Persimmon Homes illegally demolished historic buildings in Banbury's conservation area to make way for apartments

In the news article, Devloper Lays Waste to Heritage, a housing developer has ignored planners and illegally demolished historic buildings in Banbury's conservation area to make way for apartments.

It was reported that Persimmon Homes has knocked down 17-19 North Bar despite warnings from officers at Cherwell District Council to stop work.

From my experience - with over 4 years experience of Persimmon Group plc, and their tactics, including so called 'indpendent reports' - I feel the judgment did not go far enough and that the fines need to be tougher.

Cowboy Builders, We've Had Enough of Charles Church

The lack of progress and constant battling gets harder and harder, but still we persist in complaining to Charles Church, Persimmon and the NHBC.

Maybe one day regulation and new laws will protect the home owner, and see that Charles Church builds home to a reasonable standard and that failures to do so are resolved in a reasonable time, with consideration for the home owner.

Westbury Homes, Persimmon Group plc, Feature on BBC Watchdog

Persimmon Group plc, again has one of it's company's featured on BBC Watchdog, regarding unsatisfactory quality and warranty complaints for Persimmon.

The original BBC Watchdog news article can be seen here.

Still Waiting on Charles Church (part of Persimmon Group plc)

Over four and a half years and still we wait for Charles Church to do the right thing.

The excuses and delays continue, with no resolution to our problems with the substandard new home they sold.

We continue to complain, and continue to wait for a satisfactory outcome.

Persimmon Group plc, Persimmon Homes, Charles Church, Westbury Partnerships

The advertising continues, painting a rosie picture of a safe investment in a new home from the Persimmon Group plc (which includes Charles Church and Persimmon Homes), yet the reality (in our 5th year) of waiting for snagging to be addressed is very different. In fact we feel our experience of buying a new home from the Persimmon Group plc is the total opposite of what we expected from the company's sales and marketing claims.

The customer complaints have continued for far to long with both Persimmon and Charles Church, with the standards being unsatisfactory.

Even the customer sales agents didn't give us an honest or accurate picture, with direct questions being answered incorrectly it later turned out. Yet at least one professional claimed the sales staff had been informed of issues with the new home prior to sale.

Does Anyone Care at Persimmon Homes or Charles Church

Customer Service is Dreadfull. I've never experienced anything this bad before. Years and Years go by, yet still simple faults are not being fixed.

Charles Church Reviews, Heald Point, Manchester

Heald Point, Cunningham Drive, Styal, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M22 5LT - a new Charles Church development, review coming shortly.

Thank-you to those that have contacted us offering to review new developments by Charles Church or Persimmon Homes, we look forward to sharing your opinions. More reviewers are wanted, please contact us.

Camber's Edge, Portsmouth, by Charles Church

Camber's Edge, Broad Street, Old Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2JE - another new development by Charles Church, but what's it really like?

Review coming soon from one of our followers . . . watch this space.

BBC Watchdog, Persimmon Homes and Charles Church

To quote BBC Watchdog editorial which also mentions Persimmon Homes and Charles Church customer service issues. "Two years ago, the NHBC received 63,000 complaints about faults in new houses but last year, during the recession, the number of complaints actually went up. This was despite 40 per cent fewer houses being built".

Persimmon Homes said "We take our customer service and build quality seriously. All new homes will experience a settling in period and it is not unusual for snagging to occur after completion. We endeavour to deal with all items brought to our attention as quickly and thoroughly as possible".

Perhaps they should be fair, and define 'as quickly as possible'. Does this mean 5, 6 or 7 years? And how can they possibly consider that as quick? Typical I would agree, yes - but quick, I think not. We've waited over 4 years now, and still Persimmon Group plc is dragging out remedial works and delaying, whether for the simplist leak or an expensive structural safety issue.

Show Home Review, Tanners Gate, Persimmon Homes

Interesting information on Persimmon Homes Tanners Gate development, in Hunts Pond Road, Titchfield Common, Fareham.

