'He then corrects himself, saying there is a phone in his office but no number to be put through to.

'It's all a bit confusing.

'All I want to do is chat to someone senior about John and Hannah's case.'

I'm trying to sort this issue out here cos I'm making a programme.

At the moment, I've been told the person who contacted us last week has now left the company.

The person I need to speak to, Geoff, does all his business by mobile

but you can't give the number out.

I can't leave a message on his mobile and you can't put me through to his landline

cos you're not sure he's got one in his office.

'He says he'd rather not comment.'

Fair enough. Well, I'll send him an email.

Can you also, once I ring off,

contact him via this mobile number that he's got

and let him know we've attempted to call him to speak to him.

And particularly urgently, if we can, really.

'He asks for my contact details and says he'll pass them on to Geoff.'

Thanks very much. Bye-bye.

I fire off an email and hopefully I'll hear from Metropolis's commercial director Geoff soon.

While I wait for them to get back to me,

it leaves me some time to survey the world of surveyors.

When you buy something as big as a house,

you need to know exactly what you're getting into.

Which is the reason we pay for surveys.

But there are different sorts of surveys.

How do you know which one's right for you?

And what should you expect for your hard-earned cash?

One organisation who can tell us are the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors,

or RICS, as they're commonly known.

When you're looking to buy a property, I don't think the consumer

is actually the best place to actually decide

what type of survey they should get.

They should ask a local - and I do mean local - chartered surveyor

who has the expertise and the knowledge of the area

as to their advice as to what type of survey.

They will know the area and the type of property.

They will know the likely issues that might crop up with that property

and they can advise you whether it is perfectly acceptable to have the basic condition report,

whether you should have that middle homebuyer report,

or whether indeed, especially on older properties,

you'd be well worth going for the Building Survey.

You don't have to have a survey done.

On average, only 20% of housebuyers actually get one.

But saving a few hundred pounds at this time

could ultimately cost you thousands later on down the line.

So, which type of survey is best?

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

licence three survey products.

The very basic one is called a condition report.

It should really just point you at anything which is blindingly obvious.

The middle one, a homebuyer's report,

goes into more detail.

It looks where it can into the nooks and crannies.

It should pick up any major issues

and then either gives advice or will point people in the direction of further reports that are required.

Then there's a Building Survey.

It takes quite a long time for a surveyor to do.

It's a full report that gives a lot of advice as to the condition of a property.

'So you know what survey to have.

'But who do you commission to carry out the report?

Like all things in life, it's certainly worth shopping around

before you decide who should carry out the survey for you.

You should only be looking for a chartered surveyor.

That is a qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

who have gone through many, many years of study and training

before they can become qualified.

This is great advice for anyone buying a property.

But what if you're not happy with a survey that's been done?

Well, you could do a lot worse

than to ask other surveyors to take a look and give you a second opinion.

It will cost you, but could be money well spent.

So we've arranged for an independent surveyor to visit John and Hannah's.

What I'd like to do now is check the property for dampness.

And to see if there is any evidence of dampness

and to see if that dampness would have been present at the time.

The first thing Barry does is inspect the walls with his damp meter

taking readings from different areas.

That starts to be in an area of concern.

Where it's in the amber.

But as we move down...

..it starts to go into the red.

And we test other areas.

And that's quite significantly in the red.

This is something that needs to be addressed.

Quite soon.

'And things carry on as they began.'

This wall is affected by quite significant dampness.

It's affecting the wall plaster

and also the skirtings.

And the skirting board is damp to maximum levels on the damp meter scale.

In my view, that would have been apparent at the time this survey was done.

I've had a look at the house.

And yes, there is dampness, as you suspected.

I have to say I'm disappointed in this report.

It doesn't really give you a fair indication in my view

of the condition of the property when you purchased it.

And now, very, very sadly, you're faced with further expenditure to deal with this dampness.

'What a shocker for John and Hannah.

'The work needed to fix the damp could cost thousands.

'And now we have the results from Barry's tests,

'I decide to share them with Metropolis.'

Our report doesn't bode too well on their findings.

'I get through to a young man who tell me Metropolis's commercial director Geoff

'is not in the office for the rest of the week.'

Who can deal with anything in his absence?

