Persimmon Homes - Subject Access Request

housestar

Has anyone had any success in requesting a Subject Access Request from Persimmon Homes?

We have had nothing but serious problems for nearly two years and are considering making a claim against Persimmon Homes.

We would like to gather as much evidence as possible to support our claim, but Persimmon have said that have never had a Subject Access Request and don't keep anything on file, and that all issues with our property are discussed only over the telephone with contractors ??

ValHaller

If it goes to court, you have aright of Discovery which requires them to turn over everything relevant and is more powerful than a SAR. Do you know what you are looking for or are you fishing?

housestar

At this stage I'm curious to see their internal communications in regard to our Plot.

We have a huge list of grievances and I'd like to know how seriously they have taken us or if they have just been messing us about.

They also made a lot of structural mistakes during the build which have led to irreparable damage to our property and I'd like to see what they have said about this when communicating with each other.

Daxx

A subject access request will only require them to share information that relates to individuals.

This would mean that discussions regarding your plot would not be covered. However any correspondance or communication regarding yourself would be covered.

housestar

I found a link which says that it may contain more info than this?

The builder will then send you your entire Plot or Home File which will contain all sorts of useful information including internal emails - even e-mails between directors if they are about you and/or your home.



The information may include letters saying things about specific items such as:
"We cannot tell him what is our normal practice etc or what tends to happen on site. We must tell him what the official regulations and standards are and ensure that the installation is fully compliant" or "If we keep refusing, eventually he will give up"

You will also find out how much profit they made on your home and how much they spent putting on remedial works and customer care.

richardw

housestar wrote: »

..Persimmon have said ... don't keep anything on file, and that all issues with our property are discussed only over the telephone with contractors ??

Yes and David Cameron sometimes doesn't turn up for PM's Questions on a Wednesday because he has a lunchtime job once a month at McDonald's on Whitehall.

Twaddle.

housestar

So is my only course of action to formally complain to the ICO regarding the house builder’s non-compliance about a Data Protection Issue?

richardw

Is it a flat, terrace, semi or detached?

housestar

It's a detached.

richardw

Ok, can you give a couple of examples of the most serious problems that have happened so far.

housestar

It's difficult to say which are the most serious. Even minor things have meant weeks chasing Persimmon and taking time off work, which in turn has been stressful and feels pretty serious to us.

These are a few things which come to mind that needed work…

– Water damage to property at main entrance, patio doors, and personnel garage door; our laminate floor permanently warped and destroyed at main entrance; entire patio door entrance concrete skin sunk into ground and area had to be partial re-built (something about missing materials in the ground under the patio doors). Persimmon just cannot find a way to stop water coming in under the other doors, about 20 attempts at adjusting or replacing thresholds, and still happening

– One and a half years of sewage smell in all bathrooms, spreading into other rooms, which finally turned out to be that a part of the flush system mechanic and seal had not been installed

– Missing kitchen units; other units poorly fitted (not leaving standard space for the installation of standard sized white goods); laminate floor scratched by contractors when attempting to adjust units, eventually unsuccessful. We had to refit ourselves in the end and were finally able to install the white good. When moving in, Sales told us that the 'missing' cupboard was not missing, but not included, even though we had been shown a technical drawing weeks before with it in place. The missing kitchen unit was finally installed after we presented our documentation further up the chain but arrived damaged and so are still awaiting replacement door. The person that came to fit the missing unit couldn't believe how badly our kitchen had been fitted and kindly adjusted various elements. One door still doesn't close or align correctly, cupboard frames not aligning

– Missing personnel garage door – we were lied to by the Sales Office and told that the other properties had paid for theirs, but on finally receiving our property plans and documentation we discovered that it is included as standard, and has since been added but has meant that even with our own plastic sheeting pretty much everything in the garage is full concrete dust after they cut a section out for the door

– A faulty cooker hood upgrade was replaced but we discovered that the extractor pipe had been sellotaped together after it must have been damaged in the original installation; the noise from the extractor was so intense that only through our own investigation did we discover that there is a minimum width for the pipe and exterior vent and it had been installed incorrectly from the outset. We even had AEG agreeing with us in person and to Persimmon, but Persimmon took months to agree and we had to argue with them and collect technical installation diagrams as evidence, and they finally corrected the installation

– Scaffold partially collapsed after repairing an issue with the chimney (water entering cavity, and waste materials left inside), scrapped off render and paint, made the entire house shake… this miraculously missed our car and would have killed someone if they had been passing by!

– Garden was turfed, 'finishing touch', but swamping with light rain; garden chairs sinking 6 inches into the ground when sat on, garden re-turfed but still with some drainage issues although no where near as bad

– Door lock failed on personnel garage door; double garage doors do not fully close, and one is not fully secure

– Windows sinking out of frames and not closing. When the bedroom window was repaired we were told that it is an emergency window (opens from the bottom) and that it shouldn't be opened ?? Patio door glass had to be replaced as it was heavily scratched

– Three attempts at installing a loft ladder (6 months after the finishing touch was purchased), with three separate holes cut into the ceiling as each time it turned out to be in the wrong place

– No clear property boundary which means that people constantly walk through our property and over a small side garden (our property is on a corner) onto a public footpath

– Driveway sinking in various sections and turning into a swimming pool (I guess we got that upgrade for free!:rotfl:)


A general point about all of this, apart from the amount of time wasted contacting Persimmon and waiting at home, is that Persimmon do not technically carry out any of the work themselves. We bought the house from them but the majority of the work is sub-contracted to all over the place and standards vary massively; we have spent so much time phoning sub-contractors who have done no-shows, cancelled last minute; even one person who didn't turn up 4 times in a row and then his friend phoned us to tell us that he wouldn't be making the appointment !?