Dominic Harman, Persimmon Homes' Group Communications Director

This statement is taken from Persimmon Homes website. Dominic Harman, Persimmon Homes' Group Communications Director, statement:

"We welcome the new Consumer code for Housebuilders which we fully complied with in our original customer charter. The new Consumer Code has been developed over many months of consultation with industry stakeholders. It can only be seen as a positive step to further ensure homebuyers get the very best service that they should expect from a responsible and reliable house builder like Persimmon"

Kings Quarter, Bracknell, Charles Church New Homes

Kings Quarter, Siskin Gate, Jennett’s Park, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8BF.

Review coming shortly.

Charles Church and Persimmon Homes, new developments and estate, get the inside track before you purchase.

Our reviews base quality on both the show home/s and the new estate as a whole, as well as factoring recent similar developments.

For customer service and warranty resolution issues, we weight the review more on new customers experiences over the last 2-5 years (or as long as issues take to resolve, 7 years is not uncommon with Persimmon Group plc). The new estate itself, with only a few homes sold/occupied will not be representative. In particular, it's easiest for Charles Churh to perform remedial work for a couple of house that have issues, whilst the contractors are still on site, plus if new buyers ask those first few customers about customer care and service they'll more likely give a good feedback in the first few months. Of course if you ask them 4 years later, when issues are still unresolved, then they might start to be just a little more critical.

Tell Us About Your New Estate Development

Have you been looking at buying from a new Persimmon Homes or Charles Church estate? Or have you bought recently? We would like to hear your views as a potential new home owner from the Persimmon Group plc.

In particular we are interested in the 'perception of quality' that Charles Church (the luxury new homes division of Persimmon Group plc) uses to sell new homes (witness the standards and quality of the show homes and marketing presentation, versus the quality and standards of the actual homes they build to sell to you (but not to use as show homes).

Thinking of Buying a Charles Church Home

I've had a lot of messages to me, from current and past customers of Charles Church. And most interestingly potential future buyers, whether of a brand new Charles Church home (enjoy the snagging, and get prepared for the long wait) or a second hand Charles Church home.

The second hand homes, may or may not have had any/all defects resolved. For serious issues, such as structural, it's wise to confer with your own surveyor, and the NHBC to check what would should be done if any.

Charles Church Floor and Plumbing Problems. Is It Only the First Owner that Need Worry?

After a long drawn out process, often taking 4 to 5 years, then maybe a floor fix, or plumbing fix might be implemented in ones property.

But the fixes the company uses can vary dramatically. Even though one house on an estate might be used as a test case, even if the approved fix is only just suitable for that house (and be aware that house may not be representative of the problem, it might be one of the better examples across a Charles Church estate), that house and others may enjoy a substantially better fix, than the approved (rolled out) method.

Why would Charles Church choose a 'representative home' as one with less of a problem? Because any 'approved fix' based on that home (even if unsuitable for the other homes) could save them money and still likely be rolled out for the other homes.

Noisy floors are one such example within a Charles Church home. When buying a Charles Church house design, which could be a larger or smaller design, either way, within the same house type, different fixes may have been done on different homes, some fixes better than others.

See comments below, for readers findings on Charles Church housing stock.

Charles Church & Persimmon Homes, Poor Customer Service, Low Quality

Charles Church continues not to fix the faults in our new home.

6th May 2010, Persimmon Homes on BBC Watchdog Again

The BBC Consumer Complaints Program, Watchdog, has again featured Persimmon Homes, and more specifically the luxury developer owned by the Persimmon Group plc, Charles Church.

Complaints regarding snagging, customer service, quality and the NHBC warranty and build control (quality control) continue to surface against Persimmon Homes and Charles Church.

For more information of Persimmon Homes Watchdog Customer Complaints, and the luxury builder (sister company) Charles Church follow this link.

BBC Watchdog Persimmon Homes Again

BBC Watchdog, Persimmon Homes again - a typical experience we have found out the hard way.

