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.

so the "corrective meeting" with them wasnt helpful in the end??

unfortunately not. And unfortunately, unless you are a qualified builder and construction PM yourself, you do not realise the poor quality of finishing until it is finished.

Will not be commenting much more though as we have contacted FMB and will be pursuing the arbitration route. Which will cause more disruption to the family and prolong our inability to "Live" in house...

I would just stress "do not use"

Did anyone notice it appears that Build Team was almost struck off last summer? beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07249621/filing-history

sorry to hear they are still causing misery for people.

thats interesting sore nipples.

It's been a long time but, having just come across their name again, I just wanted to re-iterate just what an awful company Build Team was to us - all aspects of work shoddy, zero control of subcontractors, highly defensive and aggressive staff, only good at issuing invoices and a complete absence of any concern or care for customers. Proceed at your own peril.

Amazingly, we've just had a visit from one of the (many) builders which Build Team sent to our site over the year plus of hell they put us through. Suffice to say, it's crystal clear that Mark Eden was fully aware of the awfulness of the 'service' being provided. We lost so much money because of this dreadful company, not to mention the damage they wreaked on our home.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, I cannot stress this enough use either an architect or chartered architectural technologist to draw up plans and building control for extensions or loft conversation. Do not use a design build company as you will encounter problems.

@Jasmine12345 well done for picking up on their insurance situation. Not everyone would think to do that.

An interesting read here: www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Build-Team-EI_IE1919825.11,21.htm

• Manager has a condescending, bullying nature.
• Bullying female staff out of the company for being pregnant.
• The owners are bullying, making graduates feel small and worthless.
• No training provided to staff and employees.
• The directors trample on own mission statements in the pursuit of a penny.

Hi. I see this BuildTeam thread is still going on in 2020. I must say I am amazed they are still trading, and feel obliged to report that I myself had a truly awful experience with this company - all of the same issues that are reported by multiple users in this thread. If you are considering engaging with this company, I cannot encourage you strongly enough not to. Steer completely clear of them, you will have only trouble in my view - a view which 188 messages on this thread, continuing over a period of 4-5 years, does rather seem to confirm.

Thank you to everyone who took time to contribute to this thread. The thread has helped with my decision making.

Sad to say I am another victim of this company. Currently attempting to work with them to make things right by us after a loft extension project that has been going on for a year now.

They said they want to make this right but the other day I got an email with a miniscule amount of money (that will not cover even 1/4 of the remaining work) being offered with the caveat :

"Acceptance of this final financial settlement figure would constitute as the completion of the works in total and the full closure of the project and the project files. Build Team will supply all warrantees and the 10 year guarantee as per the contract terms."

It felt so slimy and wrong that they sent this after I initially saying they would 1. Finish the job 2. Fix any outstanding issues at their cost and 3. Review and compensate us where they have failed us.

I rejected their offer and they are now going to review again. I really hope they have learned from past mistakes and do as they said they would do.

I've just read this entire thread with my mouth open. I'm so sorry people are still suffering at the hands of this company.

I'm so sorry this is still going on. As shipwrecked survivor of the dreadful lack of integrity of this company I had hardly had the strength to check back to see if this thread was still active. Our story was the one that created all the original drama and my heart goes out to anyone that finds themselves embroiled in a situation with BT. The fact that they are still out there and operating a successful business means that sometimes they must actually get it right. However when they get it wrong, buckle up
Good luck out there

Hi Daisy123abc. "Shipwrecked survivor of the dreadful lack of integrity of this company" is exactly the right phrase! Applies to me too. Just had a private message from another user describing troubles with this company that remind me of our miserable experience with them years ago.

Following-up to my initial post with how things finished between us and BT. I feel like that's the fair thing to do.

After that initial offer we had further discussions. They apologised and made sure everything was fixed and working as it should (at their expense) and additionally offered to give me a sum of money to use towards my upcoming decoration expenses as a good-will gesture.

So while my building experience initially didn't go as I thought it would - I can happily say that Buildteam (Mark Eden specifically) and I have left on good terms and they did right by me. I believe that they have learned from their past failings and are actually striving to be better. At least that's the impression I have now after seeing how they were willing to work with me, do the right thing, and find an amicable solution.

Yel is another good site for leaving comments - we got conned by a cleaning company (end of tenant from hell tenancy) they claimed they could do the job & I later read of others bad experiences on YEL the only places that they didn't take them down

I had them for clients for 4 years as a freelancer to program their website and I know how the bosses work.

• No clear instructions. You have to guess what they want.
• They often unresponsive.
• They ignore questions you may have.
• They could take weeks or even months to pay your invoices.
• They have an incredible roll up of staff. I've witnessed quite a bunch of people in their team I worked in cunjunction with disappear after a couple of weeks.
• They don't value expertise and excellent work. They want the cheapest price.
• They promise you things that are never to come true.

I quit when I was realising that all the work I used to do was performed by other persons. Naturally I wasn't warned of anything. All behind my back.

The only positive thing about this company is thay have an excellent photograph who may things look very pretty. Are they in reality?

My friend, I am sorry to hear your experience, but I am also not surprised. In my experience this was the worst company I ever dealt with. Of course I am only one person, and others may have found them joyously competent and customer focused, but I did not. Rather, I found them unhelpful, unreliable and always unwilling to admit or fix problems or errors of their own making. And, based on my interactions with “BuildTeam”, I would agree with your analysis that the problems start from the top. Which is really sad to see. In my opinion, anyone thinking of engaging these guys should carefully read this entire thread before taking a decision.

Thank you, we were spoken to with condescension by the leaders, as if we were still an old colony of Great Britain, that we were their serfs, and no matter how much we explained a problem when one arose, they did not understand that they would always get the same response to the same technical question and insisted on asking the question until we told them off. I had really had enough when they started ignoring all my questions and instead answered with other questions demanding an immediate response. No respect. When they began to sense that I was rebelling, they started addressing their emails with "dear friend," somewhat like the Chinese auto translators do. Pathetic. Leaving was the best decision I took this year.

Daisy’s work lives on. We received a smart leaflet through the door today from Buildteam, so I was compelled to share the guardian article with our neighbourhood group!