Ripping people off - most definitely.
The familiar story of attitudes changing as soon as you sign on the dotted line. You are a King/Queen then less than 30 seconds later you are sh*te on their shoes.
Good advice from Sandy Taylor - bypass Customer Services completely. After all they are there to divert your attention, misdirect you, make you feel very small and worst of all pass the blame for everything onto you as soon as possible. Remember that as soon as you instruct any work to be carried out and the builder sets foot on your property or on the first brush stroke – you are liable. Yes you have just removed need for the builder to comply with any standards simply because you told them to do it. Then they will turn round and say they were only doing what you asked them to do. Unless you get drawings, method statements and specifications up front and agree the standard of workmanship before the work goes ahead, you don’t have a leg to stand on when it all goes pear shaped – which it will. This is what Customer Service departments are trained to do – get you to instruct the work – so that they can walk away from it no matter how good or bad the workmanship is. It will mostly be very bad simply because very few of the “tradesmen� working on such sites are actually qualified to do the work they are doing. Think about it.
Don’t enter into verbal agreements; in fact don’t enter into any verbal dialogue. Do it all in writing as they will deny everything possible. They are after all sales people who don’t care about standards and workmanship. It is all about sale numbers and commission just like any other sales person - sad but true.
Sandy Taylor asks if you are in Scotland? I would ask the same with reference to your statement “Is there a law to protect people from this?� The short answer is yes but the Customer Service departments will steer you well clear of it and direct you towards the NHBC.
The Building (Scotland) Act mentions only two parties in a property, just like any other contract – the builder and the owner. There is no mention of the NHBC because they are merely the builder’s insurer paid for by the homeowner and have absolutely no jurisdiction in any respect with regard to construction in Scotland. I feel as though I have said this a number of times before – oh dear I have, many times. The NHBC is one of the biggest cons going, it is complete misdirection with no legal standing other than the very very limited warranty they provide which if you try to use it you will find that you have just weakened your position even more. Customer Service departments know this only too well.
An example from my own situation:
When building the adjacent property to mine Bett Homes damaged my boundary fence by pushing it significantly out of line and plumb. They agreed to repair it. When the repair was done the posts were plumbed up (although the founds were now three times the size they should have been and right at the surface) but it was not reinstate to its original line. I contacted Bett Homes Customer Care (Stirling) - note that this was verbal over the phone. Helen Webb stated that “the work was carried out in accordance with the NHBC Guidelines�. I then asked where this section of the Guidelines was, as I could not find it in my own set. Helen Webb stated “Contact the NHBC directly�. So I did and the NHBC stated, “we don’t have any guidelines regarding boundary fences, I think someone is making fun of you�. I contacted Bett Homes Customer Care (Stirling) and asked to speak to Helen Webb. When I told Helen that I had contacted the NHBC regarding boundary fence guidelines and informed her that there were none she said “I don’t know what you are talking about�. Unfortunately my boundary fence is still out of line 2 years later.
If you are in Scotland please have a look at the following document from the Scottish Building Standards Agency website:
http://www.sbsa.gov.uk/archive/BuildingRegNotes11994.htm
particularly paragraph 3 which states:
“3. The Ombudsman feels it is absolutely essential for individuals to obtain proper independent professional advice, since the temptation to take short cuts and minimise costs can prove extremely expensive in the longer term. The many complaints received were linked by a common thread that each had relied on the fact that the local authority had issued a building warrant and completion certificate and believed that these provided a guarantee of standard of workmanship.�
There is only one person who can bring the builder to task and that is the OWNER, no one else!!!!!! I am rambling on a bit so to summarise:
· House builders are ripping off people, there is no doubt.
· There are laws in place but how many people know they are there, let alone how to use them.
· House builders know they are there only too well and will steer you clear in the contract (read your contract and prepare to be shocked) and during any other dealings.
· How many people are prepared to pursue the builder through the legal system? Builders know this and use it greatly to their advantage.
· The NHBC are the builder’s insurer (set up initially by a consortium of builders – this is key) and provide a very very limited warranty which isn’t really worth the paper it is written on.
· The NHBC have absolutely no jurisdiction in Scotland in any way shape or form. The NHBC are an insurance company, nothing more, whose guidelines are a poorer version of the Building Regulations and have no legal standing.
All in all it is just another GREAT BRITISH CON. The only way it is going to stop is if people (myself included) stop buying new houses from these cowboys. You are actually better building your own house as long as you make sure you get good professional advice and employ a reputable builder – none of whom you will find on a big housing developers sites.
Finally (thank God I hear you say) the legality surrounding the Completion Certificate is very important. This is where you can get hefty leverage. It is however a torturous route and you will need a lot of conviction to see it through. But the builders know this and surprise surprise use it to their advantage.
ANOTHER GREAT BRITISH CON.