If your considering the purchase of a new home from the Persimmon Group plc, I would advise you carefully consider your decision, and think again.

Whether Persimmon Homes or Charles Church (the luxury side of the Persimmon Group plc), the negative feedback from speaking directly to home owners is overwhelming. And worrying to the point I would not buy a new home from the Persimmon Group plc.

However, we unfortunately did not know this when we purchased new home from Persimmon. And what has so far followed in nearly 4 years of inconvenience, stress and anxiety. As well as bullying and intimidation, and being threatened for not signing documents known to be false.

One day we may be able to sell our Persimmon Home, but it will have to be repaired first, from original faults, and so far this is taking a very very long time.

Charles Church Customer Service . . The worst in the industry?

The worst in the industry? I think that question could make Charles Church Customer Care and Customer Services sound better than it is, as I think their problems are far far worse than that. We thought we had bought a new home from Charles Church with a 2 year warranty, we thought Persimmon Group plc (they also trade as Persimmon Homes) would put right defects within the first 2 years.

I can't imagine how Charles Church (part of Persimmon Group plc, which also trades as Persimmon Homes) could make a bigger joke than that of their customer services offered to new home owners when those new home owners complain to Charles Church about snagging, new faults, problems, issues, defects etc with their new home.

Charles Church makes many claims when they sell you a new home, but so far, those claims are now water under the bridge, with Charles Church determined not to honour the 2 year warranty on defects.

It seems the perception of quality (taken from an internal staff document) seems the cheaper way to persuade a customer to buy, and what better than using the show home to give the prospective new customer that perception, only then to deliver something else when they build for the paying customer. Perhaps the show house is worth the extra asking price, as it appears to be built to an altogether higher standard. Unlike our own home, which on the surface appeared to be built to the lowest possible standard, but in hindsight is actually below that.

A review of Charles Church with customer reviews and experiences is much needed, as well as a change in the law to hold builders like Charles Church (the luxury builder within the Persimmon Group plc) accountable, and to make them honour their legal obligations.

Perhaps Steve Roche should trying being a Persimmon new homes customer

Then maybe he will think differently about his claims for Persimmon Homes customer service, and better understand the customer complaints regarding quality, health and safety, etc.

To quote the article regarding Steve Roche of Persimmon Homes --- Steve Roche, managing director of Persimmon Homes Wessex, said: "We take all customer comments extremely seriously and we are sorry to hear of the problems experienced by Mrs Peplow at our Bowerhill development on Shackleton Close, Melksham.

"We understand that a plumber was called out last week to check the boiler and we are currently waiting to receive a copy of the plumber's report in order for us to review and undertake any necessary actions.

"We would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to addressing purchaser issues by continuing to deliver the service our homeowners both expect and deserve." --- End of Article Quote

My own views on the (quoted and linked above) article . . . Well is that the whole truth, Mr Roche, we bought from Charles Church, the premium brand of the Persimmon Group plc, and nearly 4 years on the substandard workmanship has not beeen resolved. Including electrics, plumbing, a central heating installation which ignored manufacturers instructions, a gas fire installation which ignored manufacturers instructions, bouncy and noisy floors (which ignored site managers advice to the company, which the site manager alleged) and also appears to have ignored the lessons learned by Brian Thomson on a Charles Church estate built over 10 years ago, when £3 million contingency was put aside to fix problems including dropping, creaking and unlevel floors, and noise travelling through partition walls and floors. Deja Vu we feel, from our own experience.

Unfortunately such problems, for both Charles Church and Persimmon Homes continue, with customer complaints, issues, faults and problems, from the construction, design, workmanship, customer support and services. Will they ever sort themselves out.

Persimmon Homes, Cavity Wall, Internal Wall, Floor & Sound Insulation

Do we have it, should we have it?

