UPDATE;
Taylor Wimpey have now spent 10 days working on the house - several reveals, window sills and internal walls have been straightened and re-plastered:
https://db.tt/o30dNZiT Following numerous emails and a letter:
https://db.tt/DZtCyBnd - there has been some movement in Taylor Wimpey's stance. 9 Days after sending the letter, the owners received a call from David Brown, Southern Counties Director for Taylor Wimpey, coincidentally on the same day that they were supposed to have finished all the works and handed back the keys to the customer. Their Assistant Site Manager, told the owners in person, on Monday 28th October, that he expected all of the work to be completed by Friday 8th November.
Taylor Wimpey now acknowledge that there is more work to be done and expects it all to be finished by next Friday - confirming the suspicions of the owners that there was at least 15 days of work to be done. That's 15 times more than their initial starting point!
David Brown has verbally apologised and agreed to pay 2 months rent and will
'consider' reimbursing the costs of the independent reports. Nothing in writing as yet though and no mention of the fact that Taylor Wimpey handed over a property riddled with potential dangers that wasn't suitable for habitation!
However, it would seem that the site team either don't have a clue or are simply not relaying the full extent of the works up the management chain and despite the owner voicing his concern, Taylor Wimpey are still saying it '
should' all be done in another 5 days.
With the aid of a trailer compressor outside of the house, and a lot of noise and vibration, Aeropark Developments have been at the property this week, removing the top layer of concrete underneath the two layers of flooring. They've spent 1.5 days and this is how far they've got, not having even finished the first room:
https://db.tt/a53pHlNk - the contractor said the whole ground floor needs doing - the house is thick and acrid with dust, with exposed surfaces and carpets throughout the house caked in the stuff.
So with 5 days remaining they intend to remove the flooring; compound layer and concrete, then re-lay the concrete floor (with the kitchen units and skirting board still in-situ!); allow it to dry; then re-lay the compound layer; remove then replace all wet room fixtures for the flooring to be relayed; then install new flooring; remove and reinstall the flooring upstairs; replace some of the upvc window and door units; straighten the shower controls, re-tile a bathroom and en-suite, fine-finish all the snags inside and out, repair or replace uvpc soffits, fascia and window surrounds, remove and replace all of the mastic sealant to all windows and doors, replace the carpets, fix the stair creaking, then clean, then sand down the doors and skirting and redecorate the entire house, then clean again.
.....all in the absence of an updated scope of works setting out what they intend to do and when and how they intend to do it in the owners' house. It makes you wonder if they actually have a plan themselves.
On a lighter note here's the result of the
3 attempts to install a garden floodlight. This is the reason why the owners have no confidence in Taylor Wimpey's site team to ensure things are done correctly. Taylor Wimpey's consultant advised the owners that they should wait until all of the work is completed before raising any issues and should direct their enquiries to him rather than speaking to subcontractors. Yet here's more evidence that Taylor Wimpey either don't care about the quality of their subcontractors' remedial works or simply aren't inspecting it once it's completed - this of course, being exactly the reason the house was originally handed over in the condition it was!
The owners ordered dimmer switches for some of the rooms at £30 each, this is what was installed:
https://db.tt/3HS284uEThey also asked for the same mirror in the ensuite as fitted in the show home: This is their 2nd attempt, Spot the difference -
https://db.tt/JdoELiq3Any quality control? Any care? Any pride in their work? Seemingly indifferent to the fact this is someone's home representing a £300,000 investment.
Other property owners are now uncovering issues with their electrics, telephone and data points that have not been wired in and similar issues with the flooring and plastering. Buyers have to put up with a steady stream of tradesmen and general disorganised chaos between Taylor Wimpey and their subcontractors.....after they've already moved in!
This is all on a site managed by someone who recently won the NHBC's "top accolade," an NHBC Priode in the Job Quality Award, for the very same site, Click the link to see the criteria he was judged on, makes you wonder how he managed to scored anything other than "zero" on Items 4 & 5!
NHBC Pride in the Job Assessment Form The owners are in regular contact with other buyers who have yet to complete on their sale - and it is evident the same things are still happening. Buyers who have exchanged, having been regularly assured that their completion target date is still OK, booking removals etc - only to be told at the last minute, that their completion date has slipped by several weeks.
Taylor Wimpey seemingly uninterested in the impact this is having on peoples' lives. Even if their houses were finished to a high standard and were electrically safe, you have to question whether what you get is worth the hassle of all the delays, the risk of missed completion dates and the upheaval of it all. Then add into the mix the endless defects, problems and Herculean efforts required getting them to fix anything properly...
...and of course, as taxpayers we are all subsidising Taylor Wimpey through the government's "Help to Buy" scheme.
