Buildteam - Clapham based company "Side return specialists"

[Daisy123abc]

Hello world. Has anyone else used this company?
I am seeking others who may have had issues similar to the ones we have experienced in order to convince me that it wasn't all just our bad luck.
We are in recovery (and may need therapy) from using Buildteam's services. A truly ghastly experience which has included: delays, empty promises, appalling customer service, hidden costs, serious disinterest in quality, non English speaking workforce, major building errors, staff changes, some dishonesty, absent project management etc.
The list goes on and on.
Given our experience, their shiny website now reads like an imaginative comedy script detailing all the things we didn't get. I have a huge file (think dossier) of documented evidence, including video, which provides examples of how we didn't. Blog, book, TV series and movie to follow. Maybe.
Who are all these happy customers? Why aren't I one of them?
If you are thinking of a side return I am happy to share details so you can make your own mind up but if you want my advice, don't go there.

[TheBestChocolateIsFree]

They have a listing on MN Local. local.mumsnet.com/wandsworth/builders/118682-side-return-extension-company. You should probably review. Also Google reviews.

[Loftyjen]

Blimey - reading this I feel like we had a lucky escape; saw them to get a quote & met the v charming Dan (IIRC) who made everything sound lovely & so easy; can't even remember what first set our spidey senses tingling, but funnily enough I started a thread on the EDF about them & got enough info to put us off.
We're a few weeks off completion of our side return project having ended up using Prestige Build - reading above makes me realise how lucky we've been to have consistency in project management, ease of contact & how problems have been dealt with.
It has cost more than we anticipated (am bit scared to know full amount) but some of that is them resolving damp issues in our lounge, but there were also things on our (seemingly v through) quote didn't include/didn't include to the level we realised we needed & am resigned to the fact there's lots more decorating to do through the house once complete.
We've moved out during the work & will have been out for about 22wks when we move back (Would have been 20wks w/o Xmas shut down & 2 further 2 wks of delays were due to discovering a main drain right by our planned foundations & wrong size steels being delivered!) Hope your work is finished v soon & am so sad to hear your awful experience x

[Daisy123abc]

Thank you so much for your reply. It is good to know we are not the only ones out there. I noticed that Buildteam have the TrustMark logo on their sign which has been up outside our house for the last 5 months, although this endorsement is not to be seen on their website. I emailed TrustMark and they have informed me that Buildteam are not even registered with them. What is the EDF thread? Is it still available?

[Loftyjen]

As Dulwichquine said, it looks like the threads have been deleted (never a good sign when a business asks for mentions +ve or -ve to be deleted).

I've just ploughed through all my old posts as knee I started a thread on them myself, but it's vanished.

[dulwichquine]

The East Dulwich Forum threads have been deleted. There are also poor reviews on Nappy Valley.

[Daisy123abc]

Well, the plot thickens. I assume that must indicate that they are in some sort of formal dispute which doesn't surprise me.
Meanwhile they are trying to achieve a hasty completion on our overrun project with a complete absence of professional interest in the quality or standard of the work.

[Zoeblask]

Hi all and Daisy
We are also unfortunately victims of build team and are currently in a legal dispute with them over the shocking quality of work - an independent surveyor has checked the works and sadly, the majority of the works need re-doing to meet basic standards. I was heavily pregnant when they were doing our side return and I'm still recovering from the trauma of it all. We had a very similar experience to Daisy; zero customer service, 3 equally ineffectual project managers, delays, very poor quality and only focused on sticking to the payment schedule.
PLEASE review on Google, as we have discovered Build Team contact forums with negative posts and threaten them with legal action unless the forums remove the posts - this is what happened with Dulwich Forum and also Nappy Valley. They will find it harder to bully google.

I am so sorry you have had the same experience as is and I only hope collectively we can do enough that this doesn't happen to anyone else.