All we know is the noise feels too much, night and day, whatever you do, someone else can hear through the home. But heating insulation and sound insulation are not the only issues. Plumbing, Central Heating, gas fires, gas insulation, secuirty, health and safety, windows, electirc installation, etc etc, problems and issues abound, and the builder is still dodging their contractural obligations (which is the thing we see them do best).

Bouncy and Noisy Floors - Persimmon Homes

Some interesting information written in the forum at Snagging.Org, regarding Persimmon Homes Customer Complaints and Floor Defects. A second link to another forum thread on Persimmon Homes also focuses on Creaking Floor Problems.

Every estate I've visisted has had similar issues whether Persimmon Homes or Charles Church. The cracking sound heard from the room below, when someone (or a pet) walks above is the early warning sign that you may also have similar issues. It's unlikely most would spot this on first moving in, but with time such issues generally worsen, and then it can become more and more obvious to potential purchasers, causing a very real worry about the saleability of one's investment in a Charles Church New Build Home.

Charles Church - still not investigating or fixing faults

More excuses, more delays, still Charles Church (part of Persimmon Group plc, they also trade under Persimmon Homes) are not honouring their obligations to fix the simple or the complicated.

Despite numberous customer complaints, by others, we are still left waiting. Electrics, Plumbing, Flooring, many many snagging issues, defects, and structural concerns are still outstanding. Nearly 4 years of inconvenience, stress and anxiety.

Despite all the excuses Charles Church have given, blaming everyone but themselves, we are left to conclude ultimately money is the reason why the serious and expensive to fix faults are not being fixed in our new home.

Charles Church, part of Persimmon Group plc

It's Friday the 12th, yet we think our new home is a homage to Friday 13th, as the nightmare continues year after year. Thank-you Charles Church for making the whole experience such a horror. One day we may be able to sell the home with all it's defects fixed, then again, one day we may not.

Charles Church - the problems with our new home remain

Still we are waiting for Charles Church to address our customer complaints. Charles Church is a trading company of the Persimmon Group plc (which also trades as Persimmon Homes).

Plumbing, electrical, flooring issues are still outstanding. Investigations and remedial works are still delayed. Despite numerous excuses from Charles Church, blaming numerous people other than themselves, we are left to conclude the reason for failing to meet their obligations and repair the faults, is simply down to money.

Will They Ever Fix the Problems on Our Estate in an Open and Professional Manner

Years after building an estate with defects the builder has still not shown us a genuine intent to professionaly investigate and fix the faults in our new home. From the simple issues to the complicated (those which might take 3-4 months of access to the property, although in the past such estimates could run to a year whilst residents moved out).

The builder has got themselves in a bit of a muddle, making home owners wait (since 2008) for the out come of an investigation into one home, and then trying to role out a different method to those effected on the estate to what was done in that home. But then (and this is even harder to fathom) agreeing to do something different with the owner of that original home, different to what they first trialed, which is different to what they are trying to roll out to other homes. Meaning they have 3 different methods. It would probably be quite easy for you to guess if the method they are trying to roll out to the other homes is the cheaper, more expensive, or mid-priced method - but rather than guess, we can document the differences and let you see what's actually behind what appear to us to be rather vague and somewhat misleading claims.

Persimmon Homes - couple say their new home is turning out to be less than a dream

Persimmon Homes development in Basingstoke has caused complaint in Hampshire - check out ThisIsHampshire.net for details of this home owners' Persimmon Homes Customer Complaints.

Andrew Golawski, managing director of Persimmon Homes South East, said: "Our customer services manager has arranged to meet the customer at their property to discuss the recent incident." He added: "We take reported problems seriously and have a dedicated customer care team in place to help rectify any defects that are our responsibility."

Lucky couple I say, we are still waiting to meet the Customers Services Manager since 2008 - even a returned phone call (as promised) would be a good start. In our experience the dedicated customer care team is more about trying to delay or not rectify defects that are their responsibility.

Persimmon Homes Customer Complaints - why only fix one home?

