Had the survey through Nationwide & althuogh we complained they directed us back to countrywide. There are 7 stages of complaint then we had a further 3 with ombudsman took about 15 months & got a few hundred pounds back. Believe the product to be pointless & could lead you to many problems. The best way to describe it (which an ombudsman employee replied with the words 'basically yes')is someone standing in the middle of a room & doing a 360 turnaround! They are not allowed to move anything but unsure how big or obvious the problem has to be for it to be spotted. Eplanations/reasons for not spotting things from countrywide & ombudsman were poor & illogical, also found various contradictions. No one would answer this question, is the advertising a fair & accurate representation of the actual survey? If you have not had this survey done yet DON'T, If you have just keep complaining to everyone. Eventually they may get the message. It would be better to pay a respected all round builder to have a look. Please do not rely on the mid range survey it could cost you plenty!

We paid £403 for a simple valuation survey for an Equity Release mortgage. We have always found in all our previous dealing with surveyors that they are consummate professionals and the whole surveying process efficient and without problems. When Countrywide Surveyors visited us, we were pleasantly greeted by a professional who on site for all of 30 minutes, walked around with a computer tablet and promised to get the report out to our mortgage company very quickly. I thought, by using the computer tablet, the report was almost written by the time he left and the whole thing would prove that surveying can now be even more efficient with this latest technology. The reality: The lone ranger had actually taken off his stetson and dismounted from Tonto before knocking on our door and we were not to know that his profession was really that of a cowboy. These people plumbed a depth of incompetence that caused us so much distress and lost time that it beggars belief. Of course, they have not heard the last of this because we do not tolerate fools lightly and have a track record of complaining successfully through the necessary channels. Our experience and complaints in detail: Firstly, we conservatively valued our property at £500,000 and were amazed when the report came up with £450,000. Secondly, these cowboys had counted the number of rooms incorrectly and as a consequence the house was being compared to smaller properties. (At the stage when the second surveyor by a new surveyor was undertaken, we made sure he got the right the room count. We also, as a back up, obtained the opinion of a local estate agent.) Thirdly, we live at the very end of cul-de-sac on a private unadopted road, backing on to National Trust Woodland. These cowboys thought this house comparable to a property 25 miles away in a semi urban / estate environment. Fourthly, they also said external paint work including window frames needed repainting. This came as a total surprise to us as the house had been repainted less than 2 years ago by a local painter with a very good reputation. It should be noted that the subsequent surveyor visit from a more reputable company said that this comment was totally without foundation and the painter when we met him laughed. Our attempts to CW Surveyors to re-issue their report: We obtained the name of the regional manager for our area and wrote to her with all the evidence as to why they needed to re-issue their report. The woman was on holiday so it took us a fair while to get any reply. The evidence we gave her included dimensions of every room, a copy of a previous valuation report carried out when the property was purchased, comparisons that we obtained ourselves from internet research and a copy of the painters invoice. The reply we got was arrogant in the extreme and all she did was pull holes in our comparisons. Her overall conclusion that their valuation was correct and they would not be re-issuing their report. Totally taken aback by this, we decided that we might as well try their complaints procedure. This was as effective as a roll of toilet paper that had been left out in the rain. The only good thing to be said about it was that the woman who took the details was mature and listened intently and we had real hope that the survey would be found to be incorrect. Our hopes were soon dashed. Their complaints investigation seemed to hinge on whether their surveyor had followed the correct procedures in making his report which he had, but we were in dispute with the content and this seemed to pass them by. The final outcome: Once we had exhausted all avenues with CW Surveyors, we immediately wrote to our equity release provider asking for our money back and despite signing a condition that we understood that survey fees were non refundable under any circumstances, obtained a full refund and a token compensation. However, the reality is that a process we started in late July, believing that it would only take about 6 weeks, was only completed early February. The delays, in no uncertain terms, we attribute totally to CW Surveyors and urge everyone who has experienced these charlatans to complain to RICS, the official body that both the surveyor and his regional manager purport to belong to. One can only hope that both of them are struck off and this company given a severe warning that their overall service fell so far below what can reasonably be expected. If we could award no stars to them, we would. A final comment: Looking at the company’s website, there is a proud claim for receiving 59 awards. One can only wonder what these were for: causing as much distress as possible, producing a survey that has the most mistakes, the worst complaints procedure ........

Please Please,DO NOT have your survey carried out by these Cowboys!! They are complete rubbish,these clowns missed a Major Problem but told us about the Dated Decor!!!! When we moved in and found the defect they basically fobbed us off with excuses. The BIGGEST 500 pounds you will ever waste, a Blind Monkey Could do a better job. Poor Management Poor survey Poor employees.

Do Not Go Near Countrywide!!!! Their service is poor and unprofessional... They will mess you around, you have to pester them to get any sort or reply, they will make up excuse after excuse as to why they haven't done their job and blame you for their mistakes, it's the management that is the worst it's like the blind leading the blind the only thing they know how to do is mess people around and blame others. STAY AWAY FROM COUNTRYWIDE they will waste your time and frustrate the life out of you..... oh and take your money and supply no service

Of all the companies in the world, this is the one I would be least likely do business with again.

They were appointed by our mortgage company to carry out a homebuyers survey on our behalf when we bought our current property. The report failed to identify any of the problems we encountered when we moved in, including a severe damp problem and blown plaster throughout the house. We ended up spending about £15,000 more on repairs and renovation than we had envisaged. There response to our complaint has in my view been patronising and dismissive in the extreme.

Words really can't express the disappointment I feel at the way we've been treated by Countrywide. I'd caution anyone to check who your mortgage company is using to carry out your survey before you hand over your money. In future I'll be choosing my own surveyor.