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.

I have never heard of that expression before, I won't forget it now

Fantastic effort Daisy - I read the thread with interest a while ago and couldn't believe what you were going through. Having read the Guardian article, I think we may have been acquainted in the past!

Ooh all we need now is The DM to jump on this c'Mon DO you owe us

c'Mon DM you do owe us even

You're right Pausing, though Barbra probably looks back now and thinks "I completely BuildteamofClaphamed that up".

And you're back in Google's search results!

Omg. Wow. This thread has been utterly fascinating. I've got halfway to Newcastle without even realising! As someone about to do building work I feela bit scared. And completely outraged that BuildTeam appear to be such bullies (love the unintentional Freudian slip of BuildTeam Adan's use of "veracity " above ). Whether or not their work was of poor standard I can't imagine anyone wanting to use them after their apparent alleged attempts to cover up and threaten people. Incredible.

According the website of Build Team, their managing director Dan Davidson is a finalist in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

buildteam.com/press_releases/dan-davidson-is-selected-as-a-finalist-in-the-great-british-entrepreneur-awards.html

Never heard of the awards, but I don't see it helps them to be associated with a company which behaves as Build Team have been described doing on this thread.

Just to say I've had a fascinating hour reading this thread, being both interested in manipulation of Internet searches and also living near Clapham and having an extension and side return done! Thank you to all posters.

And much sympathy to OP - we had a similar company do our loft but I don't think the owner of the firm named after a Greek goddess is still in the building trade, partly because DP and I were much better project managers than he was, hired all his workers, paid them promptly and got the job done without losing much money, but it was a terrible year of stress. Though the electrician did go and beat up the builder which was well deserved and we ended up defending the lad in court...

Some more "interesting reading" on gotohomestay. For a Home improvements ticks and trips site, an article about "The best solution for contaminated soil New Jersey" seems tenuous, but "Great Ideas for unique Business Names" seems completely irrelevant. Can anyone translate "It’s not completely clear climate anybody even distinguishes with inevitability what the dangers are".

Unrelated I see that build teams google review is improving. Gone from something like 2.6 with 39 reviews to 3.2 with 30 reviews. I have no insight into how genuine this is as there potentially are fake negatives, fake positives and removed genuine negatives.

OP - congratulations on the Guardian article, and getting this thread reinstated in google searches. I hope your house is getting sorted, and there is some kind of closure for you from this horrible ordeal. This thread has become bigger than just your case and so may be subject to the occasional bump/review of gotohomestay's latest articles (I am an avid reader).

Daisy123abc
Zoro44
Zoeblask
pippasdonkey
MotherK01

I am seeking more info about BuildTeam. Would you be available to discuss your experience somehow? Zoeblask I am keen to find out more about your group. Thank you

Wish I had seen this thread a couple of months ago! We are currently using them for an L extensions and and have had nothing but problems since the contract was agreed! While the building workers are nice and seem good, the project management and delays caused by the management/corporate team are absurd. Do not recommend this service to anyone.

Wow just read this thread. Intense stuff!

Douglas Bush appears to have retracted his review from "gotohomestay" , after he was so upset that it was "plagiarised" on this site. Here's a screenshot showing it in place. Full content available on request.

If anyone out there (can't think who) is trying to erase this event from history and maybe discredit this thread, remember you also need to try and revoke the DMCA request. That is now living testament to everything that happened.
www.lumendatabase.org/notices/12083648

Following my earlier post, we have been able to meet with the build team for a corrective meeting and found them to be helpful and engaged. I know it has only been two days, but it has been a very (VERY) productive couple of days and feels more like a partnership. Hopefully it continues this way and will update on how it goes.

Well sydenham dad, it's a shame that things were allowed to progress that badly with buildteam to the point that you needed a "corrective meeting" and a shame that they were not more helpful and engaged beforehand.

The more cynical among us who have followed this thread would suspect that your later post is a condition of getting things back on track. That's fair enough, I do indeed hope that this works out for you.

To anyone reading reading this thread, I think it speaks for itself....

Understand the skepticism Imip. Was not a condition though, just commenting that they have made an effort and wanted to reflect that. As mentioned, hopefully it continues positively and will give a concluding thought/view when the work finishes.

Hello all.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM!!
Has anyone successfully taken them to court?
I have a court case pending against Build Team as they refuse to refund me the money I have paid to for a service I have not received. I am having to do the plans myself now as all the money we had set aside to update our family home is firmly in their pockets.

In the planning phase mistakes occurred at every level and every single one of the 10 documents they put in the planning application have fundamental errors in. Too many to list, but these include walls drawn at the wrong angle, wrong length, peculiar scales and even the design statement having someone else's address and type of house on!

They also recommend schemes without any liaison with planning officers or knowledge of the local planning rules and restrictions.

We accepted an offer to restart the process but the same mistakes started happening again.

Someone mentioned on these posts about approaching the building ombudsman. We did and Build Team will not respond to them.

Please steer clear of them, they are a very junior team lead by a slick salesman who loves to take your money.

Could Daisy123abc and Zoeblask or anyone else let me know how you have got on please? It may be of some help.

Many thanks,
Nick.

I really hope the "corrective" meeting did the trick SydenhamDad...

I'm not cynical at all about BuildTeam and their tactics. its clear that their online profile is very important to them and they defend it all costs.

I am now wondering how long NickLeithC's post will last before it is deleted?

do we want to take bets?

Hello,
I think my original post has been taken down. If so I will repost the details in their entirety.

But I cannot stress how much you should AVOID this company!

It is run and marketed by someone with no qualifications in building, supported by a very inexperienced team.

After paying a considerable amount of money, I have at no point received one workable document. The ombudsman could get no response from them at all.

Silly question Nick - is there a reason you are trying to use the Ombudsman? which one out of interest?

Hi BumbleNova,
We contacted the The Consumer Ombudsman at www.ombudsman-services.org. And received this reply:
'The company has declined to engage with us, therefore we are not able to investigate your issues.'
This was to try and resolve the many issues we have had with Build Team and avoid having to take court action.

am looking at choosing a builder and was wondering if federation of master builders membership offered any kind of reassurance of quality. Then I noted build team of holborn was a member.

Has anyone complained to FMB? Are they completely ineffective?

In the past I've been reassured by membership of FMB - but in reality I've heard it doesn't mean much. I've done a number of refurbs in London and the best building team I used weren't members, mainly because the majority of their work was subbed out to them by a high end firm who is a member. I found it way easier (and cheaper) dealing direct with a team although I did get lucky as their attention to detail was very high.

Do not use this firm. Quality of work is poor and they do not project manage the build other than for invoicing gateways.