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We paid £345,000 for our dream new-build home – but we got a nightmare instead with mouldy walls & holes in the roof
A FAMILY have been left angry and dismayed after their £345,000 dream newbuild turned out to be a home from hell.
The Cook family, from Grimsby, , say that the property is a "living nightmare" as problems including mouldy walls and holes in the roof pile up.
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Since moving in in December, the Cooks have found one issue after another, but say that "nobody has done anything" to help them.
Mr Cook told : "From the start, it's been awful. The house was sold to us for £345,000 and it wasn't even finished.
"We found mould in the hallway, the windows aren't sealed, the roof isn't finished and it's just generally low quality work around the whole house.
"We've lived here two months now and I just feel like nobody has done anything to address the problem."
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The family don't even have anywhere to plumb their washing machine until the work is done.
The outraged dad added: "It's just really frustrating. It's not a cheap house, nor is it old and still nothing is being done, it's a living nightmare.
"On top of that, It's taken nearly eight weeks for me to even be given a meeting with [the housebuilding company], it shouldn't take this long to get something sorted.
"I've got kids and a dog, but they can't even play in the garden because there's no turf on the grass. Even if there was, the fence is too high off the ground so the dog can easily get through to my neighbour's garden."
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Housebuilders Persimmon have apologised for the problems and promised to fix them.
On top of the chaos at home, Mr Cook and his partner are trying to plan their wedding, but he says that all their time is taken up by the house.
He fumed: "I'm upset and annoyed that the first thing our relatives will see when they come to visit will be a mouldy hallway and an unfinished house.
"At this point, I think about it all and just laugh, the whole situation is ridiculous."
A spokesperson for Persimmon South said: "Our customer care team has been liaising closely with the customer to resolve some outstanding issues which will be completed shortly.
"We want every customer to receive exceptional service at each stage of the buying process, both before and after moving into their new home.
"We are sorry when customers feel they have not received this level of service and always look to resolve any issues as soon as possible.
"In 2022 Persimmon achieved a HBF 5-star rating for the first time, meaning that over 90% of customers would recommend us to a friend, demonstrating our continued investment in customer service."
What are your rights in this case?
All new build homes come with some form of warranty.
Most often, this is a builder warranty of around 10 years, against structural issues, and a shorter developer warranty against issues with fixtures and fittings.
Registered builders are bound by a Consumer Code, which sets out quality standards.
If the house is not complete at the time it was promised, the customer can cancel the purchase, with a full refund of any deposit or reservation fee.
Complaints can be resolved privately with builders/developers in the first instance.
However, if you are not satisfied, there is an independent dispute scheme that can be used within the first three months of receiving the final response to the complaint from the builders.
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