Couple's new home is 'plagued by problems'

9:05am Tuesday 18th March 2008

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A BASINGSTOKE couple say their new home is turning out to be less than a dream.

Richard Jones and Natasha Lewis moved into a new two-bedroomed house built by Persimmon Homes, off Old Kempshott Lane, last December. Since then, they say many of their complaints about the property have been left unresolved.

The latest problem occurred last Tuesday night when a tile from the roof fell onto Mr Jones' black Lexus IS200 car, denting the roof, scratching the windscreen and smashing the sunroof - scattering fragments inside and outside the car.

Mr Jones, 24, of Wiltshire Crescent, on the Highfields development, said: "This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the problems we have had.

"You expect to have a few niggles when you buy a newbuild, but for the tiles on the roof to fall off just a few months after it was built is ridiculous."

Mr Jones, who works as a personal trainer in Reading, said that damage to the car could cost in excess of £1,000 to repair.

"I have been trying to sort the problem out with Persimmon Homes, but they say it is just storm damage and nothing to do with them. I need the car for work so I can't wait days to see what they are going to do about it."

Mr Jones said the couple's new home also had problems with poor installation of the kitchen, flooring not being nailed down and the stairs having a small hole.

He said: "Before we moved in, we had a preview of the house. There were lots of things wrong that they said would be sorted out, but we are still waiting.

"It is hard enough to get a foot on the property ladder when you are a first-time buyer, but to then get treated like this is awful."

Andrew Golawski, managing director of Persimmon Homes South East, said: "We can confirm that a roof ridge tile became dislodged at one of our new homes at the Highfields development in Basingstoke. This happened during a severe storm that has recently hit the south coast of England.

"Our customer services manager has arranged to meet the customer at their property to discuss the recent incident."

He added: "We take reported problems seriously and have a dedicated customer care team in place to help rectify any defects that are our responsibility."