Kier Homes slammed for customer service that 'left sour taste' in mouth of new-build buyers

David Davies moved into a five-bedroomed detached Kier Homes property on the outskirts of the Ribble Valley in June 2019.

But from the moment he set foot in his £450,000 house, he and his wife began experiencing problems, from snags in the brick pointing, to damp in the garage, to a flooded garden and incomplete kitchen.

The 55-year-old, from Ramsbottom, made the move to Alston Grange in Longridge after he and his wife were bowled over by the impressive show home.

Mr Davies said: “When we first looked at the property we were really impressed, but we were not impressed with the sales staff.

“We had problems with the specification of the house, and issues with the fittings they’d ordered not being the correct size.

 “We were legally bound to move in by June 28, so we did, but for the first two weeks we had no sinks and there was a smell of raw sewage throughout the house.”

Mr Davies said he struggled to get any of the problems fixed so contacted one of the directors.

He said: “We were told we would be getting a high standard of living, but we didn’t, and it left a sour taste in my mouth when I couldn’t get hold of anyone.

“The director came down and we put a plan in place but then two weeks later everything stopped.

“We had a terrible time with customer services and kept being passed between them and the guys on site - no-one seemed to know what was going on.”

Mr Davies and his wife were the first people to move onto the estate and say they had nothing but grief – with mortar on the brick work falling out and insufficient insulation in one of the rooms making the house cold.

He added: “If we were sat downstairs, we could hear everything from the bathroom above - everything.

 “We had water leaking into the garage, in fact, everyone on our estate had problems – all the gardens flooded when it rained heavily.

“I know we are in an old field but if you get a day’s rain it’s like a paddling pool.”

Around the same time, Zoe and Nassar Malik from Darwen faced issues with their new Kier Home off Pole Lane in the town.

The couple, who paid £325,000 for their five-bedroom house, said the developers left it like a ‘death trap’.

They then said the developer tried to 'fob them off' with an £8,000 goodwill gesture.

David Davies experienced damp and shoddy brickwork when he bought his Kier Home

'It's a death trap' - family's anger at new £325,000 home problems

More than 18 months on and Mr Davies said communication has improved between him and Kier Homes, and they have managed to reach an agreement on repair works.

He added: “We had to get the National House Building Council here in January to make the builders fix previous repairs that weren’t completed to the right standards.

“We do have a plan in place now, but to achieve this, like the Maliks, we’ve had to fight for it.

“If this were a new car with defects we would have thrown it back in their face - but we found it very difficult knowing who to turn to to get the problems sorted.”

The Malik's in Darwen had similar issues at the same time as Mr Davies

A spokesperson from Kier said: “We are committed to delivering quality houses that residents are proud to call home and we are sorry that on this occasion, we have fallen short of our usual high standards and would like to apologise to Mr Davies.

The Malik's in Darwen had similar issues at the same time as Mr Davies

 “As a responsible housebuilder, we have a dedicated customer service team who listen to homeowners and look to resolve their concerns, including with Mr Davies where we have an agreed programme of works in place.

“The pandemic has resulted in some time delays and we are working as quickly and safely as possible to carry out aftercare works for our customers.”