Kier - Problems?

I have had problems with Kier for the last 6 years.. I took a house on an exchange with the knowlege that repairs needed would be done when I moved in. Needless to say, 6 years on and only 20 inspector visits later I am still waiting for more than half of the repairs to be completed. The worst being a leak in the roof. This leak is so bad that water drips throught the ceiling in my childrens bedroom. I reported this when a hole appeared from the ceiling being so wet in that point that it fell through. We are talking a fairly small hole, about the size of a can lid. They have told me on every occasion that they would repair the ceiling if I remove all the furnature from the childrens room or else they wont touch it. I asked them where I was supposed to put this furnature while they decided to come as they would never give me a date. They turned up on 3 occations without notice to repair the ceiling only to turn away again. I live in a small 2 bed house and there is simply nowhere to move this furnature to! I asked the inspector to come out so I could explaine the situation about the furnature and he gave me verbal. I also told him that the roof had been repared on 3 occations and that all the insulation was soaking wet, needing sorting out first anyway or else it would just continue to drip through the ceiling. Again he gave me verbal. The last time he came out to the house, he finally looked at the insulation, making the hole much bigger now, about the size of a large dinner plate of which he left completely open and dripping without any attempt to seal off telling me to put a black bag against the ceiling with tape. This was back in november and Ive not heard anything since. I keep calling for an update to see when any kind of work will start and I keep getting "he's out of the office and will call you back" He has yet to do so! I have put complaints into the council about this situation and have had a response telling me they are investigating and I should hear something again from them by the middle of next month, even though they know we wont be there as I have now given notice on the property as we are leaving due to all the stress of living in squallor for so long... the house is not safe to live in with the water coming through the ceiling as its dangerously close to the lights. They have put our lives at risk for long enough. Im going to seek legal advice now. Oh and I pay full rent and council tax at that. If thats what service you get for paying, they can think again about getting the last months rent!

amandaday - your post is too long for me to quote! I think you should speak to one of your local councillors before giving up your home. No problem like the one you mention should go on so long and councillors will usually get things moving. If you have put in a complaint to Sheffield Homes and its not resolved, then it should have been escalated to a senior manager. If that has happened and you're still unhappy, then take it to the Ombudsman. Here's a link with the info: http://www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk/myCommunity/HaveYourSay/ComplaintsPraiseAndSuggestions.aspx

was you forced in to your life style or have you chosen it ...............

Irrelevant - as lots of people bought when prices were reasonable, often because they didn't have the option of a council home. If a council tenant and an owner occupier both lose their jobs and their only family income is benefits, then the tenant is in a much better situation as their rent will be covered by Housing Benefits, unlike the person with the mortgage.

Not everyone who is a homeowner is well off.

Irrelevant - as lots of people bought when prices were reasonable, often because they didn't have the option of a council home. If a council tenant and an owner occupier both lose their jobs and their only family income is benefits, then the tenant is in a much better situation as their rent will be covered by Housing Benefits, unlike the person with the mortgage.

 

Not everyone who is a homeowner is well off.

Are you trying to tell me your mortgage Interest payments aren't meet by the DSS. I had my own home, but I thought I'd give it to my ex-wife and two young daughters when we got divorced (What a Bad man I am) living in a council house. Rent for social housing isn't much less than a mortgage the only difference being we pay for LIFE not just the 15 to 25 years you pay.

amandaday - your post is too long for me to quote! I think you should speak to one of your local councillors before giving up your home. No problem like the one you mention should go on so long and councillors will usually get things moving. If you have put in a complaint to Sheffield Homes and its not resolved, then it should have been escalated to a senior manager. If that has happened and you're still unhappy, then take it to the Ombudsman. Here's a link with the info: http://www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk/myCommunity/HaveYourSay/ComplaintsPraiseAndSuggestions.aspx

Thanks for your advice but as for not giving up the house, I really dont care what they do with it anymore. We already arranged somewhere new to live last month so we dont have to deal with the imcompetant idiots any longer. However, I may take your advice with the complaints and seek out an appology at the very least.

Are you trying to tell me your mortgage Interest payments aren't meet by the DSS. I had my own home, but I thought I'd give it to my ex-wife and two young daughters when we got divorced (What a Bad man I am) living in a council house. Rent for social housing isn't much less than a mortgage the only difference being we pay for LIFE not just the 15 to 25 years you pay.

I don't get my mortgage interest paid by anyone, as I'm not a claimant. But to clarify the situation:

'You cannot get Housing Benefit to help with the costs of a mortgage or home loan. If you are an owner-occupier, you may be able to get help with your mortgage interest through Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Pension Credit.'

From http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_money/benefits/help_with_your_rent_-_housing_benefit.htm#what_is_housing_benefit

Does anyone else think Kier are getting very heavy handed, rude, and down right offensive. After years of them coming unannounced and expecting admittance to my house I now insist on them making an appointment.

I was at home waiting for Kier to do there annual Gas check, and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, and low and behold there was this card sticking through the letter box " We called today etc. they never even knocked on the door, but what annoys me most is the card also reads " To stop legal proceedings you must contact us immediately " clearly a threat

Like the letter I had from them asking me to make an appointment which states " do not ignore this letter - your home is at risk if you do"

I'm almost 60 years old and don't need this kind of threat/abuse.

I made an appointment to fix the leak between 10 and 12 plumber turned up at 9.25 and then been waiting for electrician no one turned up and made a phone call to KEIR lady told me they were busy and job has been allocated to some one will be there today? what is the point to make an appointment some one tell them not all the people on JSA who live in council's property. I took my valuable time to get the repairs done but they wasted my time? someone tell the Kier what is the meaning of appointment?

Never had a problem,but i do agree with the above post, that when you tell them you are working that day, they sound surprised. "oh,your working?"

Hi. If anyone wants to buy Kier homes please don't! Their houses are full of problems...we found 19 faults after we bought the house and both bathrooms have been fixed by them 3 times now and they are still leaking! The road is still in darkness as they have not sent it to the Council and have kept lying to us that they will but we just received news from the Council that that was not their intention at all and it is going to stay private and Kier keeps pushing us towards the Council and lately not even bothering to respond to our emails. We have drunks and drugs on our street as it is in dark and quite safe for them to hang around here, and it is quite scary to be honest. All my neighbours Have had similar problems with Kier and to be honest I regret buying with them...should have waited a bit longer and bought it with Barratt Homes. Please don't do the same mistake I did. If you are reading this review stay away from Kier! Not worth the trouble!