We bought our dream home for £385,000 but our kitchen was unusable as it was filled with MOULD with soaking wet walls
A COUPLE claim their £385,000 new-build home had an unusable kitchen three days after moving in. Sallyann Smith, 23, and fiancé Gareth Hawkins, 26, found a severe mould infestation which, with no extractor fans, meant they could not cook. They claimed there was mould under the cupboards and thick black mould under the skirting board […]
A COUPLE claim their £385,000 new-build home had an unusable kitchen three days after moving in.
Sallyann Smith, 23, and fiancé Gareth Hawkins, 26, found a severe mould infestation which, with no extractor fans, meant they could not cook.
They claimed there was mould under the cupboards and thick black mould under the skirting board after they picked up the keys for the house in Maldon, Essex, last July.
And after Crest Nicholson eventually investigated, the kitchen was taken apart and put it back but with no oven, with the cupboards taken out and holes in the wall.
Sallyann told the Mirror: “One of the customer services employees came in and said it smelt bad, to which I responded: ‘Yes, I know. And you expect me to live like this.’
“We were left with literally no kitchen – back top the bare block because of mould. I was washing my dishes in the dining room with a bucket while eight months pregnant.”
Crest Nicholson offered them a hotel room but Sallyann did not want to stay there for months while heavily pregnant.
It came after several delays in moving into the property initially.
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The day before they were meant to move in, and after paying £30,500 to Crest Nicholson, they were told the property had no services, including heating.
Several more weeks of delays meant they missed out on the stamp duty holiday, adding £3,000 to their fees.
Sallyann said: “We asked if they would pay it for us or take it off the house price but they refused.
“We had already paid the deposit by that point so we felt backed into a corner.”
They finally have a kitchen but are thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Sallyann added: “The house was inhabitable. I have sent them the breakdown of costs four times.
“It amounts to around £5,000, including all the times I had to miss work because I’d been told someone was coming to inspect the property – when often no one turned up.”
They are still waiting for the regional director to get back to them but separate employees allegedly told the couple it is not Crest Nicholson policy to pay compensation.
A spokeswoman told the Mirror: “We are aware of Mrs Smith’s concerns and, following various assessments, have now successfully completed all works relating to her kitchen.
“We continue to be in conversation with Mrs Smith and hope to draw the matter to a satisfactory close for all parties concerned as soon as possible.”
