Letters threatening action ramp up premiums
Government bailed out bank Bradford & Bingley is threatening to sue surveyors for over-valuing properties during the housing boom, the Times reports.
GE Money and GMAC-RFC, which were among the biggest lenders of buy-to-let and sub-prime deals before the market crashed in 2007, have also been sending out letters to surveyors after selling homes that they had repossessed for far less than the original valuation.
The practice has already forced Allied Surveyors, one of the UK’s biggest independent surveying firms, out of business as a result of 36 professional negligence claims.
Premiums rise
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which represents 100,000 surveyors, has accused lenders of putting valuers businesses at risk without any evidence that their valuation was inaccurate.
Valuers must inform their PI insurer of the claim and may not be able to afford future premiums if the insurer brands them high-risk.
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