I have recently bought a new home from Ben Bailey in the lovely village of Darrington West Yorkshire. When we had our preview we were told it was for checking out where all the fuse boxes, alarm boxes etc were kept bearing in mind this was the day before we moved in. We were not told that this was a snagging preview also (probably because there are so many). When we had issues with the kitchen not being completed that the sink was a poor quality stainless steel and that the flooring and worktop were scratched we should have reported these on our 'preview day' and therefore not Ben Baileys problem. A week after moving in I fell down a manhole in the garden which had not been secured, I dread to think if it had been one of my children as I fell 4ft. I was told by Ben Bailey that if myself and my husband had not rushed the builders none of the snagging would have happened! So it's our fault now and we are to blame for poor workmanship and lack of health and safety. And so far they have washed their hands of us. Don't buy a Ben Bailey House.
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Ben Bailey Blames Customer
- Thread starter Marsden
- Start date
Hi Tony,
Thanks for asking about the house situation. No nothing has happened really. Ben Bailey say they will get their Customer Service Team over to look at the problems but when arrive is anyones guess. I have just spoken to an elderly neighbour who moved in aound Nov/Dec they have had 3 new living room floors fitted as they were all uneven and they had a drain fitted behind the garage with NO DRAIN for the water to go anywhere so their garden was flooded every time it rained. Myself and another neighbour have written to Watchdog in the hope we might get somewhere but I'm hoping the more people I persuade to write to them the more they might listen and help our task. My friend who worked for Cala homes snagged my house on Sat it took her 3.5hrs and she only did 2 floors we still have more to come.
Clare
Thanks for asking about the house situation. No nothing has happened really. Ben Bailey say they will get their Customer Service Team over to look at the problems but when arrive is anyones guess. I have just spoken to an elderly neighbour who moved in aound Nov/Dec they have had 3 new living room floors fitted as they were all uneven and they had a drain fitted behind the garage with NO DRAIN for the water to go anywhere so their garden was flooded every time it rained. Myself and another neighbour have written to Watchdog in the hope we might get somewhere but I'm hoping the more people I persuade to write to them the more they might listen and help our task. My friend who worked for Cala homes snagged my house on Sat it took her 3.5hrs and she only did 2 floors we still have more to come.
Clare
Colin Jack
New Member
marcusmarsden,
You got an employee (former employee if I am reading you correctly) of one house builder to snag another house builders work - absolutely superb, GENIUS. Who better to carry out snagging than someone who is fully trained in all the dodges, has told all the lies and has instigated severe depression in so many unsuspecting new build buyers.
3.5 hours to do 2 floors - says it all. I would hazard a guess that this did not include any form of structural investigation - wall ties, line and level of structure/cladding and the like.
I have had dealings with Cala Homes in the past and have found them to be as equally useless as all the other worthless house builders. The only saving grace was that they fully incriminated themselves in writing, without too much effort from me, which was nice.
Thoughts of Bett Homes (now known as Gladedale) come to mind:
“If your garden is flooding – plant more grass�
“The works have been carried out in accordance with the NHBC Standards which are guidance only so it doesn’t really matter�
“The corbel at underbuilding level is in accordance with the NHBC Standards despite what our Consulting Engineer states�
“The repair work to your boundary fence was in accordance with the NHBC Standards which do not exist�
“You are not permitted to ask for any information other than the Completion Certificate which cannot be issued due to the substandard workmanship. However please find attached Completion Certificates for 5 other properties. Choose whichever one you want but remember that it does not apply to your property.�
“We have no knowledge of the problems with your property despite visiting on a number of occasions and confirming in writing that we visited including lists of the problems viewed.�
“We will not enter into any further discussion regarding the problems with your property despite stating this twice before.�
“The works shall be carried out in accordance with Falkirk Council’s requirements despite previously stating that the works will be carried out in accordance with the NHBC’s standards, which are guidance only.�
And so on……..
You got an employee (former employee if I am reading you correctly) of one house builder to snag another house builders work - absolutely superb, GENIUS. Who better to carry out snagging than someone who is fully trained in all the dodges, has told all the lies and has instigated severe depression in so many unsuspecting new build buyers.
3.5 hours to do 2 floors - says it all. I would hazard a guess that this did not include any form of structural investigation - wall ties, line and level of structure/cladding and the like.
