Kings Oak: Homes from Hell
Flooding, running sewage, overflowing toilets, windows that do not close, shoddy workmanship and poor customer service are just some of the complaints made by disappointed homebuyers after they moved into the KingsOak development in Weston Village.
Kathryn Deakin, pictured right, aged 29 and her 35-year-old boyfriend Adrian Clarke were among the first people to move into the estate last December.
But the first-time buyers were horrified to find that their £109,500 semi-detached house in Badgers Way had a whole catalogue of faults including the wrong kitchen units, a big gap under the front door and no turf in the garden.
They also discovered the toilet had not been plumbed in properly and raw sewage was running into the back garden.
Neighbours Oliver Higgins and Angela Copeland also had problems in the bathroom of their new Coach House - the toilet bowl was overflowing and would not flush.
Miss Deakin said: "I expected buying a house to be a stressful but happy time - this is a nightmare. I dread coming home from work because of all the problems."
Robert and Alison Jones moved to their £122,000 home in Weston Village from Bristol with their young daughters April, aged 10, and five-year-old Bridie.
They were so disappointed when they moved into their KingsOak property on June 28 that they wrote a nine-page letter to the managing director detailing all the faults. They have still had no reply.
Their major complaint is that the kitchen windows at the front of the house do not close, causing a major security risk.
Pensioners Roy and Alwin Pickering bought a £137,000 KingsOak home in Pollard Road to be near their family in Locking.
The pair who are both in their 70's were meant to move in on June 28 but had to stay with their daughter and son-in-law because the house was not suitable to be lived in until Monday of this week.
Even now there are problems including the fact that builders have put plain glass rather than frosted glass in the downstairs toilet.
Alwin said: "We have never worked so hard since being retired - it has been very stressful.
"We bought a new house to avoid the maintenance you might expect to do in an old house."
Customer relations manager, Peter Cooper, aged 29, bought a three-bedroomed town house in Pollard Road with his partner Caroline Rose he said: "I feel that we have been quite lucky. We have a list of minor problems but no major faults like some of our neighbours.
"But the thing that annoys me most is the fact that KingsOak lies to you. We have taken days off work to wait in for builders who never turn up and we have never received a phone call or a letter to apologise."
Newlyweds Neil and Tracey Evans, thought that moving into their first home in Pollard Road would be a happy experience.
They were devastated when they discovered there was a leak in the bathroom. This became so bad that it dripped through the living room ceiling destroying the plaster and carpet.
To make matters worse KingsOak then found out that Tracey had been a finalist on ITV's Stars In Their Eyes and asked her if she would feature in their brochure and website.
Tracey said: "I just laughed at them and explained how unhappy we were with the house - I couldn't believe their cheek."
As well as the houses, the streets and paths around the estate have not been properly finished either with rubble and ladders left lying around and putting residents at risk.
Jacquelynne Stewart, who bought a £140,000 home in Badgers Way with her partner Andrew Eastwood has had two accidents as a result of KingsOak's shoddy workmanship. "They are homes from hell" she said.
Firstly she went to open the garage door but the pulley broke and the 32-year-old fell backwards hitting her head, then she tripped over an unfinished man hole outside her home and badly injured her ankle.
Mr Eastwood said: "It is just extremely disappointing that a company of the supposed quality of KingsOak expect people to move in to such badly finished houses."
The glossy brochure given to buyers states that "KingsOak is a name you can trust.
"At KingsOak our objective is to deliver a quality new home together with a quality service."
But the residents interviewed said that they would never recommend KingsOak nor would they buy another home from the developer.
Miss Deakin even said: "I was so upset about everything that I felt like camping outside the show home and warning people not to buy a KingsOak home."
This is a list of problems faced by KingsOak homebuyers when they first moved into their properties.
Some of the faults have been corrected but many residents are still waiting for builders to turn up and put things right.
• Brian and Julia Hayball, 5 Badgers Way, a four-bedroomed detached house costing £158,000.
- Leaking radiators.
- A leaking toilet.
- Shower glass installed the wrong way round causing leaks.
- A blocked drain outside the house.
- A hole in the landing carpet, which Mrs Hayball tripped on.
- A fridge and dishwasher, which did not fit into the kitchen units.
- Windows not sealed properly.
- No lead flashing on the porch.
- Paint, which comes off the walls when wiped.
- No gravel or turf in the front garden, just weeds.
- Unsatisfactory customer care.
• Robert and Alison Jones, 9 Badgers Way, a three-bedroomed town house costing £122,000.
- Both kitchen windows at the front of the house do not close.
- Broken double-glazing.
- A leaking balcony.
