“Very very poor attitude and standards.
We bought a property at Parklands in Aberdeen (Managing Director Mike Naysmith).
Private road, footpath were left in poor condition. Residents hired a surveyor. Please see below a just few points from the survey (to mention all points I have to write a book) and my comments:
The tarmac roadways are poorly finished. The bitumen joining is incomplete in places.
After the development was completed, kerbs at the DISABLED parking space were already broken and uneven. In my view it called "TRIP HAZARD".
The tarmac poorly finished at the edges, around drains and at joins.
The tactile paving at the end of the paths was so badly installed it is already crumbling.
The path installed between the front door and the bin store and disabled parking spaces is uneven and has slopes in two directions.
It makes the path difficult for people with mobility problems and dangerous in slippery conditions. I don't think CALA cares, that is my view but again I am not a builder.
The path stops before the door entry system which means people in wheelchairs cannot reach the doorbells.
This problem is so serious it would probably FAIL an accessibility test for buildings regulations. That what it says in the report.
The surface does not slope towards the drain enough and it is uneven. So when it rains water does not flow away and lies in puddles on the surface and slabs are already cracked.
Installation of gutters and down-pipes were poorly installed. The elbow joints are UPSIDE DOWN and backwards, and joints in the pipes are only held in place by mastic. A leaf guard on the roof didn't install and the downpipes have clogged with debris. There are any gutters etc for the bike stores and these flood when it rains.
All of these issues have been raised with CALA previously. Customer Service Manager Stuart Moggach was at AGM with Parklands residents in January 2020. He heard about the issues from the residents. CALA Homes in Aberdeen acknowledge the surveyor report but has refused to fix the problems with the development.”
“Very poor after sale customer services. Have been chasing problems for 3 years now and Cala do not respond. Would highly recommend another builder to purchase from.”
“This is our 3rd Cala property in the same estate, kinnaird village Larbert, first one hardly any issues, one we are in now a bit more but nothing serious, bought a flat to let out as an investment and there are lots more issues, very surprised and disappointed. It seems to me that it's been rushed. The staff are lovely, site manager too but I think it's coming from above to get the money in, at least that's how it feels. I now have a tennant in who will be disrupted by workmen coming in to fix all the issues, not a good advertisement for Cala at all.”
“Sales team gave wrong information and kept on blaming their new computer system for all the errors. Customer support non existent thankfully on site manager good but that’s only one person.
Home well built but problems with social housing and noise Cala then say nothing to do with them despite numerous others complaining.”
“Stay away from Cala Homes.
We purchased a property nearly 2 years ago and at first they were very professional up until they received our money.
We have had several major issues and all you get are lies and denial.
Just to get their attention we have had to threaten legal action before any progress ever begins. And even then the resolution was not always satisfactory
If I listed all my issues there would not be enough space here to type them all up.
Now we are coming to the end of our two years and all they seem to be doing is wasting our time knowing it will not be their problem once the two years have past.
Dont fall for their trap like we did.
They are all liers and twist their words.
Was suppose to be our dream home but has been a nonstop nighmare.
Suppose to be a 5* property, I could have made a better home out of card board.
All workers are apprentice so quality of work is very poor.
I now have to get in independant suppliers and pay out of my own pocket to fix issues that Cala Homes should have fixed.
Looking forwards to selling the place and using a more professional developer who are 5* rather than think they are 5*.
Cala Homes you should be ashamed on how you treat all you customers.
Nearley 30 properties in this area built by you and they all share the same view.”
“Sadly Cala Homes are very uncaring about where they build. They literally will build anywhere, including last little bits of green areas, or by making single track lanes near schools dangerous for children. They are arrogant and treat consultation as a tick box exercise. They try to get away with the minimum and only do the right thing when forced. There is no way I would ever buy a house from Cala Homes.”
“cala homes specialise, in poor quality of workmanship, it is the only thing they excel in, that along with, their hopeless communication skills, they seem to think they are a government agency when you ask for the name of their directors clerks of works quality assurance managers, they claim they dont give out such info, they should actually be banned from building anything apart, from maybe lego sets.”
“We are currently trying to buy. Cala home in Pirton. This whole experience has been a nightmare. We are due to move in on Friday - as of today (Wednesday) the building is not ready - it apparently failed it’s building inspection on Monday. Bearing in mind we were told that we could move in 4 weeks ago if we wished this is a little late in the day to be finding that it’s got problems.
We need to organise washing machine/dryer etc but can’t,. We don’t know if we’ll be living there or not (can you imagine the extra hassle of living in a house with no washer etc when you’ve got two small boy?)
This is just the last in a whole catalogue of issues. Cala are usually very pleasant on the phone and are always quick to blame every and all delays on someone else. And if they promise a phone call back - forget it.
We’ve got furniture packed, schools places arranged, removers booked and we’re still not sure if we’ll move - 2 days from now!
Cala could not make it more stressful if they tried.”
“Buyers beware...
I recently read an article where Stuart Moggach, customer experience manager at CALA Homes (North) said: “At CALA Homes, the customer journey is of the upmost importance, from start to finish."