Interesting article regarding plumbing or water for Westbury and Persimmon homes and Contaminated Water. A fault which we have raised concerns about with our home because the cold water drinking tap gives out hot water.

Two things about the article that sound all too familiar to us, are firstly having to run the kitchen drinking water tap for one litre before drinking (much more in our case), and secondly the idea of the builder only fixing one home on the estate and expecting other affected residents to fix their own contaminated water problems (which could be as much as £10,000).

Persimmon Homes surely realise this is not good enough. Persimmon Homes should we feel take serious snagging faults more seriously. We should be entitled to know that our drinking water is safe to drink, rather than Persimmon ignoring the problems in our new home.

Consumer Code For Home Builders

Too little, too late is my view on the progress made by the NHBC and MD Insurance Services Ltd.

With the exisitng NHBC Buildmark Warranty problems (such as arbitration) it's worrying that an independent body was not involved with the protection of consumer rights for new homes. One has more rights buying a new toaster than buying a new home in the UK.

For those still trying to get Persimmon Group plc (includes Persimmon Homes, and Charles Church) to honour exisitng builders obligations for faults reported within the first two years, then this article may not give hope for a timely resolution.

Congratulations Miller Homes - New Customer Charter

Miller Homes has a Customer Charter available for download on their website. If only all builders had such a document and honoured it. Congratulations Miller Homes, this commitment to customers is reason to celebrate, and prompted me to immediately go and see what New Houses Miller Homes had for sale on their website.

Residents at Luxury Housing Developments Built by Charles Church Were Threatening Legal Action

Charles Church mentioned in another article (prior to purchase by Persimmon Group plc, that also trade as Persimmon Homes). Whilst this article dates back to the late 1990's, I'm not sure if the situation is better yet - certainly our experience feels much worse than that described.

Customer complaints, faults and snags, defects and damage - we still feel we are going round in circles trying to get the builder to meet their obligations to repair faults in the first two years, only we're now almost two years on from those first two years.

Home owners listed problems, some of which were similar to ours, only we are still fighting this in 2010. Our home was built when Persimmon Group plc had already purchased Charles Church, and after Persimmon had opportunity (and describe as much in newspaper articles) to introduce Persimmon Management approach into Charles Church. Not sure it has made any difference to us.

Delays and Denials Continue, Thank-You Persimmon Group plc

Still we are waiting for investigations and remedial works. The reasons given for delays keep changing (after each is explored for any validity) and the latest one contradicts all the others - makes me wonder if they even check against the false claims they previously made before presenting new ones to us.

I think they are getting tougher and tougher however, as they realise the collective cumulation of mistakes, false claims, management errors and a general lack of professional leadership paints an extraordinariliy bad picture of their behaviour and actions.

Open and Transparent would be a start. Should we just give in and pay for the works to be done privately? The builder seems determined for that to be the out come of our complaining.

The Delays Continue, Persimmon Group plc, Still Not Fixing Faults, Customer Services Not Helping

Despite our numerous customer complaints concerning faults and snagging items in our new home, we await the important repairs which might finally enable us to sell this home and put the nightmare behind us. But as a open and transparent investigation has not even happened, it doubtful in our minds that a solution can be found and implemented within 5-7 years of purchasing the house.

Complaints Flood in as Persimmon Pipes Burst - newspaper article, Hawick News

Couples dreams of spending Christmas in a new home from Persimmon Homes, read more here. Like many stories that we read, we can relate to the experiences that new home owners discuss with Persimmon Group plc.

One new home owner thought of a BIG way to get the message across, about feelings towards the developer, this is another, seperate story, on a Persimmon experience, and a protest bus.

Lastly, some of the complaints for another Persimmon Experience, at Elvetham Heath, naming some of the builders people. You may find some of the names listed here familiar to your, we did.

". . . some homebuyers experience significant detriment, distress and inconvenience that comes with major, or many, faults in a new home"

That was the findings of an OFT (Office of Fair Trading) Review.