I have had dealings with Cala Homes in the past and have found them to be as equally useless as all the other worthless house builders. The only saving grace was that they fully incriminated themselves in writing, without too much effort from me, which was nice.
Thoughts of Bett Homes (now known as Gladedale) come to mind:
“If your garden is flooding – plant more grass�
“The works have been carried out in accordance with the NHBC Standards which are guidance only so it doesn’t really matter�
“The corbel at underbuilding level is in accordance with the NHBC Standards despite what our Consulting Engineer states�
“The repair work to your boundary fence was in accordance with the NHBC Standards which do not exist�
“You are not permitted to ask for any information other than the Completion Certificate which cannot be issued due to the substandard workmanship. However please find attached Completion Certificates for 5 other properties. Choose whichever one you want but remember that it does not apply to your property.�
“We have no knowledge of the problems with your property despite visiting on a number of occasions and confirming in writing that we visited including lists of the problems viewed.�
“We will not enter into any further discussion regarding the problems with your property despite stating this twice before.�
“The works shall be carried out in accordance with Falkirk Council’s requirements despite previously stating that the works will be carried out in accordance with the NHBC’s standards, which are guidance only.�
And so on……..
Just come across this site, frustration with Ben Bailey Homes leading to the instigation of small claims court to gain compensation for distress and inconvenience caused for the inability to complete snagging list in a timely manner. Looks like I will have to employ another tradesman to complete the work. We moved into our property in early 2005, one off 9 homes on the development and we all have had problems with getting BB to sort out. Wouldn't recommend or buy a Ben Bailey Home again. Absolute shocking service even after bringing the problems to the attention of the directors still no confidence they will complete the work.
benstone1981
New Member
We moved into a 15 month old Ben Bailey home in Wombwell in September 07...
So we've now been here a year... and so far the snagging list includes
- skirting board gaps
- shower leaking
- plaster damage
- kitchen unit damage
- diswasher replaced
- cooker hob not attached to worktop
- guttering bodged around house
- manhole cover loose
- fencing broken
- stairs in house screwed down (squeaking A LOT)
- warped door
- hinges upside down and broken
- subsidance in the parking space
- 1 foot of tarmac retained by a paving slab on end - suprisingly it cracked and fell away...
- underlay on the roof used to make tiles meet guttering.... has now fallen away so water misses the guttering and runs down the front of the house.
Considering we didn't move into the house when new we were a bit shocked.
The customer care team are entirely useless, we reported all of these bar the guttering when we moved in, have called them every 2 weeks and the fence, subsidance and guttering are still outstanding
We've wasted 5 or 6 days of annual leave because they cant combine jobs (e.g. carpenter for door and skirting) and dont brief the workmen properly.
AND THEY NEVER CALL YOU BACK!!!!!
It has now got to the point that I'm calling them daily to try and spur them on and will be making an official complaint once the final 3 jobs are finally complete!
So we've now been here a year... and so far the snagging list includes
- skirting board gaps
- shower leaking
- plaster damage
- kitchen unit damage
- diswasher replaced
- cooker hob not attached to worktop
- guttering bodged around house
- manhole cover loose
- fencing broken
- stairs in house screwed down (squeaking A LOT)
- warped door
- hinges upside down and broken
- subsidance in the parking space
- 1 foot of tarmac retained by a paving slab on end - suprisingly it cracked and fell away...
- underlay on the roof used to make tiles meet guttering.... has now fallen away so water misses the guttering and runs down the front of the house.
Considering we didn't move into the house when new we were a bit shocked.
The customer care team are entirely useless, we reported all of these bar the guttering when we moved in, have called them every 2 weeks and the fence, subsidance and guttering are still outstanding
We've wasted 5 or 6 days of annual leave because they cant combine jobs (e.g. carpenter for door and skirting) and dont brief the workmen properly.
AND THEY NEVER CALL YOU BACK!!!!!
It has now got to the point that I'm calling them daily to try and spur them on and will be making an official complaint once the final 3 jobs are finally complete!
I completely agree dont buy Ben Bailey homes. The customer service is absolutely shocking. I raised snagging issues and keep getting ignored by the customer services team. I ask for a manager to contact me and nothing. Months go by and they wont fix my problem which is getting worse and worse. The materials they use are the cheapest they can get and so nothing lasts! Just dont buy one of thier houses. :-(