- Wires hanging out of holes in the walls.
- A stain on the carpet.
- Railings not painted.
- An extractor fan in the kitchen, which does not work.
- The wrong kitchen units.
- Units installed unevenly.
- The wrong dishwasher.
- Loose kitchen tiles.
- The toilet seat was not attached to the bowl.
- Only one light in the living/dinning area where the plans showed two.
- Poor customer service.
• Andrew Eastwood and Jacquelynne Stewart, 15 Badgers Way, a four-bedroomed town house costing £140,000.
- Holes in the hall carpet.
- No seal on the shower mixer.
- A gap at the back of the toilet.
- Toilet flush not working.
- The wrong toilet suite installed.
- A hole behind the fan in the bathroom.
- No cooker or hob.
- No weather seal around the front door.
- No flooring in the porch.
- Loose roof tiles.
- A broken lock on the garage door.
- Unsatisfactory customer care.
• Kathryn Deakin and Adrian Clarke, 17 Badgers Way, a three-bedroomed semi-detached house costing £109,500.
- Toilet sewage running into the garden.
- No turf in the garden.
- Badly fitted drains in the garden.
- The wrong kitchen units installed.
- Chipped kitchen worktops.
- Patio doors scratched.
- A big gap under the front door.
- Uneven flooring upstairs
- Radiators that do not work.
- Leaking pipes in the en-suite bathroom.
- Poor customer service.
• Paul and Astra Malloy, 19 Badgers Way, a three-bedroomed semi-detached house costing £103,500.
- Mr Malloy had to remove 50 wheelbarrow loads of rubble from the garden.
- No telephone sockets.
- A hole with live electrical wires.
- A crack in one of the windows.
- Holes in the kitchen cupboards.
- A kitchen extractor fan that does not work.
- Windows that do not close.
- A dented front door.
- Non-existent workmen.
• Oliver Higgins and Angela Copeland, 21 Badgers Way, a two-bedroomed coach house costing £84,000.
- Toilet bowl over-flowing with sewage.
- The living room carpet is made up of two off-cuts with an obvious join.
- The central heating does not work properly.
- Phone line not fitted.
- The front door handle does not work.
- Windows are not straight in the walls.
• Ray and Alwin Pickering, 25 Pollard Road, a four-bedroomed detached house costing £137,000.
- No tarmac on the drive.
- No garage door.
- The runners for the garage door blocked the fuse box.
- No turf in the garden.
- Badly laid flooring in the kitchen.
- Plain glass rather than frosted glass in the downstairs toilet.
- Front door not sealed or weather proofed.
- Wrongly wired lights.
• Neil and Tracey Evans, 31 Pollard Road, a three-bedroomed town house costing £120,000.
- Leaking pipes in the bathroom causing flooding and destroying carpets and plasterwork.
- Replacement carpets do not match the original carpets.
- The garage is not finished or painted.
- A fireplace without a grate.
- No phone line.
- Unsatisfactory patio doors.
- Poor customer service.
• Peter Cooper and Caroline Rose, 33 Pollard Road, a three-bedroomed town house costing £120,000.
- The patio door would not lock.
- The washing machine was not plumbed in properly.
- The house was not cleaned and was left in a mess by the builders.
- Unacceptable customer care.
• Tim Chappell, 35 Pollard Road, a three-bedroomed town house costing £130,000.
- Fire doors do not close.
- Garage door does not work.
- Windows not sealed properly.
- A loose sink in the cloakroom.
- Lounge floor completely uneven.
- Bathroom door handle does not work.
- Bad customer service.
'We sincerely regret the problems'
Bob Pritchard, managing director of KingsOak South West, responding to the homeowners' long list of complaints, said:
"The issues arising in Weston Village are obviously of great concern to us, as the company places great emphasis on customer care and providing quality new homes, with which the vast majority of our buyers are entirely happy.
"We sincerely regret the problems experienced by a number of homeowners on this development, and our customer service department is in communication with every homeowner who has contacted our head office, to agree a timescale for outstanding work to be completed.
"Even though all new houses on the development have now been sold, we are retaining our site manager and maintenance crew on the site to ensure that all outstanding issues are rectified to the complete satisfaction of our customers as a matter of priority.
"We appreciate that a backlog of work has built up, however, we are expecting to have all outstanding works completed as soon as possible.
"Several of the major issues raised by residents, such as unfinished road and pavement infrastructure and drainage, are the responsibility of the site consortium. We fully understand the frustrations of the residents, and all concerns received by KingsOak have been brought to the attention of the consortium, and we are exerting our own pressure to have this work completed as a matter of urgency."