Well, let me tell you about my experience with purchasing a property from CALA. We were misled from day one: extremely poor quality of workmanship, dishonesty about future developments plans and the quality of the sound insulation. During the past 2.5 years I've had around 62 visits from CALA and wrote around 180 emails. The whole flooring was redone, major work with pipes, all windows and a patio door had to be changed due to damage during their installation and later on had to be re-sealed because of leakage. My bath panel was re-installed 2 weeks ago after 20 months - I had to write to the Managing Director because the Customer Service Manager wouldn't organise it. After living in my property for 2 and a half years, neither the communal lights nor the fire alarm system is working properly. This isn't an experience I would wish on anyone. I'm not the only one at this development who feels this way and our "customer journey" has been a been a very stressful one.”
“Not what you expect from a “premium house builder”. Seem more interested in saving themselves money than doing the right thing for their customers. Certainly no quality of aftercare once you’ve completed.
We have snags dating back to 2017 notification awaiting rectification (they’ve agreed to the works) and a major snag reported in January 2018 which is still not repaired despite being a health and safety risk.
Another major issue which will go to arbitration backed by independent contractors who have reported on their defective workmanship. Many, many hours and days expended for phone calls, emails and site visits only to be completely let down.
All in all we’ve totally lost confidence in Cala Homes.”
“House is good but the customer service is worst , they say they will do all snags in 6 weeks ... its been 4 months now and my floor is swollen since 30 days in the house .... the ceilings are chipping off ... the silicon sealant work is messy .. may be my 3 year old could do better ... dont be fooled by the few homes and their gardens ... we are on the inside road in whitehouse and our front Gardens are awful they said the others were done by sales .. not our road .”
“I have to say, I am a Dual US/UK Citizen. In the past I held a General Contractors license in FL. Grew up around all new developments. I currently live across the street, from a new Cala development, Waterfront Plaza, and I am on the 9th floor and watch construction every day, I can say, they appear to be the poorest quality construction, by any standard, and there is no possible way they could even remotely get a COO (Certificate of Occupancy) in the states. Not to mention they think putting 3 Bedroom and 1.5 Baths in 600 Square Feet/ 56 Square Meters and try selling for over £325K. Not to mention all appliances are the poorest quality you could buy, lucky if they would even last the 1st year.”
“GREAT HOUSES, NOT SO GREAT MORALS
My family moved into a new CALA home during 2018. The house is fantastic - we love it! Brilliantly designed to be highly practical and stylish. Yes, there is a premium on CALA houses, but it's worth it and not as big as it seems when you compare what you get for the money when compared to other builders. Storage, for example, is ample and then some. Fixtures and fittings are high quality. Everything you reasonably want or need is included rather than extra.
Snagging has been relatively minor, and by and large well dealt with. Not perfect, but in the context of typical customer service levels in the UK, well above average. The service in the sales office was perfect - truly flawless!
Unfortunately, despite all of the above, we have been left with a bad taste in our mouth. CALA have confirmed that they consider prejudice and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender to be acceptable.
How have I established that....? In the midst of the family-centred community CALA have built is a section of open ground in the so-called "village centre", designated for a pub/restaurant. Rather than play their part in ensuring they met their promise in that respect, or at least provided some similar community access building for us all to use, they have given their consent to a "church" to build there, whose publicly stated position is that homosexuality is "wrong", there is no such thing as same-sex marriage, and anyone attracted to someone of the same sex must live a single and celibate life. They believe in gender roles, whereby women are precluded from performing some roles reserved for men. These are only examples of their prejudiced outlook, which are far too lengthy to list here. Suffice to say, they're not the sort of people that the majority of our society would associate with or relate to.
Making matters worse, this land is immediately adjacent to our primary school, a location the church note to be "ideal", for reasons they have refused to explain.
As would be expected, a great many people in our community have reacted with dismay and disbelief at the suggestion that these people should be even considered for a place amongst us. See here for more information:
https://m.facebook.com/nogracechurch/
The obvious concerns have been raised with CALA, not that it should have been necessary. They gave their consent for this abhorrent "church" to apply to join our community. It remains within their power to act responsibly and stop it. To help to deliver something suitable instead. They have chosen not to, and when asked to confirm they do not accept or approve of the church's prejudicial and discriminatory views, they declined to do so.
In summary, if you want a nice house and very good service, CALA are a great choice. If you're looking for a principled company to deal with, they're not so hot at that and don't seem to care about the community of customers they've sold their houses to, some of whom will be prejudiced against as a direct result of their choices.
This was an outstanding opportunity for CALA to demonstrate corporate responsibility on a subject where others have done so recently in similar circumstances. They have failed abjectly.”
“CALA Homes produce lovely houses designed to a high spec, the problems arise after you are in and the plot is now your home, trying to get the inevitable snagging issues fixed, again it's not the quality of the workmanship but the lack of correspondence or information to try to get your issues looked into, nothing happens without stress, hassle and aggravation, it seems once they have your money you are no longer a priority to them.”
