Able Damp & Preservation Specialist Reviews 15

Able damp have not fixed our damp problem, despite charging us a substantial amount of money.

Like many of the reviews below, I also had a very poor experience with this company. After repeated attempts to resolve the issue directly, I had no choice but to take the matter to small claims court. I was awarded a County Court Judgment (CCJ) in my favour, which remains unpaid, and the company has not responded to any of my emails.

I would strongly encourage anyone in a similar position to fully understand their consumer rights and consider the legal options available to them.

It’s disappointing that it had to come to this, and I hope the company takes steps to resolve matters properly going forward.

Review:
I hired Able Damp & Preservation Specialist for damp proofing, preservation work, and an initial survey in January. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing.

Misleading Survey:
During the initial investigation, they boasted about their "really good" damp detection device that could detect wall depth and other details
Despite this supposedly advanced equipment, they later claimed they needed to drill much deeper than anticipated, adding £2,500 to the bill. They also claimed they had great experience in Grade listed buildings.

Workmanship Issues:
They damaged skirting boards during removal, some of which broke and required us to pay for repairs
A window sill was damaged, leaving a large crack
Radiators were removed with promises to reinstall them after the work, but they never did - leaving us without heating in several rooms
The plastering work was uneven and not level - I had to pay separately to get this fixed
While they do mention in small print that customers need to prepare walls beforehand and hire their own joiner and electrician, I still find their breaking and ripping off skirting boards, radiators, and breaking window sills completely unacceptable - it could have been explained to us before they started doing the work that they'd break these things.

Technical Concerns:
Despite explaining that Grade 2 listed building regulations required Hydroponic Lime for plastering, they initially planned to use cement until I challenged this

Unexpected Costs:
After completion, they demanded an additional £2,500 on top of the original quote, claiming they needed to drill deeper into walls - this was never mentioned during the initial survey despite their "advanced" detection equipment
The small print did mention additional costs if they had to go back more than 60mm, but not once did they say they'd have to do this until the work was completed. I checked on the workers each day and they said nothing about needing to go deeper.
When I complained they knocked £400 off, but I suspect this was because we'd already had to pay extra for the Hydroponic Lime (which from what I can see isn't that much more expensive than cement anyway)

Poor Follow-up:
They promised to return after 5 weeks to check the work but never called or visited
Concerning Business Practices:
Their 20-year guarantee is not insurance-backed, making it essentially worthless
I've heard they may be facing difficulties (Companies House records)
The owner appears to have changed his name on Facebook, possibly to avoid association with the business

I'm now left worrying about the long-term integrity of the work, with no meaningful guarantee protection. The combination of property damage, incomplete work, broken promises, unexpected costs, poor communication, and questionable business practices made this an extremely frustrating and concerning experience.

This company did some external work at the end of May. We have had nothing but problems from day one! Sent numerous emails, made umpteen phone calls with no response. Advised to take them to court but heard rumours that they're going out of business!? We paid a lot of money for a really poor quality job, absolutely disgusted by this company.

We had Able Damp & Preservation Specialist do mould and damp treatment at one of our rental properties. A few months later when we had a mid-term inspection done it was noticed that part of the treated area is starting to come through again.
I contacted the company to report this and request that they investigate the matter as there is a 20 year guarantee provided. I've spoken to Tanya who arranged a site visit with the tenants. A few days after the site visit I contacted Tanya again for feedback, and she told me the the surveyor (Dan will contact me directly) that was on 12th May 2025.
Until today I haven't received any response or call back from the company. I've made numerous calls to them with no answer leaving messages to contact me, I also contracted Brandon and Michael on their mobile, but there's never any answer or call backs from my messages and no response to my emails.
I find this type of service very unprofessional and won't recommend Able Damp & Preservation Specialist to anyone.

Dreadful. Had them out for a damp issue in a garage which they didn't fix and we have constantly been asking for them to come back and fix. They promised but then cancelled last minute several times and now seem to not answer at all. Dodgy company do not use!

