Taylor Wimpey - The Chariots Andover

[crh]

He is our saga of dealing with Taylor Wimpey at "The Chariots", Andover.

We were originally told a build window of October/November, after numerous phone calls trying to get a fixed date from them. The only assurance we could get was that they categorically wouldn't go outside of the build window because they would have told us by now

It appears words are hollow in the corporate culture of Taylor Wimpey after receiving a phone call last Monday saying completion would be on the 22nd November. We got a further phone call two days later saying "the quality wasn't in the house yet" so completion would be on the 6th December. So in one phone call Taylor Wimpey have made us homeless for a week and would also have to incur additional  costs for storing our furniture for the week.

Taylor Wimpey didn't give formal notice to complete to our solicitor so a verbal notice means nothing in the heavily vendor-favoured house purchase process we have in the UK, so in effect we are left hanging on until they say when they will actually complete our house. We've written to Taylor Wimpey asking to them to confirm their position and compensate us for going outside the build window but have heard absolutely nothing

We did manage to view the house last Saturday and there's no way they could get it ready for the 22nd November. What is concerning is we seem to have the loudest creaking stairs  ever and I'm pretty sure the kitchen window is a lot smaller than it should be!!!

I'm starting to think after hearing other buyers experiences on The Chariots  that buying Taylor Wimpey is a massive error.

[crh]

After talking to the sales staff on site and discussing Taylor Wimpey covering our extra removal costs and accommodation compensation. Here is the response we received from Taylor Wimpey's sales manager, Rosamund Wells

"I have been forwarded an email you have sent to xxx and xxx at the Chariots with regard to the completion date of your new home."
 
"I understand that we have informed you at the beginning of the month of a slight change to your anticipated legal completion date.  I note from your comments that your original anticipated completion window was October / November.  Taylor Wimpey always give an anticipated 2 month window on every property at the point of reservation, however this is only an estimate and can sometimes change, as the build process is subject to many factors such as weather and supplies.  Due to delays with the construction of your property there is now the potential that it will be out of that window by approximately 1 week as advised earlier in the month by xxx."
 
"I understand that you are currently living in a rented property and have given notice to move out by the 29th of November and you are unable to extend this due to the property being re let.  Taylor Wimpey never advise purchasers to give notice on their existing property until they have a confirmed date from us and at the time you only had a provisional completion window.  As per the terms of your contract when you exchanged with us you exchanged on notice, not a fixed date, which I am sure you are aware means Taylor Wimpey are legally only required to give you 10 working days notice to complete.  This notice is served once the property has been inspected by the NHBC, which is an independent party and we are currently aiming to schedule this on the 22/11/13.  We have weekly meetings with our Production department and we did notify you immediately upon being made aware that your completion date would be slightly delayed due to production issues."
 
"I do appreciate your situation however we did not advise you to give notice on your rental property as we did not have a confirmed completion date and therefore Taylor Wimpey cannot be liable for any costs incurred due to the completion being delayed. I am unable to comment on other individual cases, however I have raised your concerns with our Directors to ensure that we make every effort to enable you to move as quickly as possible into your new home given your circumstances. We can only apologise for the stress that  this has caused you and I would like to assure you that we are making every effort to achieve this."
 
"I believe that xxx and xxx have been in touch with you on a regular basis to advise of progress and I will ensure that this continues and will be monitoring the situation personally."
Yours sincerely
Roz Wells - 
Sales Manager
rosamund.wells@taylorwimpey.com
T 02380 255288  M 07920 765802
Taylor Wimpey
Templars House
Lulworth Close
Chandlers Ford
SO53 3TJ "

Taylor Wimpey completely ignoring the fact that I gave notice on our flat after they phoned up and gave me a 22nd completion date and throughout the entire process them assuring me that they wouldn't go out of the build window

[Philofacts]

Not wishing to be unkind to your situation, but the warning signs were there for you to see.
Your first post on 7 October said you were "about to instruct the solicitor to exchange contracts today. To say I'm concerned would be an understatement"  So why did you still go ahead?
Even Taylor Wimpey have laughably told you that "the quality wasn't in the house yet", meaning they need to do extensive snagging works before they let your snagging inspector near it.  At least that is an improvement.
Do you really want to legally complete the purchase, in the knowledge of what has taken place?
15 days (so far!) of remedial and snagging works, two months after legal completion!
Do you have any confidence that your electrical installation certificate will mean that it is safe?

Regarding completion dates and notification, the Consumer Code for Home Builders is quite clear on this. 
Taylor Wimpey must keep you fully informed and give firm dates. 
"Requirement:The Home Buyer must be given reliable and realistic information about when construction of the Home may be finished, the date of Legal Completion, and the date for
handover of the Home.
Guidance note: When the Home is decorated and main services are connected – say what week the Home is likely to be ready."

