NHBC Forum

[Colin Jack]

B,

Please see my previous comments about the NHBC.

The NHBC warranty is one of the biggest scams on the go at the moment. You are paying for a warranty that protects the builder from you.

In Scotland the NHBC are not permitted to make any comment on Building Standards as they are not on the list of Verifiers and Certifiers under the Building Scotland Act.

It is a scam.

[honestbuilder]

Beleive me barry, the NHBC guy come's to the site i work on a couple of times a week,boy can he drink some coffee, point is he get's on like a best mate with the agent,they build a relationship and so called trust, agent says job's been done nhbc guy take's his word, they talk about,material for nhbc guy's extension,bob's your uncle see you next week 'mate',happens on all site's not just sleazy persimmon's,course not all of them are doing extension's,(but there mate's seem to be)just dont trust them my freind,hope this help's.

[togo.bevan]

We bought a Persimmon Home just over 2 years ago.
Right from the start we had 180 snags.
Called in the NHBC who sent an incompitant inspector (tried to use a spirit level on a stippled cealing) who refused to enforce his companys own standards and sided with the builder.
We subsequently found out that the house is non compliant to Building Regs (guess who was Building Controls, thats right NHBC). Both Persimmon and NHBC have refused to do anything about it.
Contacted the Construction Industry Council who regulate Building Control Bodies who have also declined to get involved.
The result is we have a house that is legally defective and no one will do anything about it.
It is obvious that house builders can construct what they like and are protected by a closed shop.

WE WILL NEVER BUY A NEW HOUSE AGAIN!!!

[Warwick]

what was the name of the NHBC inspector?

Have you been in touch with your MP?

[Tony]

Please don't name individuals on the forum. Thanks for your understanding

Tony

[togo.bevan]

Have writen an e-letter to our MP and AM and await a responce.

[woody]

Our house was covered by a 10 year NHBC and we noticed the motar between the bricks on our south facing wall was badly eroding.
I contacted a Structual Engineer who done a inspection and agreed it was bad. The NHBC came round and took samples of the mortar and sent it away to be tested and the results came back that the cement content in the Mix was low to VERY low.
Still the NHBC refuse to have my house re-pointed saying that it is not a Structual problem.
We also have about 10 hip tiles that have fallen out from the roof and they told us that its nothing to worry about as they are only decorative tiles and it would not make my roof leak!!!!
It seems as though they have an excuse for all the problems we have reported.
What is the point of a NHBC warrenty?
It is going to cost me a fortune to get my house re-pointed.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can take this matter further?

[malcolm22]

Sorry, I can only sympathise, and perhaps panic a little.
I've been trying to use NHBC online, and it must the slowest site I have ever used. If you make a mistake and want to correct it by using the back button, then the page has expired and you have to start all over again.
I assume that it is intentional that the site is unfriendly to users?:S

[Colin Jack]

At the risk of sounding like a very broken record (I have made so many posts on this subject).

Some quotes from Simon Barrett - NHBC Engineering Manager

'After all the NHBC is the builder's insurer...'

'If we set our standards too high, builders will get their insurance elsewhere...'

I contacted the NHBC Technical Helpdesk once regarding movement joints. The information I was given was grossly incorrect and it was more than obvious the person on the Helpdesk had no idea what they were talking about. When I queried him about his response and informed him of the correct requirements, he couldn't get off the phone quick enough. It seemed he was unable to read the NHBC's own documents.

In Scotland there is not one employee of the NHBC who is authorised to make any comment on matters which may affect the issue of a Completion Certificate.

Sorry Tony I am going to name names:
Sheila Darkins (NHBC Claims Inspector - now defected to a house builder) quite calmly told me that 'If you don't have rising damp after 2 years, you never will.' When I asked her to justify this statement she declined to answer - I wonder why?????

I have a Consultants Report which clearly states that sections of my timber kit oversail the underbuilding by more than the 12mm maximum stated in the 'NHBC Guidelines'. I have queried the NHBC about this and they refuse to respond - again I wonder why?????

And so on.........

The NHBC Warranty is meaningless. Home owners are paying for the privilege of having the NHBC protect the builder from the home owners. It is an insurance scam, nothing more. The NHBC does not set the standards - that is the job of the building regulations.

The whole builder / NHBC process is designed purely to delay and grind down the home owner who innocently put their trust in such companies in the hope of owning their dream home.

IT IS ALL ANOTHER GREAT BRITISH CON! :sick:

www.abadbett.com

[togo.bevan]

Here's an update.

Still no action with regard to all my correspondence.

As I have now threatened legal action with regard to their incompetence and negligence the NHBC have withdrawn all Resolution Service activities with regard to our property.

Is it just me or does this breach of contract smack of blackmail?