They done a terrible job at my property and have not offered any assistance once their main guys came to check the job, he said we will rectify it and it has been over 2 weeks of no response! I will now be going to solicitors to seek advice now on what can be done

Worked for Able Damp & Preservation Specialist from September 2024 to February 2025. Ameer Kamel the so called Financial wiz and part owner owes me a couple of thousand in commission for works i secured whilst employed.
Messaged him today for an update (as its been 4 months) since I was given one weeks notice and let go. Hes decided to block me and not reply or try to sort this out.
Just be warned Able are folding as a company so avoid before you get duped like we all did that worked for them.
Stick to being a Chef ameer, your pretty good at burning things. 🔥

I had a engineer come to inspect the damp issue I had two and half weeks ago. It was on a Monday and he mentioned that he will have the report ready by Friday. I called him on a few occasions to follow up on the progress of the report but he gave me very misleading information, for eg it would be ready in another hour, if I didn't already receive it in my junk email box. He was obviously playing mind games instead on being transparent. I got in touch with their offices, although the office staff apologised, and the lady I spoke to said it will be ready by Tuesday last week. This came and gone. She was meant to follow this up and promised to call me back but didn't. Now they don't answer their phones conveniently. Disgusting way to be treated and I won't ever, I mean never recommend them.

I paid a lot for what I thought would be a permanent solution to my damp issues, but after just a few months, the damp returned. When I contacted the company, they didn’t seem to care. They promised a warranty, but they haven’t responded to my follow-up inquiries. Very unprofessional!

I had high hopes for this company based on their reputation, but they completely let me down. The damp proofing treatment they provided barely worked, and I had to call them back multiple times. They never fully addressed the problem, and communication was terrible. I wouldn't recommend them!

Do what they say for their money .Have had 2 surveys including an investigative one overall at acot of £759.
Still don't know what the problem is and how to fix it.
Absolute waste of money and time.

After receiving quotes from a number of companies, I chose Able. Their quote was clearly itemised and at a market standard price, and their work was guaranteed. The damp coursing for our livingroom was booked in and the deposit paid but due to a family bereavement, I had to ask that it was postponed. Everyone I spoke to was kind and helpful, and a new date was agreed without any charge. Jay Perks did the damp coursing in the time allocated. He was punctual, professional, friendly, knowledgeable and worked hard. Everything was left neat and tidy at the end of each day. The walls all dried thoroughly but after a few weeks, a damp patch came through on one of the walls. It was strange as it wasn't rising up from the ground but in the middle of the wall. The team immediately resurveyed, and Jay came back and completely redid that wall, and also thoroughly checked all the outside walls to make sure nothing else was amiss. I found this company reliable and experienced, and would highly recommend them.

I recently used Able for a survey and paid an extra fee for same day service as the prompt delivery of a quality report was essential. I explained the importance before engaging Able and paid in advance.

The survey and experience demonstrated by the surveyor did not meet my expectations. I was understanding that the surveyor could not have full access although the quality of the discussion and advice was very poor.

Furthermore, the report that arrived on the same day to me had not been proofread and was incredibly basic with errors that did not reflect the survey. Example was that the survey took place from the street when actually the surveyor was in my property.

I then requested for the report to be reissued, proof read and resent to me as a matter urgency as I needed the report for solicitors.

Able let me down once again with no reply and meaning I had to chase by email and then by phone. I received a revised report (10 min job) one week too late. I gave Able an opportunity to do the right thing here and they were not interested and really shows me the type of company they are. A huge shame as I would love to support local businesses but they really let me down and were not interested in correcting their failed service.

I would not recommend this company.

[UPDATE] I received a call from a so called company director, asking me to take the review down. After he didn’t get his way he hurled abuse at me and put the phone down. This really cements the type of company they are. Stay away at all costs. So disappointing.

I engaged Able Damp Specialist company for an inspection on a property with condensation and maybe damp concerns. Able damp surveyor attended twice and produced reports that fell short of my expectations of what proved to be more of a condensation issue. The guidance I sought for the condensation concerns was very minimal in the reports. I contacted Able and requested a refund of survey fee paid due to the mismatch of my expectations versus what Able were able to do. I had full expectation of a mini battle for the refund. To my utter astonishment Able agreed without a quibble and within hours after I had given my bank details funds were duly credited to my account, amazing!
From first contact to the last, Able staff were very professional, understanding, even apologetic and couldn’t do enough to try to rectify the situation. In these days of anonymous bot-like voices on the end of a line, it was a very refreshing experience, genuine top notch service all the way. Will not hesitate to use them should I have damp issue in the future. Thanks Able (won't mention a particular individual by name but they know who they are), keep up the good work!