[Zoeblask]

Meant to say, we also have a group email of 6 other 'victims' all of whom have had the same experience; if you send me your email (not sure if you can do private message) I will add you onto it

[Celeriacacaca]

Do what we did with our hopeless loft conversion company. Put a big sign in your window saying the name of the company and then "Week 22 of a 14 week build" and each week update the number. By the third week we had the MD of the company in the house demanding that we took it down (which we wouldn't) and we actually held back the final payment of c£3k because there were so many errors and things that needed correcting. They chased it for a few weeks and then realised we had too much evidence on their crap work, including a copies of a couple of letters of complaint from previous jobs the dopey foreman had left lying around...

[rioblue]

Celeriacacaca - that is such a great strategy, love your work!!
I'm about to embark on work to my house and Build Team are one of the contenders - this thread has been VERY eye opening. So I'm no help to you OP but thanks for raising and I hope you are now at least able to enjoy your new space now it's over - sounds like a complete ordeal :(

[Daisy123abc]

Dear all,

Thank you for your contributions to this discussion.

I wanted to let you know that in the interest of "parting amicably" we have been directly approached by Build Team who have asked that this review be taken down.

Mumsnet have responded to our request and in turn have reasonably stated that before anything is removed, a post needs to be made to the thread in order to explain the deletion of any comments.

[Peyia]

Bloody hell. If they put more effort into the work they wouldn't have to stalk forums. I did think this might happen, as it had already been mentioned they get people to bring reviews down.

Build team, if you're reading the damage is done. Word of mouth spreads quickly.

[rioblue]

Daisy - If you don't mind me asking, what is your motivation for taking it down? Have they threatened some sort of legal action - or offered you a sum of money by way of compensation?
If your original post was a true reflection of your experience then I don't see the issue with posts like these. I think it's really worrying that companies are getting involved like this. It's not like hotpoint or other manufacturers go around trying to get reviews of their products removed. Very worrying. Things go wrong all the time, mistakes are made, I think most people understand and accept this - but the way a company responds to such things speaks volumes. And their scouring forums like this to have posts removed has put me off them even more than your original complaint.

[rioblue]

Also this comment from Alaska...
One positive review did appear however the Administrator spotted that it came from an IP address registered to Build Team.

Plus the fact that they advertise Trustmark logo but are not registered...

One can only ask whether the slick facade is only just that?!

[FatherReboolaConundrum]

their scouring forums like this to have posts removed has put me off them even more than your original complaint.

Exactly, so counterproductive. There's a letting agent in Cambridge that is notorious for doing this - lots of people knew they were cowboys, but then they started bullying local message boards into removing negative comments about them (even obviously ludicrous ones about them being so evil they ate kittens) and putting up fake positive reviews of themselves. Now everyone knows that not only are they shit, which we knew already, but they are so unbelievably shit that they have to suppress all real comments about them and make up fake ones.

Anyway, good luck with the ongoing quest for successful brand management Buildteam of Clapham.

[Zorro44]

Rioblue - we are another set of Build Team's victims. On the basis of our own experience, it would be utter madness to use Build Team on your project. It's just been awful, from start to (not yet) finish. The work they have done is shoddy, hugely overrun, the company is horrendous to deal with, they have no control of their contractors, they cut corners, take responsibility for nothing etc - they only thing they do very well indeed is issue invoices. Every negative review I have seen rings 100% true on the basis of our experience, including the very many which have been removed. Our own problems started at the design phase in which we were left to identify absurd mistakes ("there will be a charge to amend the drawings..."). Er, what ? We should have cut our losses long ago and we're still paying the price now. Just ghastly.

[alaska721]

Maybe it's worth copying and pasting this thread (to save in a word doc or email) before it gets forcibly removed. If you know anyone considering this company it could be shown to them so they get a balanced view of the company.

[pippasdonkey]

There aren't words available to describe how bad Buildteam are. What was supposed to be a dream for us turned into my worst ever experience. Thank you to my friends and colleagues for providing support on this. We have no finished product and are very concerned at what lurks under the façade. Don't go near them.

[imip]

I keep seeing this thread pop up every now and hen. There is a property ombudsman you can take your complaints to???

[FoodPorn]

Why is Mumsnet taking this down? Surely this is fair comment in the interests of all of us?