Creaking Stairs - NHBC claim

Furts

ladymint wrote: »

I agree with you all. It is worthless specially if you are not the first owner as they reject everything saying that it was the first buyers fault and that we don't know what went on on the property. True, but in that case NHBC should not be advertised as a protection until the property is 10 years. It should be a protection for the first owner only.

We were one of those purchasers that relied on the NHBC and decided for this property against another one because this one had the "extra" protection.

This is a 8 year old property. To us, it seems that the previous owners lived like animals and didn't do a thing to it. So anything that got broken was either binned or had a quick fix. So they wouldn't bother doing a claim on the NHBC as I don't think they even knew how to do it. Not trying to be mean, really.
The fact that they didn't put a claim before is working against us.

Furts you are right and that's one of the reason why we haven't done anything yet as it may be easier to just fix it. But at the same time, we were promised a warranty...

Any ideas if home insurance would cover this?

I know some people had claims rejected because of this same reason because there were stickers on the stairs warning not to do it. In our case there were no stickers and that was confirmed by the builder representative.

EDIT: Sorry Furts, yes it was treated as a building defect and the inspector said it was clearly over the minimum claim amount. He also said that if they had installed the carpets, they would definitely cover this. It is something the NHBC would cover.

Hi ladymint
With regard to your "edit" note. NHBC can be fought and the consumer can win even when "the forces of evil" are lined up against them.

I have done this and I won.

But my case went to Government Minister level. The NHBC wriggled and squirmed for years to avoid a legitimate claim. The utterly useless Chief Executive was regularly being summoned to London for updates. Of course, in true NHBC fashion, rather than settle, he just gave up ...then delegated to his henchman and bruiser. It became a bitter, personal dispute between him and me, with the government watching.

I was never going to give in, particularly when faced by this bar steward.

The cost, and man hours, of fighting the claim was wrecking the operation of the NHBC Claims Department. It easily cost them £500000. Eventually, NHBC caved in to cut their losses.

ladymint

Furts, that's impressive! Well done! Can I just ask how much was it costing you to fight them?

Furts

ladymint wrote: »

Furts, that's impressive! Well done! Can I just ask how much was it costing you to fight them?

Hi ladymint
My cost was my time expended dealing with the claim. NHBC never reimbursed any of this. This was a matter of principle with NHBC. They were furious to eventually pay out. However a small sum (IIRR circa £10000) did get awarded. This was a total exception to all NHBC guidelines and policies.

It is the NHBC strategy to break anyone who makes a claim against them. This is not an exageration. NHBC told me they wanted me to take them to Court and, if, having done so they told me they would then break me.

For this reason I always suggest nobody should get involved in a dispute with them. This advice is what NHBC likes to hear. It gives them a quiet life, it minimises how much they pay out and it protects their friends, the builders.

ladymint

Thanks for your advice Furts. I am still thinking about going through with a complaint *if* we find something wrong under the stairs. I am not sure if photos or a video of the area being accessed would be enough for a court case. I was thinking about the small claims court as this would be a claim for max £1500 I think. I have no idea if that would be possible though, as I have never been through this.

Furts

Hi ladymint
If you pursued NHBC to Court you would need an expert report. Then expect NHBC to contest everything in the report. Then expect NHBC to send their big guns to the Court to protect their interests.

In my case NHBC top personnel named the top legal practices that would be used to fight me. NHBC explained how nasty these practices were, and what instructions NHBC would give them to fight me. Basically, it was NHBC threats and posturing.

NHBC have unlimited funds, and these practices, in effect, are on NHBC's payroll. Money is no object to NHBC when it comes to fighting claims. Only when the sums go haywire do they consider an alternative course. The alternative course happened to me, but only after NHBC had incurred costs running into six figures. NHBC had realised they could not keep on funding an attack when they could see no signs of me crumbling.

Such is the fearsome reputation of NHBC that you will not find it easy to find a good expert who is willing to defend your corner. Many are either scared off by NHBC, or live hoping not to upset NHBC and thus pick up some work from them. This work will be more lucrative and more frequent than anything you could offer the expert.

Your claim may be water tight, but I still advise people to never take on NHBC.

Finally, should anyone think I am cranky or extreme in my judgements, I am better technically qualified than any NHBC personnel that had dealings with my claim!

SuzieSue

Furts wrote: »

Your claim may be water tight, but I still advise people to never take on NHBC.

But if the OP uses the small claims section of the court, then she will not have much to lose financially.

ladymint

I guess your case, Furts, involved a much higher claim? I found that the watchdog has in the past reported a similar case in which NHBC refuse to check under the stairs and blamed the carpet fitters. After the show was aired, NHBC accepted to go back and inspect under the stairs. Here's their response:
"We have now re-visited Mrs Horrocks home and opened up her staircase and have found a fault in its construction. We have taken immediate steps to secure them. We have sincerely apologised to Mrs Horrocks for not agreeing to re-visit earlier and will carry out a full repair in the next few days.".

There's a precedent and we are sending this to the inspector. Without a check under the stairs, they cannot refuse the claim as they cannot be sure that the staircase has been properly built/installed. I feel like doing as you say and just forget about it but I hate it when people are immoral and do these things. I don't know how these inspectors can sleep at night.

Furts

SuzieSue wrote: »

But if the OP uses the small claims section of the court, then she will not have much to lose financially.

I recently had an involvement with an expert witness report written for a Court action. The report cost the home owner £750 plus VAT. This report would be required for a small claims hearing.

A lot of stair repair time would be covered for this sum.