NHBC claim under minimum threshold now problem is worse

kittekatcat

Just wondering where I stand. I had NHBC out last year to look at my staircase. They said two steps had failed as they hadn’t been fitted properly, however lo and behold, to fix them came under the threshold amount by a few hundred pound even though it meant going through my downstairs ceiling roof to fix it properly. Unfortunately I have not had the money to fix them as it came to over 2k. Fast forward this year another step has dropped and the others are at a point of being seriously dangerous and I am terrified that someone’s foot is going to go through the step it is that bad. Got back in touch with NHBC and they have finally got back in touch to say the below; 
I can see that you reported issues with the staircase back in 2023 under the reference 23/xxxx, a letter was sent to you to advise that we cannot assist as the cost to repair fell below the minimum claim value. When raising a claim, you should notify NHBC as soon as you first knew about the problem, as the matter was declined a year prior and the issue has then been left and worsened, we would not consider this matter further.

I did notify them when I first noticed the problem and they declined due to minimum claim value and now it has worsened and another step has dropped. Can anyone give me any advice on where I stand? Thank you

ThisIsWeird

Seems hugely unfair, but I don't know the answer.
Do you have Legal Protection included in your house insurance?
On that point, could this not be a domestic insurance claim in any case, if not covered by the warranty?

kittekatcat

Thanks so much I hadn’t thought of that at all. Will get in touch and see where I stand. Thank you so much 😊 

Grenage

If not remedying the issue caused further degradation, you're probably on a hiding to nothing.  If it's otherwise, you have a case.