'I'm told there's no-one else who can help and I just need to wait for Geoff.'

Thanks very much. Bye-bye. Bye.

'However, I do now have his mobile number

'because it was at the bottom of an email.

'But when I ring, it goes straight to his answer machine.'

Can you give us a call? I wanted to have a chat with you

about the whole problem and see if we can get it sorted out.

As I say, press 5 and it'll reconnect to me.

Thanks, Geoff. Speak to you soon. Bye.

Right. Can't do more than that.

I've left messages on his work and on his mobile.

And a return number. Let's see how long it takes him to come back to me.

'An hour later, I get an email from Geoff.

'He says that Metropolis have carried out thousands of surveys

'and while some have been the subject of complaints,

'their complaints procedure has been used to satisfy these.

'If not, he says the Ombudsman Scheme is adequate for members of the public.

'Now, John and Hannah did put in a complaint with an ombudsman.

'The Financial Ombudsman.

'And they looked at the mortgage provider, Chelsea Building Society.

'But, because it wasn't them who carried out the survey,

'there was no case to answer.

'Knowing this, I get the couple to gather all their evidence along with the surveyor's report

'and get it in the post to the right ombudsman,

'the Ombudsman Services Property.

'While we're at it, we send Metropolis a copy as well.

'But who are the Ombudsman Service, and how can they help?'

We will only look at a complaint if it's already been made

to the surveyor, and they've had an opportunity to respond to it.

Once they've done that, we'll ask for evidence from both sides

and we look at that evidence in order to inform what we do next.

'This sounds like just what we need.

'If the Ombudsman Services find something that's gone wrong in the survey,

'they can take action.'

We'd propose a settlement that we think would put it right.

If that's accepted by the consumer, then it's legally binding.

For example, we can make a financial award of up to £25,000 in surveying cases.

So they may have to pay that amount as restitution.

We may ask them to take some particular action to put it right.

By legally binding, it means they've got to pay the award.

If they don't pay the award, then they may end up in a disciplinary action with RICS.

'Sounds serious. And good news for jilted homebuyers.

'But in order to not end up one, listen carefully.'

First, remember that your property is the most expensive and the most important thing you'll ever buy.

So make sure you have more than a valuation report.

Make sure the surveyor you use is either RICS registered

or, alternatively, you have access to the ombudsman if something should go wrong.

'After hearing those wise words,

'I just hope the Ombudsman Service does John and Hannah a service.'

It's just nice to have something positive to hang on to for once.

We get thousands of emails asking for our help.

Unfortunately, we can't answer all of them.

What we can do is warn you about some of the common consumer pitfalls

so you don't get done.

Meet Rachel Broad and her partner, Ian.

They live in Essex and have a large family and several grandchildren.

For years, the couple have wanted to do up their house, but money has been tight

and Rachel suffers from a debilitating muscle weakness

which means she's on disability benefits.

Two years ago, though, Ian was made redundant

and with his redundancy package,

the couple decided to do major work to their kitchen and central heating system.

As luck would have it, a local building firm

had recently put a flyer through the door offering their services.

A flyer comes through the letterbox advertising a local firm.

They said they were Gas Safe. We had them do the small toilet

and then we were intending to do the rest of the house up and we decided to use them to do it.

One of the key things the company had said on their flyer

was that they were Gas Safe registered.

He said he could do the job and we thought he was Gas Safe.

He said he could do the gas and electrics, and all of it.

The fact he was Gas Safe registered was particularly important.

Any consumer that's having gas work carried out

what you must always do before you let the engineer into your home

is check their Gas Safe ID card.

Gas Safe register is the register of all engineers across the country

who are qualified to work safely and legally in domestic homes as well as businesses.

Unfortunately, Ian and Rachel didn't carry out all the necessary checks

and trusted the company.

They began work and suggested the boiler be moved upstairs.

So we put it in my grandson's bedroom.

That took him about three months, I think, to do the boiler.

Three months to fit a boiler?!

That wouldn't fill me with confidence.

And when they put it on, after about half an hour, it would cut out.

By the winter, we were running the hot water

off of the...um, immersion heater.

So before if it was a bit chilly, we didn't have any heating.