It would appear that Taylor Wimpey would be incapable of forecasting six o'clock at half past five!

Any additional expenses caused by their delays and postponing should be reimbursed by Taylor Wimpey.   

As David Brown, a Regional Director at Taylor Wimpey's Southern Counties told another unhappy buyer at their "Chariots" development just last Friday:
"we're here to deliver profit for our shareholders"
adding:
"we don't build perfect houses"

It tells you all you need to know about this company!

[crh]

You are of course completely right. The warnings signs were there and to be honest we do want to walk away now as the stress and disdain they show for customers is not worth the amount we like the house and area. unfortunately now we are locked in with no get out

Below is the response I sent Taylor Wimpey

Dear Rosamund,

I am astounded by your vague and cavalier response to this situation. Your sales agent very clearly gave us a verbal notice to complete on Monday the 6th of November which xxx retracted and then gave us a new date of 6th of December two days later. Which in his own words was because "the quality is not going to be in the house by the 22nd" After viewing the property last weekend this would very much appear to be the case!

Again I would like to point out the following from the Consumer Code for Home Builders:

"Requirement:The Home Buyer must be given reliable and realistic information about when construction of the Home may be finished, the date of Legal Completion, and the date for handover of the Home."

Taylor Wimpey has completely failed on this requirement as throughout the entire process the only information you have given us was "the house will be complete in the build window". You then gave me an incorrect verbal notice to complete. After this I took the decision to hand the notice in on our apartment. It was only on  Tuesday 5th I was informed by our solicitor that you haven't legally served formally notice to her.

Can you please give me a written explanation why you told xxx to give us a completion date of the 22nd on Monday the 5th when the plot would not be ready for the 22nd?

I believe there has now been a catastrophic loss trust between us and Taylor Wimpey now and would ask that David Brown take charge of this situation as quite frankly Rosamund, it has taken you four days to reply to us and this is only after me constantly prompting xxx. I have been in constant contact with xxx who has been kind enough to furnish me with all the correspondence in his saga with dealing with you and to say again, I have grave concerns about you delivering our house on time.

"which I am sure you are aware means Taylor Wimpey are legally only required to give you 10 working days’ notice to complete"
This statement is incorrect, your legal department failed to provide our solicitor with a completion date so we were forced to accept a two week notice to complete. I would note at this point you still have not served a notice to complete so your "promise" of the 22nd is purely that. As I'm sure you will be aware Rosamund in the house buying process the vendor and buyer agree a mutual completion date this is something that Taylor Wimpey feels it doesn't have to do

After our talk with xxx on Saturday he informed us that this situation has indeed happened before and in his opinion one month's rent and covering our moving costs would be realistic.

I am prepared to work with you to resolve this situation but I would ask that you come back to us with a sensible plan of action of how to resolve the situation IE you cover one months rent and our storage costs  or David Brown presents himself at The Chariots to meet with us in person to discuss the situation


Regards
Two very stressed and unhappy Taylor Wimpey buyers  

[Philofacts]

I am not sure what, if anything, David Brown would be prepared to do.
He doesn,t have a very good track record at The Chariots!
.......and with his attitude ("we're here to deliver profit for our shareholders"  and  "we don't build perfect houses")  I doubt he would help even if he had the inclination to do so!

At this rate, he may as well move in at "The Chariots" as it looks like he will be spending a great deal of his time on this "NHBC Quality Award" winning site talking to many more unhappy Taylor Wimpey Customers.

[crh]

I am not sure what, if anything, David Brown would be prepared to do.
He doesn,t have a very good track record at The Chariots!
.......and with his attitude ("we're here to deliver profit for our shareholders"  and  "we don't build perfect houses")   I doubt he would help even if he had the inclination to do so!

At this rate, he may as well move in at "The Chariots" as it looks like he will be spending a great deal of his time on this "NHBC Quality Award" winning site talking to many more unhappy Taylor Wimpey Customers.

No I think your right on that one. If I get a response from him at all I'd be shocked.  

That quote of his is surely a Gerald Ratner moment. I really hope that whoever he spoke to got it recorded!

[Philofacts]

I think it was recorded. 
You can never trust any house builder these days!
It is always best to record all conversations both before you buy and afterwards, especially if there is a meeting to discuss issues with your new home.

[crh]

I think it was recorded. 
You can never trust any house builder these days!
It is always best to record all conversations both before you buy and afterwards, especially if there is a meeting to discuss issues with your new home.

