Wisemove (un-Wisemove!)
Wisemove (un-Wisemove!)
My property was recently subject to a Home Buyers Report carried out by Wisemove. The prospective purchaser kindly provided the estate agent with a copy of the report and the estate agent then forwarded the report to me, I was most dismayed when I read the Wisemove report.
The report has a major error which Wisemove have stubbornly refused to correct. The Wisemove report wrongly identified the soffits as being made from Asbestolux, they are not. Asbestolux is an Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) manufactured by Cape. The term Asbestolux is often used generically to refer to AIB.
IAB is a potentially dangerous asbestos containing material, there is no AIB at my property.
I did ask Wisemove to correct the report, Wisemove's Managing Director and Managing Partner refused to do so.
It may be, I speculate here, that Wisemove's Managing Director and Managing Partner didn't want to set a precedence that would relate to previous incorrect reports to many other properties.
So that takes me to the Wisemove surveyor, a very nice fellow but evidently not at all competent with regards to the identification of Abestolux (AIB). The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) states: "Asbestos insulating board is a low-density board that has been used for a wide variety of construction purposes. It should not be confused with asbestos cement boards, which are more compressed and have a lower asbestos content." I fear the surveyor was thus confused.
It is conjecture on my behalf however I suspect that the surveyor has habitually, and wrongly, referred to cement sheets as "Asbestolux" (AIB). Cement sheets (some with and some without asbestos) are a common building material and so Wisemove may have produced very many correspondingly incorrect reports. Where cement sheets do contain asbestos the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) state that work can be carried out by non-licensed workers who are appropriately trained.
The misidentification of Asbestolux (AIB) is a significant and material error.
The HSE state that small or minor tasks on AIB can be carried out by non-licensed workers who are appropriately trained and that such work is Notifiable Non-Licensed Work (NNLW), there is an extensive set of HSE requirements that must be adhered to when carrying out NNLW.
Any work involving AIB lasting more than 1 hour for 1 person in a 7 day period, or more than 2 hours by all workers would require a licensed specialist asbestos contractor.
There is no AIB at my property and so no related requirement for NNLW or a licenced contractor, nor the associated expense.
It is my view that Wisemove should have made the necessary corrections to the subject report, reissued the report and provided the purchaser with an apology along with a full refund.
If you have bought a Home Buyers report from Wisemove or your property has been subject to a Wisemove report and that report identified "Asbestolux" then there is a reasonable chance that the report is incorrect, check your report's accuracy as you may be entitled a refund and/or to compensation.
Additionally, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) set out evaluation criteria for three condition ratings which are reported as Red, Amber and Green. The surveyor identified 4 Red ratings. Red (Category 3) is defined by RICS as "Defects that are serious and/or need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently. Failure to do so could risk serious safety issues or severe long-term damage to your property.". I could not reconcile any the 4 Red items identified by the surveyor with the RICS definition of Red (Category 3).
There are many competent and capable RICS surveyors available so you can AVOID WISEMOVE. If you've any doubts please re-read the above text, my advice is to avoid this business.
Finally, Wisemove's Managing Director and Managing Partner stated in an email to me; "Do ensure you place full facts in any online reviews, as failure to do so will leave us with little option but to commence legal proceedings, as nothing should be misconstrued", the email was copied to Wisemove's lawyers Tilly Bailey & Irvine. This is a factually correct review.