So what qualifications does a tradesman working with gas require?

Every Gas Safe registered engineer

would always have qualifications that last for five years.

It's called the National Accredited Certification Scheme.

ACS, for short.

On all the range of gas appliances -

boilers, fires, cookers, that they work on.

Sadly, in our case, the builder never came back to the property,

leaving Ian and Rachel living in a building site.

They phoned Trading Standards to see if they could help.

We also got in touch with Citizens' Advice Bureau

and they both said, more or less,

to try for three other quotes

to see about getting the work finished off.

But to also continue chasing the original dodgy builder

to see if they'd come and clear up the mess

and, oh boy, was it a mess!

The new builder came round and I showed him the work we needed to finish.

He said he wanted to look at the boiler upstairs.

As soon as he saw it, he condemned it.

Then he came downstairs and looked at the cooker.

He condemned that as well cos it wasn't fastened to the pipework,

it wasn't fastened to the wall

and the cabling connecting the appliance to the power source

wasn't of a strong enough cable either.

Yeah, but the pipe going to the cooker was dangerous, wasn't it?

-He hadn't done that properly.

-He hadn't connected the pipe to the cooker properly.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

The family's lives had been in mortal danger.

This is where the boiler was moved to from downstairs.

The outlet there was the one that was not safe

cos the fumes were going to come into the bedroom.

If there'd been anyone in there when the boiler was running,

it could have killed them.

It sounds horrific. What are the signs to look out for

of carbon monoxide poisoning?

First, there's headaches.

Then it leads to dizziness and nausea,

which sometimes people confuse with flu-like symptoms.

Then it moves to breathlessness

and in the fifth stage, unfortunately, you'd collapse

and lose consciousness

when it's extreme.

Ian and Rachel have had to take out a loan for the gas appliances to be made safe.

They also took the original engineer to court

and he was instructed to pay £5,400 in compensation.

But they're still waiting on this money.

The total amount of money that was lost

was all my redundancy package.

Ian and Rachel have learned a lesson the hard way.

In future, if we have another builder round,

we'll make sure we check his credentials

and make sure he's registered as he says he is.

'First-time buyers John and Hannah moved into their home

'only to discover it was literally crumbling around them with damp and dry rot.

'They saved for years to buy the house

and don't have the money to pay for all the work necessary

it keep the house from falling down.

I think the general feel about the house now is we wish we'd never bought it.

-Yeah, it's hard.

-It's depressing.

They had a homebuyers survey done by the company Metropolis Surveyors

who picked up no evidence of damp.

But I've had independent reports that suggest they should have spotted it.

We've sent the independent report to the Ombudsman Services Property.

And, of course, I've also sent a copy to Metropolis.

I've been chasing the company to find out why their surveyor

apparently failed to spot the damp.

They told me it's not their policy to discuss ongoing cases.

It's time to give Metropolis another call.

I really need to chase this up.

So far, I'm not getting the answers I want.

'I've been trying to speak to their commercial director Geoff

'but this time I'm put through to the compliance director, Kirsty.'

'Hi, Dom, it's Kirsty speaking. Can I help?

Hello, Kirsty. Thanks for taking the call.

I've been having trouble getting through to Geoff.

-'He's a very busy man.'

-I gathered that!

We were told by Geoff that we need to speak to the ombudsman.

We have contacted the ombudsman.

They're looking at it at the moment.

We're waiting to hear what their outcome is.

But we've also spoken to RICS

and a chartered surveyor called Barry Cross.

I bring Kirsty up to speed at events at our end

and give her some queries from our surveyor.

All of which will hopefully help our case with the ombudsman.

Chiefly, did their surveyor miss the damp, and if so, why?

Great. I'll get that to you in an email this afternoon, Kirsty.

Shall I send it to your attention?

'If you can send it to me and Geoff, that would be great.

'Then we make sure we both get it.'

Okey-doke. Nice talking to you. Bye.

As requested, I send the email straight off to Kirsty.

A few days later, I get another email from commercial director Geoff

restating that they do not discuss ongoing cases

and telling me they will be providing no further comment

whilst the case is with the ombudsman.

However, we've been in touch with the Ombudsman Services Property

to find out the latest on the case.