I'm starting to learn this the hard way. I forgot to add while my own saga has been unfolding Taylor Wimpey told us they couldn't fit the fully glazed door we ordered for the lounge due to fire regulations. I just assumed they hadn't bothered to order it

[Philofacts]

As Paul's video says:
"Real eyes   -   Realize     - Real Lies"

You can fit any design of door, anywhere. 
If a fire-rated door is necessary to comply with the Approved Document Part B 'Fire Safety' (Volume 1 Dwelling Houses) of the Building Regulations then the door can be manufactured to give the appropriate fire rating.
With glazed doors this involves using a clear "PYRO" glass (fire resistant) which is very expensive.
An alternative is the cheaper Georgian-wired glass which looks horrible.

A fire doors are only required on doors protecting a means of escape (stairways, landings and hall) on three-storey homes.  If your house is two-storey the only fire door requirement would be a door to an integral garage.

Like everything Taylor Wimpey,  I expect you are being lied to, and misled to cover up their mistake or to save them money. After all, they say  "we're here to deliver profit for our shareholder"  not, it would appear, to meet their customer's expectations!

[TaylorWimpeyDidThis]

Another example of the complete joke that is the "NHBC Pride in Job Award" and how it is grossly misleading to prospective buyers as to what they can expect when buying a home on a Taylor Wimpey award winning site.

Richard Crawford was given the PITJ Quality Award which included an assessment of his site management skills:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87uwAuIM2PA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87uwAuIM2PA</a>


"...this site manager is clearly in control of his own development",  
"Construction planning clearly important...."

Other homebuyers on this site have had their expected completion dates put back by up to 2 months, at the last minute. They had their removals booked and had given notice on their tenancy and had been given regular updates by the sales team.

There is an evident lack of interest or realisation at the impact that this has on peoples' lives, in what is already commonly accepted to be in the top 3 causes of stress (and this is without all the added hassle that is clearly part of the Taylor Wimpey buying experience!)

Epic mismanagement, epic failure and epic disinterest in their customers.

[Philofacts]

The NHBC have told me that:
"The Pride in the Job competition,  does play an important role in improving standards across the industry."

"Pride in the Job awards are extremely important to NHBC and to the industry. The judging process involves site managers being assessed against a very wide range of site management skills from technical knowledge and consistency in the build process to leadership and organisational skills."

"This process does not guarantee that every home built on a site will be without issues and our 10 year Buildmark warranty and insurance cover is there to provide protection to the homeowner should problems arise following completion."  

It is not surprising that the NHBC chose to feature Miller Homes site manager in their promotional video.
Miller win the more NHBC Quality Awards in relation to the total number of homes they build than any other large housebuilder.

[Philofacts]

CRH:  Regarding completion dates:

The Consumer Code for Home Builders is quite clear regarding completion dates:

REQUIREMENT
"The Home Buyer must be given reliable and realistic information about when construction of the Home may be finished, the date of Legal Completion, and the date for handover of the Home."

The critical key words being reliable and realistic. The "builder guidance" goes further:

" Before completing the foundations and ground floor - give the calendar quarter when the Home is likely to be ready.
 When the roof is completed and the building weatherproof - give the month when the Home is likely to be ready.
 When the Home is decorated and main services are connected - say what week the Home is likely to be ready."

Therefore Taylor Wimpey should have kept you informed of the progress and any revision of the completion date. Once the house was decorated they should have been in a position to give you a precise week in which it would be 100% finished and complete - giving you a minimum two week's notice of the date of legal completion.

"The Home Buyer may terminate the contract if the Home Builder fails to serve notice on the Home Buyer to complete the sale within 2 months from the anticipated date stated in the Contract of Sale." (ie.at Exchange of Contracts) This is only applicable "if the Contract of Sale is exchanged before the roof is completed and the building weatherproof"

You will know what stage the house was at the time you exchanged contracts.
Taylor Wimpey have not complied fully with the requirements of the CCHB in my opinion.
Because the date(s) they gave you were, and by all accounts continue to be, both unreliable and unrealistic, especially given their own apparent lack of confidence to build a home to the required quality standards to pass an NHBC final CML inspection.

You would have every right to make a claim under the CCHB as in my opinion Taylor Wimpey have not met the requirements. You will need plenty of evidence for a claim, so keep receipts and written records of everything.

Making a Subject Access Request is a great way to cause maximum inconvenience for house builders at minimal cost to home buyers (£10 plus your own postage costs). It is a Legal Requirement that they provide you with EVERYTHING in your plot file or in their records relating to you or your home, including internal e mails which can be quite revealing!

No doubt the HBF and others in the house building industry will lobby to get the maximum fee increased, or get restrictions placed on what they are compelled to release but in the meantime, new home buyers with issues should make use of this while they can.

It is good news you now have, in writing, a legal completion date of 6th December.
It remains to be seen whether your home will be sufficiently finished to pass the NHBC CML final inspection later today.

Your own snagging inspector will no doubt throw up a few issues too.
Do not legally complete until AFTER his inspection.
Insist on this, if they refuse say the deal is off, you cannot compete until January as it is too close to Christmas.
They will let him inspect trust me.