A man in Derbyshire has unfurled a huge banner above the garage of his house in a row between him and the developer.
Balbinder Singh, who lives in Mickleover, a suburban village of Derby, claims he is still trying to get problems fixed that have been plaguing his home since he moved in back in April 2021.
Avant Homes said issues have been caused by the construction of an extension that impacted his warranty.
Now, almost two years on, Mr Singh claims the company is ignoring him.
In a desperate bid to heap pressure on Avant Homes, Mr Singh, who lives on the Cotchett Village estate, has put up a sign that reads: ‘Avant Homes our review. We moved in on April 1, 2021 and work is still uncompleted.
Mr Singh, who lives in Mickleover, a suburban village of Derby, has put up a sign that reads: ‘Avant Homes our review. We moved in on April 1, 2021 and work is still uncompleted. Avant is no longer responding to us. There is lots of uncompleted work. We are happy to share pictures. Don’t make the mistake we made’
‘Avant is no longer responding to us. There is lots of uncompleted work. We are happy to share pictures. Don’t make the mistake we made.’
Mr Singh frustratedly erected the sign, which he designed himself, on March 6.
Avant Homes told Derbyshire Live that they have been in discussions with Mr Singh regarding the £500,000 property.
An Avant Homes spokesperson said: ‘Having fully investigated the occupant’s concerns regarding his home, we believe a significant number of them were caused by the building of an extension on the property after the house was purchased.’
According to the company, the extension voided some aspects of the property’s NHBC Buildmark warranty, an issue that has been explained to Mr Singh.
‘We have inspected the house and communicated back to the occupant what is acceptable for us to resolve in relation to his concerns outside of those created by the extension,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Our customer liaison team is proactively dealing with a very small number of residents at the development who have raised concerns to ensure any reasonable requests are addressed.’
Avant Homes said that they have been in discussions with Mr Singh regarding the £500,000 home. According to the company, the extension voided some aspects of the property’s NHBC Buildmark warranty, an issue that has been explained to Mr Singh
Mr Singh said: ‘They’re ignoring us and they’re not bothered. We’re fed up. How can they leave it like this? They agree with me when I speak to them and then nobody comes. Someone has to come forward.’
The property features a pent-roof porch over the front door.
However, Mr Singh claims its design causes water to run off and down the wall by the side of the door, leading to damp and moss growth.
Mr Singh said an upstairs toilet seat is damaged and an extractor fan has faulty lighting.
Other residents on the street, including Kevin Crisp and his family, claim they have experienced similar issues.
Mr Crisp said: ‘There’s been loads of stuff. We had a street barbecue for the Queen’s Jubilee last year and the theme was that everyone is having the same problem.’
In their house, which they moved into in 2021, they claim a sink problem led to a kitchen worktop warping and a replacement was cut too short.
Mr Crisp’s partner said: ‘The customer service is diabolical. Even through the process of buying it, they ignored us.’
Avant Homes said issues have been caused by the construction of an extension that impacted his warranty.
Avant Homes told Derbyshire Live that they are working with ‘a very small number’ of residents at Cotchett Village, off the A516 Etwall Road, to resolve their concerns.
Steven Bosworth, who also lives on the estate, claims that his house was riddled with issues when he moved in in 2020.
He said he had his downstairs toilet ripped out and refitted due to water leaking through walls, his floors relaid due to scratches, and his kitchen units redone due to missing plug sockets.
He said: ‘We’d never buy from them again. They’re a waste of time and don’t want to fix anything. I’m constantly pushing them to come round and fix stuff and we’re still waiting.’
Another couple who live near Mr Singh said that their experience of Avant Homes has been positive.
They believe they were one of the first to move in, having acquired the keys in March 2020.
They said that any problems were resolved swiftly after the first Covid-19 lockdown eased that summer.
At the time, not many other people were living on the site and tradesmen were working on homes every day.
However, they claim that the customer service has ‘gone downhill’ since then.
