am i unreasonable?

moneyistooshorttomention

em_9187 wrote: »

i wish i was brave enough to be so vocal - i really don't want any hard feelings but I'm getting seriously peed off

You do need to learn to be "brave". I'm in a position right now where I am cursing previous owners of my recently-bought house for being so weak-willed they didn't stand up to a VERY strong-willed neighbour and I am having to fight on their behalf (which they damn well don't deserve - as they got pushed around) as well as my own.

I do know its not easy to be "brave"...and sometimes takes a lot of deep breaths and consolatory glasses of wine or the like to feel confident enough to take on people/firms that seriously need taking on.

Go on. You CAN do it. Start that deep breathing....just think of it as helping to set an example to even more "nervous" people and that you are fighting on behalf of other decent people (ie as well as yourself) against the Right Wotnames of this World.

Courage mon enfant...:)

That's one of the things that keeps me going when I know I'm In The Right...ie that I must be thankful that I am intelligent/reasonably organised/100% mentally together and I owe it to other people in similar circumstances that don't have those advantages (ie aren't intelligent and/or aren't reasonably organised/or don't have that reasonable level of confidence courtesy of their background/etc) to fight because people in an even worse position will also be "walked on" if people without what few advantages I have don't "stand up and fight".

You are fighting for other people as well as yourself, so deep breaths/strong coffee/few glasses of wine/whatever else it takes and get in there m'dear and belt 'em one.

kinger101

em_9187 wrote: »

i wish i was brave enough to be so vocal - i really don't want any hard feelings but I'm getting seriously peed off

There are already hard feelings on your part. Your aim isn't to stay on their Christmas card list, it's to get the house you paid for finished to the required standard. The more you annoy them, the more likely they are to get something done just so they can see the back of you. It will come down to a simple business decision of getting your house fixed so you don't scare off potential buyers. Visit the sales office daily if required. Make yourself their number one problem!

notanewuser

Friends have had awful trouble with the new build house they recently bought. Issues still aren't fixed after 6 months and they're now haggling with the company for a long haul holiday for the family to be paid (in addition to having the defects fixed..............)

trailingspouse

It's obvious that whoever you are talking to isn't in a position to get things done - so you need to escalate it. That just means taking it further and further up the chain of command until you find someone who can do something about it.

Make a definitive snag list - include absolutely everything that is wrong that it would be reasonable to expect them to have got right. Then call them. Remind them that you've called before and tell them that you're disappointed that you're having to ring again. Listen to their excuses patiently, then tell them that you appreciate that there's not much they can do - would they mind putting you through to someone who can do something. At the very least get a name and a phone number of the next person in the chain. Stay calm, stay polite, stay in control.

When you finally get through to someone who seems to have the clout to do something, you need to pin them down to a date. You might have to be reasonably reasonable here (if you demand that all the jobs are fixed by tomorrow, they're unlikely to be able to do it!!) - you could for example say that you want everything done by a month today, or before Christmas, or whatever. But pin them down to a date. Point out that all of these jobs should in fact have been done by (whatever date you moved in), and you've been very patient so far. But now you need things to be sorted.

Once you've pinned them down to a finish date, pin them down to a start date, and a start time. And if they don't turn up at the time stated, ring immediately and find out why.

You need to be the squeaky wheel - and eventually you will get the grease.

lincroft1710

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'm in my 60s.

Reason being because people in my age group remember when "normal service" was the norm - be it from private firms/Councils/government departments/whatever....

It has been the case for quite a few years now that people are being expected to accept "bad service" and treat it as "normal service". On the other hand "normal service" (ie like I recall from the 1970s/1980s) is being treated as "Ooooh....customer thinks they're Someone Special and expects special treatment".

Someone of my age group will remember what "normal service" is like

I'm of your age group and have encountered poor service in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, not to mention car salesmen trying to cheat you on trade in prices.

In the 1970s/80s senior co-workers in a government department would leave letters from the public unanswered for months, if they ever bothered to answer them.

When working in a bank in the late 1960s (pre-computer), I was manually calculating bank charges and expressed concern at the amount of charges to a senior colleague who said "Don't worry, if anyone complains, we'll reduce them, but very few complain". Someone once said to a customer who had to pay for a stamp, because of the bank's fault "Don't worry, we'll knock it off the charges". They didn't!

cajef

em_9187 wrote: »

the builders i do not wish to name but they are renowned for their good quality builds.

Are you sure about that, hardly sounds like quality to me.:eek:

ruggedtoast

em_9187 wrote: »

i wish i was brave enough to be so vocal - i really don't want any hard feelings but I'm getting seriously peed off

Well, look forward to being trampled over for the rest of your life then. No advice anyone can give you here will make a blind bit of difference with that attitude.

getmore4less

Most people have a mate who is a bit more vocal give them the list of problems and have them go in on the busy Sat looking interested in a place on the site.

then turn up and let them do the talking, you just nod/yes when they ask you did you ever get those doors fixed did they come and change......

lucystardust87

Don't worry about looking like a 'witch' - the builders didn't finish your house, what do you care what they think of you? As you are complaining you're probably giving the impression of a perfectly normal reasonable person. If you gave up they would think you're a mug!

lisyloo

but i think there customer service is crap...

Write to the builders head office formally.
List the items you want fixed.
State that if the items are not fixed in 21 days, you will be undertaking the repairs yourself and seeking redress through the small claims track in the county court.

We did this and we saw swift action.
I can't say everything was fixed in 21 days but it advanced our place to the top of the queue.