Homebuyer Online 

Booked online and got a quick response allocating the job to someone, the survey took place about a week later so far so good.

We will phone you straight after the survey for a quick overview.

Didn't happen, had to chase it, apparently no signal did ring the next morning though so fair enough

We will issue the report in 5 days is the tag line on their website

Didn't happen, 9 working days more like, what's the point in saying one thing and doing another.

During the phone call the surveyor mentioned something about the rendor needing to be looked at and it'll be in the report (we informed solicitors as it may be an issue affecting price or maybe something simple just a few hundred quid so we'd not care)

This issue was not present in the report. I have emailed to ask why it wasn't and that I had been told there may be an issue, 3 full working days and no response as of yet.

Overall just felt I was always chasing and still am!

There was a slight glitch at the start as I'd ordered my Homebuyers Report and paid for it but it took a little while to arrange the survey. Once that was done, survey carried out quickly and report sent a couple of days after that.

I chose this company based on other peoples reviews and to be honest I feel I have no possible recourse other than posting this to try to help someone else not to make the same mistake.

I paid for the premium service which cost me over £1000.

I believe a Mr. Hugh Greenhouse to be responsible for the website/company, Homebuyeronline.

I wrote the following to Homebuyeronline and to the company that carried out the survey called Sykes Robinson:-

On Tuesday 26th May a full survey was carried out by Mr T Sykes at my property.
Contracts were exchanged on Friday 26th June and completed on Thursday 9th July, this was when I moved into the property.

On the 9th July when I moved in to the property it became apparent that there were some small beetles in one of the bedrooms, on further investigation I have been told that these beetles are wood boring and that other parts of the property also has active wood worm.
Can you please advise me of my course of redress, as now I am now faced with the cost of putting this right.

The report stated ‘On older timbers we found attack by wood boring beetle which did not appear to be active. We would expect to find woodworm on all older buildings’

The treatment could have been carried out prior to moving into the property had it been highlighted.

I am not an expert, as I understood it I was paying for an expert this is why I paid £1050 for a premium building survey, I do not visit houses on a regular basis to carry out surveys, yet on day one I recognised that something wasn't right.

Please advise.

The response I received: -
Further to your query in connection with the above property, we refer to page 16 of our report where we stated that your legal represenatative should make the necessary enquiries in connection with treatment.

I replied to Homebuyeronline, copying in Mr. Sykes fro Sykes Robinson.

Good afternoon Hugh
You will have received a copy of the email below.
I paid for a premium survey, I don’t believe that the website description of a premium survey is the same as the survey I received from Sykes Robinson.
They refer to page 16 of the report.
I refer to page 22 which states ‘On older timbers we found attack by wood boring beetle which did not appear to be active. We would expect to find woodworm on all older buildings’
The fact remains that the woodworm is active and potentially that could cause structural damage.
I could have just had a standard survey and relied upon the information from the vendor, however, this is not the case.
I wanted assurances and felt that your website offered this.
My solicitor has made the following comment
‘I agree wholeheartedly with you that the surveyor should have advised that expert opinion should be sought in relation to wood boring insect damage firstly because there was some evidence of it having been present in the past and secondly because in older properties this is quite a common occurrence I believe.

I do not think it to be sufficient to endeavour to pass responsibility for an apparent structural defect to your conveyancing solicitor.

I think the very least I should receive is a refund of the fee I paid, this will go towards the cost of me having to resolve this problem.

Today, 17th August 2015, I am still waiting for the courtesy of a response.

They are very quick to take your money and then just ignore you!

After making the decision to have a survey done we got various quotes in. Homebuyer online was by far the cheapest so we proceeded with caution. Survey booked on line late on a Tuesday afternoon. E-mail conformation on the Wednesday. Survey Booked for the Friday. Report in our hands the following Tuesday morning. From start to finish a week in total. Survey told us what we wanted/needed to know. Very satisfied and would recommend to anybody.

I actually ended up not using Homebuyer Online for our survey but this was due to a mix up with our estate agent rather than any fault of theirs.
Robert was very helpful in trying to get us a survey as quickly as possible.
And, despite me booking and then quickly cancelling 2 surveys, he remained helpful and courteous in arranging a refund on them both.

I would happily approach them again if I needed a survey.

Homebuyeronline offer a great customer service - UNTIL YOU PAY - then SILENCE - no response to voicemails or emails. The phone is never picked up and always goes to voicemail. You will only get a call back if you are a potential customer.

I paid for a survey on the 10th July and stressed the importance of it happening quickly. 8 days on and I haven't been allocated a surveyor - and I can't get in touch with Homebuyeronline - because I've paid so they are not interested in offering a good service anymore.

And I can't even request a refund because this has to be done through your allocated surveyor - which I haven't got.

Will I ever see my £600 ever again??!!! I've had to book another survey in with a local surveyor who is bonafide and is much much cheaper.

The survey was quick and easy to book but we are still waiting after16 days for the actual survey to arrive. Holding the conveyancing up.

The first company allocated cancelled the initial appointment and tried to re-book 2 weeks later. I had to spend time liaising with the vendor, estate agent and the website to try and get to the bottom of it whilst everyone blamed everyone else! Luckily the website administrator was helpful and reallocated the work very quickly to an alternative, who were prompt, thorough and professional.

I had no issues was a prompt service. Only gave 4 stars as I would of liked more visibility after completion of the servey as to what was happening and that it had taken place.

Overall I was pleased with the service I received, the only thing that could be improved was the communication back to me when the original date for the survey got pushed back by the seller, I was not updated so I had to call to find out what was going on. That said someone called me back promptly and a new date was agreed for the survey and everything went through smoothly thereafter.

The survey was organised within a week and I was very satisfied with a comprehensive and easy to understand document afterwards.

I'm sad to say that I could not recommend this service as the survey took longer than originally implied to arrive and was far from 'hassle free' as the provider (White Horse Surveyors)communicated poorly on the whole, twice trying to re-invoice me for the service that I had paid for up-front. To add insult to injury, I was told by the provider when querying this to be sure that my payment had cleared as I wouldn't be receiving the survey until, as if I was at fault, rather than their less than impressive administration.

The invoice revealed that Homebuyer received a very healthy commission for allocating me the surveyor, who wrote a less than impressive report, issued solely in PDF format.

Fast and professional service. The report for my Homebuyers survey was received the day after the survey was done. It was easy to understand and thorough. Thanks and well done.

Very straightforward to order the premium building survey, and my surveyor Mr Donald Churchman was very thorough and helpful

Thought the company carried out the survey in a quick response time. Surveyor carried out a homebuyers report which we found very useful. Turnaround was very quick too. Would have no hesitation in recommending the company.

Ordered homebuyers report on line on a Tuesday. Surveyor attended the property on the Friday and by the following Tuesday I could download the full report. The whole process took only 1 week, it was also a lot cheaper. Could not fault this service, it was first class.

Appointed Surveyor Sykes Robinson was unreliable, not contactable & not local. Turned up three days late and then took another 14 days to deliver the report, not a word of apology. This was only after Homebuyer online having to apply pressure to their appointed surveyor. Nearly lost the house purchase, so all all in all not at all good. Local surveyor for me from now on.

From going on line my surveyor was quickly in touch and within a week in possession of a detailed survey of the property intending to purchase. Well done !!

Excellent in all aspects of customer relations. Report and communication was of the highest standards. Thoroughly recommended.

Easy to use website. Prompt execution of survey. Did all the liaising with agents etc. Always responded to emails. Very thorough. Would have no hesitation recommending.