We instructed Allcotts following a very though and comprehensive survey that was provided for relatives at the end of last year. sadly our experience was different from theirs. 1. Deadlines were not met, initially promised report in 4 - 5 working days, then in a later email, 2 working days after the survey. It was received on the 9th working day, after being chased. 2. an interim "draft version of the discussion/conclusion" was provided on request due to the delay, but proved to be without any worthwhile content. 3. Report was poorly worded and defects are not not well described. Illustrations in the report too small to show defects. Some reported defects are not accompanied by images. Due to the inadequacy of the images in the report, the original jpgs were requested; whilst a zip file was quickly provided with 70 images, these had been reduced from the native 6.4Mb to 201Kb so information was lost. 4. Specific questions asked in advance were not answered, for instance information about cavity wall insulation was specifically requested; the age of the building was estimated at mid 20th Century so cavity wall insulation would not have been required under Building Regulations; the question then is has it been installed subsequently. In the relatives report there was a specific and unprompted comment "There are filled plug holes within the elevations where retro cavity wall insulation has been installed." - there was no comment on the presence or absence of drill holes despite this being a specific request prior to the survey. 4. Supplementary questions intended to clarify the results were not dealt with adequately or in some cases at all. 5. A "distant vantage point" was used to justify not providing information on several occasions, however little effort seems to have been made to overcome distant vantage points, for instance using binoculars or the Camera's telephoto lens. 6. Useful information was not included.... the age of the building was estimated and using publicly available on line maps could have been identified more accurately with little effort. The presence of glass fibre loft insulation was noted, but its thickness was not mentioned even when requested. External lighting and individual radiators were identified in the report, but no apparent attempt was made to test them, though attention was drawn to the fact that they had not been tested. Presumably it would not have been difficult to provide that test. In conclusion we have paid for a survey that has not provided the useful information that we expected, to help us plan works to the house once we have completed the sale, in the way that our relative's report was comprehensive and very helpful. We would not be recommending Allcotts on the basis of this report and the delay in providing it.