It's time for me to catch up with John and Hannah for an update.

Normally, when I come back to meet people for the second time,

it's because I have answers for them.

Resolution.

However, this time, it's a different case.

'As the Ombudsman's case is still ongoing,

'I can't give John and Hannah any definite answers today.

But what I can give them is a sense of hope.

-Good to see you both again.

-And you.

-How do you think I've got on?

-No idea.

-We're desperate to find out.

In an ideal world, how would you hope I got on?

Just anywhere. We've been going on so long and haven't got any further forward.

-Yes.

-Any steps forward would be great to find out.

I know where you're coming from. You said you haven't got any money to sort out the problem.

But the problem is a lot bigger than you realised.

Obviously, you weren't getting anywhere with Metropolis Surveyors.

As you know, we sent round an independent surveyor.

He had a look round and I've got a letter with some of his findings.

"There is clear evidence of dampness

"which would have been there and ongoing for a long time."

-You suspected that, didn't you?

-Yeah.

That confirms it. He goes on about every room in here.

The damp in here is not something that's happened recently.

So, no two ways about it,

Metropolis, the surveyor they sent round, should have spotted it.

Now, I've tried to deal with Metropolis.

I've been trying to email, call and speak to them.

Everything had to be in writing and sent over to them.

I was banging my head against the proverbial wall.

What I then decided to do was push things as far as you can.

Without going to court. And that's with the ombudsman.

But, and there's always a but,

this is the problem with going to the ombudsman.

They are very, very good. I've used them on numerous occasions.

They do what they're meant to do and do a very thorough job.

The problem is, it takes time.

It can take up to eight weeks for this to be resolved.

Metropolis have dug their heels in and said, "We will abide by what the ombudsman says we have to do.

"But we won't make any comments now because it's not in our interests to do so

"while this is ongoing and this investigation is happening."

I've been on the phone to the ombudsman this morning to get an update on what's happening.

He said he should have some findings for you

and his conclusion on the situation in two to three weeks' time.

If they rule in your favour, which I suspect is going to happen,

I think it's highly unlikely they can't,

so that's the news.

Not as good as I would have liked to have been delivering to you,

but we are a huge leap forward.

How do you feel about that news?

I don't know. I'm speechless.

I don't know what to say.

All we wanted was our house to be a house.

We didn't want to sue people or get money in the bank or anything,

-we just wanted to live in our house and it be a home.

-Yeah.

And we're just hopeful that that's what's going to happen.

Yeah.

I can't promise it, but I feel very confident.

How do you feel, Hannah?

Woosh. It's just nice to have something positive to hang on to, for once.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Let's hope in the very near future, your house will become your home.

And you'll want to live here and be happy and it'll all be sorted out.

That's for us, definitely.

There's light at the end of the tunnel. You didn't have that before.

We've never had a chink of light, to be honest, and now...

And it's getting brighter.

-In the meantime, you take care.

-Thank you very much.

See you later, guys.

'It's clear that John and Hannah are desperate to put this whole saga behind them

so that they can get on with their lives.

They've had a rough year and I could see the relief on their faces

when I said another three weeks and all your problems might be a thing of the past.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for them.

My fingers don't have to stay crossed for long.

Less than three weeks later,

the Ombudsman Services Property deliver their findings.

Metropolis Surveyors have told John and Hannah

that their surveyor had been unable to test the walls for damp

as there was furniture in the way.

The ombudsman explains that surveyors are not expected to move furniture.

Although any obstructions should be noted down.

However, the homebuyer's report stated that no damp had been noted

and Metropolis notes did not mention anything about furniture being in the way

or, indeed, any other limitations.

For this reason, the ombudsman has found in favour of John and Hannah,

which is just the news they were hoping for.

The exact amount Metropolis will have to pay John and Hannah

will be based on the difference between the value of the property now

and the purchase price.

Discussions are ongoing.

We asked Metropolis to comment on the ombudsman's findings and they said,

For John and Hannah, it means there is an end in sight

and Metropolis will have to help pay for repairs.

The thought of living in a house with no damp is what we've been striving for the whole time.

It's just going to be... It's going to be a home.

That's what we've wanted all along.

Not anything but ever to have our house be a home

and be able to make it our own.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd