Congreve Horner Reviews 4

I commissioned Andrew Dewhurst at Congreve Horner in July 2025 for a commercial property survey needed for legal proceedings involving fire safety compliance issues.

Communication Failures:
After the site inspection on 14th July, I experienced severe communication problems:
- Email requesting basic cost information sent 28th July - no response for one month
- Multiple phone calls on 26th August with promises of callbacks - none received
- When Andrew finally responded on 28th August, he claimed he "hadn't seen" my email despite it being sent four weeks earlier

Service Issues:
- Weeks of silence despite the urgent nature of the work
- Only responded when I sent a formal termination notice
- When costs were finally provided, revealed hidden two-tier pricing structure not mentioned initially
- Missed his own stated completion deadlines

Complaint Handling:
I submitted a formal complaint on 22nd September following their complaints procedure. The response was inadequate:
- Took over a week to even acknowledge my complaint (after I chased them)
- Partner James Harrington missed his own promised response deadline
- Final response dismissed all concerns by claiming "no contract existed"
- Failed to address the documented communication failures

Outcome:
Due to the firm's inadequate handling of my complaint, I have escalated this matter to RICS Regulation for assessment of professional conduct standards.

Warning to Others:
If you need reliable communication and professional service for time-sensitive matters, I would recommend looking elsewhere. The pattern of poor communication noted in other reviews appears to be ongoing. My experience matches previous complaints about failure to respond to emails and phone calls.

I would not recommend Congreve Horner based on my experience with their service and complaint handling.

Hired as a party wall surveyor as our neighbour is doing an extension. James came with a personal recommendation, and while our first and only conversation with him was pleasant, it has gone down hill since. Doesn't response anywhere near promptly to emails, doesn't return phone calls. Frankly we felt our concerns have been brushed off. No discussion beyond the initial meeting on the award. Months go by with no communication, and then suddenly we are sent the award, despite being told there would be discussion before it was formally issued. Basic problems including the fact that drawings not included with the award. Weeks and no response to our follow up requesting the drawings. Further follow-up greeted with an out-of-office (annual leave) notice.

Everyone at Congreve Horner was really nice and professional to deal with. I mostly dealt with James, a really nice reasonable person who helped me get what I wanted from the extension. He challenged some of the ideas that I had, I really didn’t like it at the time, but when I thought about it I know he was right. Now when I look at the finished project, I am so glad he led me to a better redesign and extension. From beginning to end the project management was exceptional.

Something James was particularly good at (and I totally underestimated!) was dealing with my neighbours and management company, he is very diplomatic and understanding but keeps the project timeline at the front of his mind. He came up with good ideas to keep all parties fairly happy (let’s face it other peoples extensions are a nuisance! And on a big project like mine there will be some stressful periods of time, it is inevitable). I was glad he managed those relationships for me- in fact my neighbours are hoping to use him for a job on their home!

Astounding Slow Service and Liars. The buyer of our house was recommended Congreve Horner to carry out a survey on a 3 bed house in Birmingham. Despite being advised the survey would be with him in a week or two - it took them five weeks to compile a report and on us having to chase our buyers report they then lied and advised it was sent on Monday 19th November only for us to discover it still wasn't complete two days later. Can unequivocally state I DO NOT recommend this outfit for your surveying needs - and beware if your buyer chooses them to carry out a report.