A COUPLE who moved into their £400,000 new-build home are in a “nightmare” after discovering more than 100 faults with it.
Mum-to-be Kate Jackson, 32, from Churchdown, Gloucestershire, said she and her partner, who are expecting a baby in the new year, raised concerns when they went to view the property before moving in but say little is being done to rectify the issues.
Kate and her partner had hoped moving into their new Bellway Homes property would be a happy occasion but say this has been overshadowed with workmen needing frequent access to the home.
Kate also says she was advised to not put her bed up in her room due to workmen needing access to the room, and so has been sleeping on a mattress on the floor and continues to do so while being 29 weeks pregnant.
Bellway has said they are committed to rectifying the issues Kate has identified.
Kate said: “We had a demo of the house a few days before we moved in.
“I picked up on a few problems, like for example the walls had two different shades of paint and lumps of plaster in the kitchen and the work surfaces were scratched.
“The sales person said because at that time, we did not own the building, we should put these concerns on the snag list. I did my own snag list and I have found nearly 100 faults with the house.”
While Kate said she would have expected some paint work to be done but added her kitchen and appliances were worryingly faulty.
Kate said: “I expected there to be some issues with paintwork however appliances in the home were faulty too.
“Even the washing machine did not work, the gas cooker keeps clicking like it would when you are trying to ignite it.
“The microwave was shooting sparks inside when you switched it on and there have been leaks under the sink and the cupboards are scratched with chunks out of them too.
“Doors are falling off the hinges and when they send someone in to paint walls which need doing, the plaster is crumbling off the walls as they are painting it.”
Kate also discovered an issue with the shower and says she was lucky she tested the temperature of the water beforehand.
She said: “I was about to have a however and tested the water and ended up burning my hand because the water was scalding. I emailed Bellway and they sent someone out to fix it but they had to go in through the spare bedroom wall to fix it.
“We were advised not to put our bed up in our room as they will need access to it to decorate it. I am pregnant and sleeping on a mattress on the floor, so can not even get a decent sleep at night.
“We moved in hoping we could get everything ready for the baby, but it has just been a nightmare. It has been months and the house is still not finished.
“I am constantly chasing them to get the work booked to be done, and the fact they say I have not allowed access is absolute rubbish.
“I am at the end of my tether with this. They do not seem to move to get these things sorted.”
A Bellway Homes spokesman said: “All new Bellway homes come with the benefit of a 10-year NHBC Buildmark Warranty, of which, the first two years are covered by Bellway for any defects within the home.
“Although some defects have been identified within their home, we refute the allegations being made and we have attempted to rectify the issues reported by the customer through post completion customer care.
“Unfortunately our attempts to rectify these have been made more difficult by the customer refusing access to our contractors to complete the scheduled remediation.
“Bellway is fully committed to remediating the issues identified, and have agreed to replace kitchen unit doors due to a design fault but in order to do so we require the co-operation of the customer.”
