Survey Merchant Reviews 7

Quick and professional service. Booked a building survey and everything went smoothly. Good value too. Recommended.

This company promotes low fees with a discount incentive to secure your instruction. We appointed them as our party wall surveyor and, ironically, out of all parties involved -  including the adjoining owner’s surveyor and our neighbour -it was Survey Merchant who left the most negative impression.

We were left with the strong impression that Nicholas was not fully familiar with the legislation surrounding party wall agreements. We did not feel that he had our best interests at heart, nor did he offer constructive suggestions to the adjoining surveyor to ensure our property was properly protected. After considerable back and forth -  during which we already felt unsupported - he then requested an additional fee, citing extra time and work incurred.  

However, it was unclear to us what additional work had actually been undertaken beyond forwarding correspondence between parties. No breakdown or explanation was provided to justify the increase, which made the request difficult to understand and accept.
If additional time was being spent beyond the original scope, it would have been reasonable and professional to inform us in advance that the quoted amount, based on an estimated timeframe, was close to being exceeded. Instead, this was only raised after the fact (pretty convenient).

When we expressed that it would have been courteous to notify us, we were told that we did not need to be informed because we were not his clients. It is difficult to describe how insulting that response was -   particularly when you appoint someone with the expectation that they are representing and protecting your interests. It felt like a complete dismissal of our position, especially given that we were not obligated to choose their company in the first place.
In addition to the unexpected fee increase, communication throughout was poor and often abrupt. They also issued a contract -  a legal document -  using an American date format (for example, 02/09/2026 instead of 09/02/2026). When we asked for this to be corrected to avoid ambiguity, no amendment was made.

My personal advice: do not be persuaded by the initial low fee. Choose a surveyor who is knowledgeable, transparent, and genuinely committed to protecting your interests. In my experience, this was one of the most unprofessional and discourteous companies I have ever dealt with.

UPDATE in response to the below:

To clarify, the adjoining surveyor has been paid - you are welcome to confirm this directly with them. The time this was paid (16:56) and the time you responded to this review (20.09), so not quite sure how it fits into the exchange?

There was an initial delay because Survey Merchant were unwilling to provide a clear breakdown of the increased costs and instead attributed the additional charges to the adjoining surveyor. This required further clarification before payment could reasonably be made.

The information you are stating is incorrect. I am happy to share the full email thread relating to this review for transparency. We did not change the scope of work. We simply requested that our corner be backed, and that a clause be inserted to ensure we were adequately protected. These were reasonable requests and should not have constituted additional work had the matter been handled efficiently from the outset.

It appeared, however, that priority was given to accommodating the adjoining surveyor rather than addressing our concerns. The additional fee was only communicated to us after the work had been completed, which we found inappropriate and unprofessional.

With regard to accepting the contents of the agreement, given our previous experience of being charged for feedback and suggestions without prior notice, we decided it was best to proceed without delay, as sadly we felt raising further points might result in additional charges.

There was also no discount applied, contrary to what has been suggested.

For these reasons, the review accurately reflects our experience and will not be amended. We hope that greater courtesy and clearer communication will be extended to future clients to help avoid similar situations.

A level 2 survey, more comprehensive than expected and delivered very timely despite Christmas intervening.

Valuation required multiple follow up questions to clarify points as the responses provided were unclear.

As a commercial property owner, I found the surveying survey service from Survey Merchant to be what I was looking for. The report was delivered promptly and gave us a clear understanding of the maintenance work required.

I needed an accurate leasehold calculation and the surveyor exceeded my expectations. He explained everything clearly and provided a breakdown of the costs, which helped me during negotiations. I would absolutely recommend them for anyone dealing with leaseholds.

I recently used Survey Merchant for a building survey and couldn't be happier with the service. The team was incredibly professional, thorough, and friendly. They explained everything in detail and answered all my questions patiently. Their report was comprehensive and easy to understand, helping me make an informed decision. I highly recommend them for anyone needing a reliable and efficient building survey.