These are a selection of customers' experiences on George Wimpey's Ridgewood development, Congleton, Cheshire. Updated January 2004.
Repeated failure of heating and plumbing systems.
Mortar all over the exterior brickwork.
No tiling around the bath or hand basin.
A collapsing staircase - extremely dangerous.
Incorrectly labelled electrical circuits on the circuit-breaker
box – extremely dangerous for anyone wishing to isolate a
particular circuit, eg. to fit a new light fitting.
Huge cracks appearing in walls, plus many other examples of
shoddy, rough "Friday afternoon" workmanship.
Problems not remedied for months.. and months.. and months.
Complaints are ignored by the Customer Care Department... over and
over again. They send out the standard letter every time...
"we have noted your complaints"... they're experts in
the art of "fobbing off" but not so good at actioning
the necessary remedial work.
Missing kitchen cupboard doors which never get supplied.
Mysterious craters appearing in driveways (the tarmac literally
falls into a black hole).
So called "lawns" which consist of cheap low-grade turf
thrown down over builders rubble (these lawns aren't even included
as standard... Wimpey have the nerve to charge extra for them, and
if you don't pay you get a garden full of rubble for free).
Leaking, badly fitted pipes that have caused damage to decor and
furniture.
Unfinished pavements made up of loose rubble and raised manholes -
a terrible eyesore, and a hazard too. The development was
abandoned by George Wimpey for seven months after the final house
was built. During this time the roads and pavements were not in a
suitable state for a fully occupied development. There was no
communication from George Wimpey about the inexplicable delay,
just a wall of silence. Residents got the distinct impression that
George Wimpey didn't give a damn.
Parts
of the estate are in darkness because the street lights have STILL
not been activated and it is now January 2004 – two years after
some of the houses were first occupied. George Wimpey took the
money and ran, the council collected council tax from the first
day that everyone moved in – but the residents haven't been
given what they have paid for. Again, there has been no
explanation or apology.
Before
the estate was adopted by the council, George Wimpey failed to mow
the grassed areas on the development, allowing everything to
become overgrown and neglected. Some residents became so fed up
that they maintained communal areas at their own expense - but
they shouldn't have had to because it was George Wimpey's
responsibility in a legally binding Section 38 agreement with the
Council. Once again, George Wimpey never issued an apology or
explanation.
A fitted oven not functioning for the whole of the festive period
(how nice to live off take-aways and microwave food throughout
Christmas and New Year) because Wimpey's "emergency careline"
staff refused to send an engineer out, saying that any problems
with appliances were the manufacturers responsibility (and in this
instance the manufacturer didn't reopen until mid-January).
Actually it had nothing to do with the manufacturer ... it was
Wimpey's "electrician" who left a loose wire when he
installed it!
George
Wimpey's show homes are well presented and free of defects.
The treatment you receive in the sales office is extremely
professional.
But everything changes from the day you move in.
If you are thinking of buying a new home on a George Wimpey development, remember the golden rule: the moment they sell the final plot, they will disappear off site, leaving a large catalogue of unresolved problems. As many customers will tell you, George Wimpey's after sales care is unreliable, painstakingly slow and at times non-existent.
If you're buying a new home from George Wimpey, it helps if you have excellent DIY skills and have friends who are skilled tradesmen – you're sure as hell going to need them.
It also helps if you have an extremely flexible and accommodating boss who is prepared to let you have half-days off work all the time to deal with the sporadic problems that develop with your house.
And you have roads and pavements like something out of a third world country, for months if not years after you move in. Where is the quality of life that George Wimpey are advertising?