Dream move into Banbury new build turns into nightmare

A Banbury teen's dream move into a new house quickly turned into a nightmare after a major construction fault was discovered causing damage and health problems, culminating in a court case against the landlord.
The Bloxham Vale developmentThe Bloxham Vale development
The Bloxham Vale development

The teen, who we shall refer to as Jill Smith as she doesn't want to be identified, moved into the home on the Bloxham Vale Redrow Homes development on May 1 last year, but by the end of June the bedroom, bathroom and living area were beset by black mould.

"I've had quite a few chest infections and its made me really depressed and my dog has had seizures because of it. I started to notice his reverse sneezing in July and then he had a fit."

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" I have all the evidence from the vet saying it is most likely because of the mould," said Jill.

Bloxham ValeBloxham Vale
Bloxham Vale

At the first sign of the mould, before any health problems had manifested, the landlord, Bromford Homes, were made aware and asked to investigate, eventually visiting the effected home in January.

"I've tried getting them out, Bromford. Because they're my landlord I have to go through them to get to Redrow. It actually took until the 16th of January for someone to come out and look at the mould.

She added: "When they came out they did a thermal image of the outside and they they said there is no insulation in a part of the wall."

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Before the thermal imaging another team had visited the home to do a cavity endoscope, a small hole is drilled into the wall and a camera inserted to view the inside of the wall where insulation is supposed to be, a visit Jill and her father had issues with.

"They just did the bedroom wall (with the endoscope). But they were trying to tell my dad that there was flock, but my dad knows and he could see it wasn't, but they were trying to persuade my dad to say there was flock in there."

There can be no dispute about the absence of insulating flock in four of the Bloxham Vale flats as a short time later a Max Energy team arrived at the property.

Jill said: "I was woken up by people drilling in the wall. It turns out they were pumping the insulation in without telling me. They sent me a letter the day before saying that they're doing work and that they'll be noise disturbance in the area. They didn't say it's going to be my flat. So I wasn't aware that this was happening.

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"I was talking to them and they said they were doing the front and the back, so they must have known there was no insulation in front as they were pumping it in.

"I took photos and videos, they did mine, my next door neighbour and the people above us. That's where they missed insulation."

Despite the landlord and home builder finally getting the home finished to a habitable standard the teen's nightmare is still going on as in the interim period between reporting the mould and something being done about the cause, thousands of pounds worth of soft furnishings, carpets and bedding had been damaged by mould.

"So I've put into small claims to get the money back. Obviously, all my stuff has been ruined and furniture that I've had to throw away. But they're (Bromford and Redrow) kind of trying to find other reasons why some mould could be growing because they don't obviously want to take responsibility for it.

"It's ridiculous."

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At a hearing in Oxford on February 11, Bromford tried to get the case dismissed on a technicality.

"It was Bromford's application hearing as they had applied to get the case stricken out on the grounds that I that I hadn't followed the right protocol before I put a complaint into the court.

"But the judge was really good about it and he said, 'No, I'll give her a chance to do the protocol and then we'll look at all the evidence. And then obviously, they'll give another trial date.

She added: "But the judge was saying it shouldn't be going to court. It shouldn't get to the trial date, because they should settle."

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Having failed to get the case thrown out Bromford then made a request for further independent analysis to be done, which will cost the teen hundreds of pounds.

Jill said: "I think Bromford want to carry on to court, but we've just agreed on an expert to come out and look at everything. They want to try and put the blame on me somehow and they think getting this expert is going to put the blame on me. There's nothing wrong I'm doing to this flat (to cause the mould)."

Amanda Swann, Bromford’s development director, said: “While we cannot comment on the specifics of live legal proceedings, we do think it is incredibly important that every customer living in a Bromford home has somewhere they are happy with and which enables them to thrive.

"We are working closely with Redrow and the customer to address the issues raised with us and hope to find an acceptable solution as quickly as possible.

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“Every customer is given advice on how best to deal with issues like damp and mould when they first move into a new property and we can confirm there have been no further issues of this nature raised with us by customers on the Bloxham Vale estate.”

A Redrow spokesperson added: “We are aware of ongoing legal proceedings and, although we are not a party to the action, do not think it is appropriate to comment on a case currently before the court.

“We can confirm that the issues relating to this home have all been resolved.”

Jill added: "We're not entirely sure which other properties don't have insulation. When they came around they did four, my next door neighbour and and the two others above us. But they didn't want to tell us that.

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"Also in court they were saying that it was just the rear of my property without insulation when I've got videos and pictures of the front being done as well.

"It's getting to be a bit of a joke now."

The case continues.

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