DWH Bristol Incompetance

[FenMan48]

My son and his fiancée purchased a brand new ground floor flat from David Wilson Homes and moved in December 2014. By January 2015 he noticed mould on the walls in the lounge and bathroom and mould on the ceiling in the bathroom. He contacted the site office and they sent along a part time student and put in an industrial de-humidifier for a month. This did nothing.

By April the problem was getting worse and my son wrote to DWH at Bristol requesting they investigate. They sent along a contractor who dried out screeds. Guess what he found the screed was still high moisture. He missed leaks in the plumbing, ground level above the DPC and a variety of other weatherproofing problems. Needless to say I did my own report as I was unhappy with the technical approach.

DWH still insisted the problem was the screed, whilst carrying out remedial repairs as per my report. They hired another contractor who stated the screed could be one of the problems and my son and his fiancée needed to move out in order to dry the screed. A representative of DWH picked up the keys in January 2016, the first time anybody from DWH Bristol had visited the inside of the flat. My son and his fiancée moved all their belongings into store and moved to accommodation paid for by DWH.

DWH then dried out the screed, dug it up again as they had found a problem underneath the floor, solved the problem and filled in the floor screed with new concrete. They then waited two days and laid self levelling latex compound giving us the same problem as before. We inspected it, not them, and told them the aero chocolate look in the floor was verging on technical stupidity. They have got to do it all again properly.

My son and his fiancée are still out of their flat, their goods are still in storage, and it could be October 2016 before they are back. They get married in September 2016.

It has taken 35 letters, 3 of our own technical reports and umpteen e mails to get this far.
What compensation should they seek of DWH? Is it worth going to court?

This company only has one aim and that is to get your money. Once they have got it they don’t care. In over forty five years of troubleshooting in industry, fourteen in building waterproofing, I can state without doubt this is the most incompetent company I have ever dealt with.

[New Home Expert]

Can I suggest you write a detailed letter of your experiences and send it (recorded delivery) to Barratt CEO David Thomas at Barratt Developments head office.

You should also give Geoff Peter at Wingrovelaw.co.uk a call. He specialises in getting justice for new home buyers.

Hopefully my two-year campaign for a New Homes Ombudsman is gathering pace and acceptance and would be able to award the compensation your son is so clearly due.  As a minimum you should get back all your costs, (storage, alternative accommodation, legal fees, survey fees, etc) and I would suggest that Barratt pay all the costs associated with the flat for the time your son has not had the use of it too!

[FenMan48]

I raised a second complaint on the way David Wilson Homes had handled the first complaint and sent it direct to Barratt. It ended up back at DWH Bristol in January and I am still waiting for an answer.

I am fully behind your campaign and I have been astounded as to how these companies can continue in business with such poor quality and customer service. Maybe they will only start to react if one goes out of business .

I certainly could not have handled this complaint without the time and technical knowledge. In total, my son and his fiancée have spent 395 days living with mould and damp plus 218 days out of their home with temporary accommodation paid for by DWH.
Home of quality?  I would not trust them with Lego.

 

[New Home Expert]

I also have to say, that at least Barratt are doing something about it, albeit not as quickly and effectively as they could and should.

Most house builders, Persimmon and Bovis being the worst in my opinion, completely ignore buyers when they report problems with their new homes, especially after the first 16 weeks after the buyer has completed the HBF satisfaction survey.

[FenMan48]

Barratt have done nothing except hand it back to the same person at David Wilson Homes who is handling the original complaint. However since posting we have been offered a meeting at the Bristol offices. Fortunately for us and unfortunately for them we have refused to handle both complaints by telephone and every part of this complaint is in writing from both parties.

The first letter that went to them in April 2015 asked for a copy of their complaints procedure. The reply showed no complaint number and sent me online to find a procedure (which you cannot print). This showed that complaints are not recorded as complaints. This is an old trick of denial and is used not to improve quality but to get rid of the complaint. Most people will keep complaining by telephone and to be honest you may as well talk to my cat.

It is not brain surgery to set up a complaints procedure that works to the benefit of the company and the customer. In industry you have to do it as a measure of your quality and to keep a customer buying long term. However with house builders you are a one of customer and once they have your money they simply don't care. Their Customer Service and your problem are added costs which the bosses intend to limit by an inadequate complaints procedure and poorly trained staff.

In the case of my son and his fiancée we are seeking the end to a quality remedial, buy back if they do not get it right and adequate compensation. If that is not on the table we will introduce other options which David Wilson Homes and Barratt's may find more expensive.

In the case of your own campaign I feel you are up against a ringed system which may be protected by vested interests. I wish you luck and will help in any way I can.

May I suggest that anybody that wants to complain against these companies writes a letter and does not use the telephone, e mail or on line procedures. They can then publish the letter on your site and let us know what happens. These companies hate writing letters back as it takes time and trained staff.

[New Home Expert]

I couldn't agree more. 
I have long (oh so long and so many times!) advised new homebuyers to record their complaints in writing and to record, either audio or with notes any conversations they have if or when builders' staff call them. How to complain to a housebuilder

Proof is everything!

It is a great pity that most new homebuyers do not take to forums to tell others of their experiences too.

You can print any page online by hitting the "Print Screen" button, opening "Paint" and Pasting. Then print the image.  But I agree, how hard is it for Barratt an FT100 company, to have a download pdf button on their website for anything customer service rather than sales related!
Not that I could find their 'Complaints Procedure' other than an online form on their website!