Surveyor expelled by RICS after failures cause sales to fall through

A surveyor has been expelled from RICS to “protect the public” after failing to produce inspection reports despite repeated reminders from customers.

Ian Prince of Principles Surveyors based in Nottinghamshire left eight people without reports, and a ninth only received it after a long delay.

In some cases, sales fell through because he did not produce the inspection report.

‘Severe hardship’

He blamed “severe financial hardship” and health issues for his failure, but a RICS disciplinary panel said these issues did not fully explain why he had let customers down.

The panel expelled Prince from RICS and awarded costs of £8,000 against him.

It was said that between March 2021 and March 2023 Prince carried out property inspections, but then failed to deliver reports.

He also then refused to give customers refunds, apart from two.

Clients have and continue to always be my number one priority.”

Prince had not responded to any of the RICS’ many attempts to get in touch with him by both phone and email.

The surveyor, who also claimed he had problems with the RICS computer system and BT broadband, said: “Clients have and continue to always be my number one priority.

“I have been providing services since 1997 with a solid record of customer satisfaction,” he said.

Fall throughs

But Christopher Geering for RICS said: “The evidence suggests Mr Prince has repeatedly taken on work and then failed to deliver.

“In more than one case potential sales of property have fallen through as a result of the delay.

The Panel was of the view that Mr Prince’s plight was largely of his own making.”

The panel said: “The Panel was of the view that Mr Prince’s plight was largely of his own making.

“His poor performance may well have been linked to his health, but the Panel could not be sure of this as Mr Prince had not attended the hearing or provided an account or explanation for his behaviour.”

Read the full judgement here.