In a Telegraph Article - Housebuilders have accused the Office of Fair Trading of jumping on a well-worn bandwagon after the competition watchdog launched a "toothless" investigation into the £20bn industry. 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."

The later findings of the OFT - ". . . some homebuyers experience significant detriment, distress and inconvenience that comes with major, or many, faults in a new home" - does not begin to describe the experience we have had, and continue to have with Charles Church, part of the Persimmon Group plc (they also trade under the name of Persimmon Homes and Westbury Partnerships).

Nearly 4 years on, and still we get denials, delays and a lack of honest and professional behaviour from the builder. We struggle to tell the difference between the Cowboys one sees on TV programs (e.g. Rogue Traders) and Charles Church.

Residents of Persimmon Homes Developments, Complaints by Home Owners

Yet further information on Persimmon Homes Customer experiences. A development in Glasgow, converted by Persimmon Homes, has led to a residents association being formed.
This has also been done by Charles Church residents, such as those at Clearwater in Surrey.

The review center also has postings by Persimmon Homes customers. Many complaints and unhappy customers have posted their experience with Persimmon Homes. I would add, that not one of these reviews reflect how bad we felt the experience was with a Charles Church home, from the Persimmon Group plc. We feel most news paper stories make the problem sound a less trouble and stress that it was for us.

This newspaper story is interesting. I visited a Charles Church & Persimmon Development in Basingstoke a few years ago, and discovered more of the flooring issues being reported, similar to those that still effect our home to this day. Persimmon Homes may well discuss issues with home owners, and may have a customer service department in place to help . . . but alas I find our experience of Charles Church to be unwilling to discuss anything that causes them to admit fault or responsibility. I also find them unable to work in an open and transparent manner, nor have I found them to be honest and professional. Persimmon Homes customers report similar experiences to ones own.

Another Home Blog on Charles Church New Homes

Lots of details regarding Charles Church and floor issues (bouncy, noisy, unlevel) and the nearly 4 year fight just to get to the stage where builder agree those three issues should be fixed.

Common floor issues were found to be; noisy, bouncy and unlevel. Some might use other words to describe floor issues with new home, such as being; vibration, bouncey, bounce, noisey, noise, creaking, creeking, cracking, unlevel, not flat, poor, squeeky, squeaky, etc.

Floor problems (noisy, bouncy, unlevel) can be very expensive to correct according to the NHBC. We had estimates, depending on which problems were to be fixed, and extent of repair, from £30,000 to over £100,000.

More And More Persimmon Customers Complaining

Not happy with your Persimmon Home - whether bought from Persimmon Homes or Charles Church, both owned by Persimmon Group plc - then three suggestions spring to mind.

1) Document everything.
2) Research the bigger issues so you can hold your own in discussions.
3) Complain, Complain, Complain - to the builders, to the parent company, to the NHBC, to trading standards, to the office of fair trading.

Here are two new websites, for home owners wishing to learn and/or share knowledge and experience. http://www.persimmon-homes.info/ and http://www.charles-church-homes.info/.

Blogs can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to highlight and discuss your concerns with other home owners.

Not Happy with Police Fraud Investigations Reasons

Having read the attached articles and information, the reasons seem wrong for not pursuing the investigation with Persimmon Group plc.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article2283035.ece

http://coathamprotest.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-is-redcar-and-cleveland-borough.html

http://coathamprotest.blogspot.com/2009/10/and-still-leader-of-council-hasnt.html

Nearly 4 years on, and Charles Church, part of Persimmon Group plc, have agreed need to fix 14 homes on an estate with faulty floors - noisey, squeaky, bouncy, vibration, deflection, unlevel etc. They claimed last week, it would take another 14 months to complete them, allowing upto 2 months per home. However, I understand 16 homes are yet to be fixed, and two are in progress . . but one has had the ceilings down in one room since April 1st 2009 . . . at that rate I think to complete the others in 14 months is unlikely.