In November 2012, I bought a big flat in London built by Vision Homes.
The first thing I did was to search online for customer's reviews etc but could not find anything so I trusted that Vision Homes was a small but serious company.
On a Friday evening I flew back to London to collect the key of my flat. I was welcomed with a bottle of champagne and flowers. I was impressed!
I had tried to arrange for a snagging visit with the estate agent the Saturday before moving in but they ignored my emails and phone calls all day (maybe they knew it was not a good idea). Then, I was told not to worry as I could do it anytime within the first 2 years, so I accepted to move in without the snagging survey.
The Vision Homes sales person like the agency said the same i.e. not to worry. You have two years to let us know what is wrong and then the NHBC to cover afterwards. It all seemed too good to be true. So as it was dinner time on Friday night, it was dark outside and the sales person had a dinner planned with her partner, I just signed and did not worry (BIG BIG MISTAKE).
The following day I started compiling my snaglist. I called Vision Homes and again they reassured me. They were so nice and friendly (like only sales people can be).
It is only when I submitted my list that the true face of Vision Homes came out and it was not a nice face.
They were either trying to convince me that those issues were not really issues (e.g. all the toilet bowl were 10cm higher than the norm and I was told they were the correct high and fully approved by the NHBC) or for some small issues they claimed they would send someone to fix them.
Dozens and dozens of emails followed and very little was done, just promises. Plenty of emails with no reply, or appointments where nobody turned up, or when they did, only part of the job was done. The after sales manager would simply ignore our email (I was not the only person in this building with problems, most of us did and we got the same treatment, we were simply ignored). In the meantime the list of snagging was growing.
At the beginning of summer 2013 I was no longer able to open my balcony door and I started seeing a leak from the roof terrace above me. We were unable to lock the entrance door of the building and the gate (we got burgled because of this, thieves came and stole people’s bikes in the basement).
All the residents started complaining, wrote and called Vision Homes. What did Vision Homes do? They promised to fix things but would not turn up, time and time again. This triggered more emails sent on behalf of everyone. We got burgled a second time and then finally, the doors were fixed. After seeing how unprofessional, disrespectful and unwilling to help Vision Homes were, I decided to contact the NHBC. After waiting a few weeks NHBC sent someone to check and Vision Homes 'agreed' to fix everything by 9 December 2013 (they were given more than a month).
Finally, Vision Homes started doing something.
The new after sales manager seemed to be keen on getting things done but soon she started ignoring my emails, making appointments and not sending anyone or sending the wrong person to do the job (I even had to point out that maybe she should keep a checklist for each flat to avoid getting confused). Lowering the 2 toilet bowl took more than 5 weeks as she would not send anyone. More unanswered emails again. 9 December 2013 and still nothing finished.
NHBC was doing very little. I would call them to tell that I was at home waiting for the job to be finished and nobody turned up and Vision Homes did not even bother informing me. NHBC would call Vision Homes which would reply saying that they would come at a different date and when that day came they would not turn up and the cycle would go on.
In the meantime, the list of snagging was growing. The little leak turned into a big one. I had to keep a bucket in the corridor and one in the guests bedroom to collect the rain coming though my ceiling. I was left in these conditions for 2 months. Finally, almost 5 months after the 9 December (date by which they should have fixed all issues as per NHBC request) Vision Homes got everything done.
In the meantime, I got a professional snagging company to come and see my place and they found an additional 50 items to fix. I sent the lists to Vision Homes asking if they could fix them while working on the other ones (e.g. the leak had extended to a second bedroom and the kitchen). Vision Homes after sales manager categorically refused saying they would only fix what was on the NHBC list and nothing else. So I contacted NHBC and opened another claim.
Three days ago after waiting 5 weeks NHBC came to check together with Vision Homes. They start questioning my list i.e. the list compiled the a professional snagging expert. I am now waiting for the outcome of the meeting but my next steps are: make a complaint with the NHBC as I do not think they are being impartial and take Vision Homes to court.
Vision Homes motto is "Seeing is Believing!"
I agree, you really need to see what I have been going through in the last 16 to believe how bad Vision Homes after sales care is. Just like a low cost airline, if everything goes fine you are happy but if things are not fine it can turn into a total nightmare.
Has anyone else experienced similar problems with Vision Homes? Why don't you give your feedback too? We need to help future buyers understand the kind of problems they could face if they have problems after buying from Vision Homes. If only I had known before purchasing...