Friday 28 August 2009

Office of Fair Trading (OFT), ASA, Trading Standards

All need to know about problems with your new home builder - tell them, and change can happen to make the industry better.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/comp_policy/oft1020.pdf - page 92 start

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/22/housingmarket.consumernews

http://www.scottish-building.co.uk/pages/profiles.asp?pi=1328&ref=more

When the showhome is just about the show . . .

Makes me laugh, even Charles Church internal company newletters highlight the 'perception' of quality that they put into their show homes, marketing and sales presentation.

But Charles Church (part of Persimmon Group plc, which also trades as Persimmon Homes in the UK) also uses Show Homes (executive homes, NHBC Site Manager Award) effectively to present one impression of the quality of a new build, which we found very different to the 'quality' of the finished home they actually sold.

Thursday 27 August 2009

Explain difference between a 1980's and year 2000's Charles Church New Home

I have no problem with the quality and customer service related to Charles Church Homes built in the 1980's under the prior control and ownership of Charles and Sussana Church, the company they founded in 1965- and the same goes for any current or prior owner I have spoken to or read about with an older Charles Church Property.

It's the Charles Church homes built under Persimmon or Beazer Homes that I find the problems and bad press relates to. For owners of these newer (10 years) Charles Church homes, the news has not been so good.

But then the news on Persimmon Homes and Westbury Parnerships New Homes, and the experience one can expect from buying a new Persimmon Home or a new Westbury Parnerships Home is not something I'd want to experience either. Articles like this paint (in my opinion) a rosie view of the reality of buying a Charles Church property. Our own experience has been the worst of our lives, nothing comes close to the upset and distress caused by the Persimmon Group staff and operatives.

Notes: Persimmon Homes bought Westbury PLC in November 2005 after a £643,000,000 bid and Beazer Homes in 2001 for £537,500,000.

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Nothing new about this . . .

Catalogue of faults, customers pressurised into exhanging contracts - we know how this feels.
http://www.thecomet.net/content/comet/news/story.aspx?brand=CMTOnline&category=News&tBrand=herts24&tCategory=newscomnew&itemid=WEED26%20Oct%202006%2012%3A00%3A57%3A180

http://www.snagging.org/New_Homes_News/New_Homes_News/Couples_new_home_nightmare.html

This really does sum up our experiences with Charles Church, part of Persimmon Group, except we never got the apology. We had dangerous unsafe electrics, substandard upstairs floor (unlevel, noisy, creaky, bouncy, deflecting), and a fire risk on a electric heat exchanger (gas central heating) which took the best part of 9 months to even check, let alone rectify, after the Charles Church representative (The Count as workmen referred to him) was present and we were first informed.

In researching flooring issues with JJI Joists, Persimmon Homes & Charles Church, one found mis-spellings a common issue. E.g. bouncey instead of bouncy, noisey instead of noisy.

Persimmon Homes, yet more bad news about the UK house builder

http://www.snagging.org/tag/Persimmon_Homes.html

It never ceases to amaze me how long the bad news on Persimmon Homes has been going for, let alone for how much longer it will continue.

Best advice for those who've bought a new Persimmon Home (or Charles Church, part of Persimmon Group) is to get everything in writing and documented, then complain complain complain. If it's early on in your developments sales process then publicity signs detailing your plight will be highly effective, as Persimmon cares greatly about sales.

By complaining about the customer servie, rather than the quality of build, you are less likely to upset the value of your home, but will still be able to effect change.

Serious contruction faults, such as noisey floors due to the joist design and or installation are best dscussed privately with those on your estate, as issues like this can be very expensive to repair after construction according to the NHBC. By the way, don't expect much help from the NHBC, they talk a good talk in the first instance, but when you actually start the ball rolling with the NHBC resolution service we found the honesty and transparency quickly vanished, to be replaced with excuse after excuse, and delay after delay. We're well outside the initial 2 year warranty and still have serious issues with the original build of our home.

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Persimmon Homes, £10 million bonus package

John White is suggested as the largest share of the package.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2929527/Persimmons-big-investors-back-10m-bonus-scheme.html

http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2007/02/26/persimmon-reports-record-profits/

When so many unhappy customers tell me of the problems they have with Persimmon Homes, and then the sad death of a young boy in a Persimmon Homes, makes me question what the directors are doing to prevent the problems customers of Persimmon Homes are having to face.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3795238/Four-year-old-boy-crushed-to-death-by-stone-mantelpiece-inquest-hears.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1095601/Boy-4-crushed-death-collapsed-50kg-stone-mantelpiece-held-plaster.html

Persimmon Homes - one of the more trajic customer stories

The most shocking of all the sad customer stories I've heard, was the death of a little boy in a Persimmon Home. The judges findings were of an inadequate set of standards regarding the installation of fire places. I question why the judge stop at criticising the standards for fire places when so many other areas in a Persimmon Group plc home also appear to have a lack of standards.

The coroner’s report said "The lack of national industry standards and regulation for the fitting of fire surrounds, including training, installation, quality inspection, secondary review and audit paper trails, were also a contributory factor," yet I see the electrics, the plumbing and heating installation, the floor joists, the brick works, etc etc to also have a lack of national industry standards in new homes. And with Charles Church (Persimmon) the training, installation, quality inspections and paper trails all seem inadequate in many areas, along with customer service and fault rectification by the builder.

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Boy-4-killed-by-collapsing.4797240.jp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1095601/Boy-4-crushed-death-collapsed-50kg-stone-mantelpiece-held-plaster.html

http://www.24dash.com/news/Housing/2008-12-19-Mantelpiece-fixing-blunder-led-to-four-year-olds-death-inquest

http://www.snagging.info/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2391&sid=731be9da10204d457042daeb076600a8

http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2008/12/22/63325/boy-crushed-to-death-by-fireplace-collapse-in-persimmon-house.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3795238/Four-year-old-boy-crushed-to-death-by-stone-mantelpiece-inquest-hears.html

http://www.brand-newhomes.co.uk/new_home_news.htm


Kind of sad that John White should comment on the Office of Fair Trading investigation (OFT investigation into house building in the UK) - Questions were also raised about the merit of the inquiry by John White, chairman of Britain's largest housebuilder Persimmon, who said: "I don't understand why this is an OFT matter."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2810987/Builders-round-on-OFT-enquiry.html

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/construction_and_property/article1975346.ece

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=49776&mode=linear

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2929527/Persimmons-big-investors-back-10m-bonus-scheme.html - Does John White earn his money? I'd like to know how this could have been justified?

Friday 14 August 2009

Persimmon plc is a quality housebuilder with 30 years experience. Nationwide the group incorporates 26 regional companies and the luxury home builder

The title above is a statement made by Persimmon plc, in a 56 page documented intened for schools.
As the unfortunate customer suffering in a Charles Church home, and having spoken to many Persimmon and Charles Church Home owners, I would strongly disagree with the use of the word 'quality', and also question if 'luxury' means an even higher standard in which case I would also disagree on that point.

My First Post on Persimmon Homes Blog

The first post. This blog will cover Charles Church as well, and a customers experience with the Persimmon Group, and the trading companys such as Persimmon Homes, Charles Church, Westbury Partnerships etc.

Having battled for many years to try to get serious home faults fixed by the company, one now has felt it's in the public interest to raise the matter. The OFT, trading standards, ASA all need to know and acknowledge the extent of the problems, problems the NHBC and Persimmon Group still seem to be in denial about.