Major Snag with new build - can i claim compensation?

Nick_C

I can only offer sympathy to OP.

It does seem strange that if you spend £300 on a new TV which is faulty, you can return it for a full refund or get a like for like replacement, but if you spend £300K on a new house you just have to accept the problems.

We looked at a couple of new builds last year but they were pokey, and if you wanted to knock two rooms into one (as the salesman suggested) you could probably just lean against the paper thin walls. I could touch the ceilings without going on tip toe. And then having seen a "new homes from hell" programme on TV recently, I was so glad that we bought a 1980s home instead, which we are refurbishing.

Guest101

Nick_C wrote: »

I can only offer sympathy to OP.

It does seem strange that if you spend £300 on a new TV which is faulty, you can return it for a full refund or get a like for like replacement, but if you spend £300K on a new house you just have to accept the problems.

We looked at a couple of new builds last year but they were pokey, and if you wanted to knock two rooms into one (as the salesman suggested) you could probably just lean against the paper thin walls. I could touch the ceilings without going on tip toe. And then having seen a "new homes from hell" programme on TV recently, I was so glad that we bought a 1980s home instead, which we are refurbishing.

You don't have to accept the problems. You can claim back reasonable cost / loss.


What is reasonable can vary. (whilst the TV is not the exact same situation, as it is sale of goods act as well as the recent consumer regulations - it's reasonable analogy).


The house is 'faulty', but reasonably it is accepted that the fault be repaired, rather than a refund or replacement given. This is the cheaper method, and both parties must ensure they minimise their loss.


In the TV scenario it would be reasonable for the consumer to claim for any additional damage as a result of the fault - if for example the bracket had broken, the TV fallen and damaged other goods.


Minimising one's loss could for example include not taking unpaid time off work, but arranging for alternative means of access.


You are spot on about the quality of new builds and the extra value offered by older properties.

AdrianC

Nick_C wrote: »

I can only offer sympathy to OP.

It does seem strange that if you spend £300 on a new TV which is faulty, you can return it for a full refund or get a like for like replacement, but if you spend £300K on a new house you just have to accept the problems.

You forget the third option - repair - and the caveat that the supplier cannot be forced into a disproportionate remedy.

gregsayer

its hit or miss with new and old builds.


my last house was 30 years old.
looked amazing when we viewed, but when I completed, and saw it empty, it was actually in a bad way.
within a few days my uncle had found blown and burnt wiring in the bedrooms.
I'd found leaks in the bathroom, even the sink taps where each different sizes!
I spent a month sorting the house before moving in (I was a FTB still with parents)


admittanly the developers of my new house have been brilliant on the phone and their response, most of the delay has been between sub contractors deciciding what the actual issue is!.
they are one rated 5 star with the NHBC


apart from minor snags, some of which are getting sorted as I type this, this leak is the only thing that's actually really bothered me!


the others are minor finish / paint work issues, a leaky gutter and scratches on the brushed steel hob.

Guest101

gregsayer wrote: »

its hit or miss with new and old builds.


my last house was 30 years old.
looked amazing when we viewed, but when I completed, and saw it empty, it was actually in a bad way.
within a few days my uncle had found blown and burnt wiring in the bedrooms.
I'd found leaks in the bathroom, even the sink taps where each different sizes!
I spent a month sorting the house before moving in (I was a FTB still with parents)


admittanly the developers of my new house have been brilliant on the phone and their response, most of the delay has been between sub contractors deciciding what the actual issue is!.
they are one rated 5 star with the NHBC


apart from minor snags, some of which are getting sorted as I type this, this leak is the only thing that's actually really bothered me!


the others are minor finish / paint work issues, a leaky gutter and scratches on the brushed steel hob.

Did you not get a survey on the last property - this would have no doubt suggested checking plumbing and electric, which in turn would have told you the problem, which in turn would mean a lower offer.


The point is with older builds, it's there for you to see if you look hard enough.


With new builds you just see a sample home and a plot of land.

FrankRizzo

gregsayer - any tradesmen should have found the fault within an hour. With that much water the obvious thing to do is cut some plasterboard off the ceiling and the problem would be easily identified. New plasterboard could easily get fitted and the ceiling replastered - this would have been very easy and would not have been a huge expense for the house builder.

AdrianC

FrankRizzo wrote: »

gregsayer - any tradesmen should have found the fault within an hour. With that much water the obvious thing to do is cut some plasterboard off the ceiling and the problem would be easily identified. New plasterboard could easily get fitted and the ceiling replastered - this would have been very easy and would not have been a huge expense for the house builder.

In case you hadn't noticed, the weather has been somewhat less than Saharan of late. I don't think looking for likely external causes is a bad call at all. Especially since they found one...

FrankRizzo

The poster thought it was related to when the tap was getting used, the water was coming from below the tap - one hole in the ceiling would identify this. The poster should not have to go through major suffering as result of tradesmen not investigating properly.

Nick_C

If this had been a tv, not a house, OP could have rejected it.

1 - the fault occurred within 30 days

2 - regardless of the 30 day rule, the vendor has one opportunity to repair. If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

Unfortunately, the Consumer Rights Act doesn't apply to a new house.

gregsayer

AdrianC wrote: »

In case you hadn't noticed, the weather has been somewhat less than Saharan of late. I don't think looking for likely external causes is a bad call at all. Especially since they found one...

it was internal.