Wellington pensioners ‘unable to sleep’ in new £600k house

Pensioners John and Liz Pritchard said the Bovis property on the Monument View development they moved into has defects including wonky floors and ceilings.

They also said they have been locked in a battle to get the “bodge job” fixed since they moved.

The elderly couple said there were many defects around the house (Image: SWNS)

The couple, who are both in their 70s, claim they were "fobbed off, ignored, and strung along" by Bovis Homes - with little work completed.

They say they were confronted with “appalling” issues from the moment they stepped foot in the house, after noticing their furniture was wobbling.

At first, they suspected the furniture had been damaged in transit, but on closer inspection discovered the floor of the house was uneven.

Mr Pritchard said ground-workers sent to his home by Bovis assessed that the floor would have to be ripped up and re-laid.

But weeks later when floor layers arrived, they had been instructed to carry out a “bodge job” and just fill in some problem areas.

He said Bovis later sent an independent surveyor to the home, who allegedly agreed the floor had been laid unevenly and, as a result, the whole house was out of kilter, with uneven walls and ceilings and wonky fixtures and fittings.

The retirees, aged in their 70s, even find it difficult to open their own front door, which appeared to have been fitted askew.

Mr Pritchard said his multiple complaints had been largely ignored.

He said: “The floors aren’t level, the ceilings aren’t level, the doors aren’t upright – we’ve never been able to open and close the front door properly in a year.

“They don’t want to fix it. We are being fobbed off and strung along with bodge jobs to make it look good.

“We are fed up that it’s not been built properly. They obviously didn’t check it properly. The treatment we received from Bovis has been appalling.”

He added that an independent snagging expert identified almost 200 defects when he carried out an inspection at the property, which could cost tens of thousands of pounds to make right.

Mr Pritchard even said that he couldn’t move his dishwasher into the utility room because it was blocked by a kickboard, and when he approached Bovis he was allegedly advised to see it off himself.

He said: “It’s not what you would expect for £600,000.

“We were sold the house that Jack built.

"Bovis are behaving like cowboy builders. You point out the problems and they don’t respond. It’s shoddy.”

Mrs Pritchard said the insulation in the property was so poor that guests sitting in the lounge could hear sounds from the upstairs toilet “as if they were in the same room” which she said could be a cause for embarrassment.

Workers from Bovis have previously moved in to fix the “badly fitted” kitchen, which remains in part uneven, because the cupboard doors wouldn’t close, and the sink’s tap was so tilted the couple say they couldn’t even fit a kettle under it.

Mr and Mrs Pritchard also highlighted what they described as “rank amateurish” brickwork on the property, which was particularly acute in the garage where concrete appears to be falling away from some of the bricks and excess mortar can be seen plastered over the walls.

They said their year-long fight with Bovis to correct the issues had left them “up night after night, unable to sleep” and described their treatment by the housebuilder as “disgusting and shocking” and alleged their emails and telephone calls were repeatedly ignored.

The couple are now demanding that Bovis steps into carry out snagging works immediately.

They said: “We want to see Bovis come in and get the work done and have done for the last 12 months but we have been fobbed off, ignored, and strung along.

“It’s been absolutely awful; they won’t even reply to our emails. We have been taken for granted.

“When we found out there were so many problems, we even asked for our money back and they said no chance.”

Bovis Homes said: “We apologise for the issues Mr and Mrs Pritchard have experienced with their property and any disruption and inconvenience it has caused.

"We have been working on a remediation plan and can begin these works at a time that’s convenient for our customers.

“As a five-star housebuilder, awarded by the Home Builders Federation, we are committed to delivering high-quality homes for our customers and will ensure any issues are fully resolved.”