Avant Homes Midlands Derby reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful system for reserving houses!

Awful system for reserving houses!Nov-19 we visited a new Avant sales office interested in purchasing a house. We wanted one specific plot which was not released yet but was told we could leave our contact details and they would contact us as soon as it was released. Today I phoned up the sales office only to be told they had sold the plot we were waiting for and there was nothing they could do. 9 months of waiting, checking the website, phoning up and visiting the office regularly asking for updates.. all for nothing. This is appalling from the customer service team. I appreciate nothing can be done now but I am writing this to warn others not to rely on the sales team to notify them of available plots because they don’t!!This is the city fields development. Would also like to mention the sales staff told us a “slight” spec change would happen however if you actually analyse the old spec and new spec there’s is many hidden changes they do not warn you about!!! All the added extras that made Avant the “high end” brand have been taken away.Ps. Avant try to remove reviews they don’t like.

Lauren · 24 October 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pathetic customer care + quality

Further to writing this review me and my partner luckily found an old photo that we sent to Avant about our ensuite leaking, this photo was taken days after we moved in and in the corner of the photo was clearly a plug with NO chrome fitting on.. This is the same chrome fitting that the plumber told Avant that he was 'adamant' that we had one because otherwise he would have put it in his report. We originally weren't that bothered about the fitting but it soon turned into a matter of principle because no matter how many times I told them we didn't have it in the first place they turned around and told me we must have had one, therefore suggesting that me and my partner were being dishonest. Something that I do not appreciate at all especially when we now have photographic evidence that it was in fact the plumber and Avant who were plain and simply lying.First things first, it seems an insult to me and my family that I have to give Avant Homes 1 star. The level of 'customer care' is absolutely pathetic as is the final build quality. We understood fully that moving into a new build we would initially have small snags here and there as not everything can be perfect. What we wasn't aware of is that our house had missing water drainage system above our bi-folds and our front door. We actually got told that its quite normal for a front door to leak water in when it rains heavy, laughable really. Next noticeable issue was our vinyl flooring which had to be replaced 5 times in total due to lack of quality and in the end we gave in on the 5th try, the vinyl was fine but the fitter decided he would go for an extra thick bead of silicone which now sticks out like a sore thumb. Whilst on the subject of silicone sealing, everywhere is just a mess but apparently that doesn't fall under the warranty as it is up to us to 'maintain' it. What they actually mean is re-do it all by yourself. We had mould growing in our ensuite bathroom glass because it wasn't sealed properly, once again down to 'maintenance' Avant also practically called me and my partner a liar because we was missing a chrome fitting for our plug in our shower but that should've been noted much sooner so once again that was our responsibility, they actually had the cheek to say that 'the house wouldn't have been passed if that was missing' not being funny but my house was missing much more than that and it still managed to be passed! Another 'small snag' was our roof that was leaking which was initially put down to condensation, ridiculous to even suggest condensation when it was filling a bucket up everyday. We also had to have our flagging re-done twice and the kids kept tripping over the loose flags and hurting themselves, not that Avant could care as this took way too long to correct. Another funny one was a bit of our kitchen coming away from the wall which they say once again 'that doesn't fall under our warranty' because apparently it had excessive water damage. Well it will have water on it because it's directly behind the tap and sink, once again it has simply not been sealed properly. So now we move onto what they call 'customer care' where I had to chase and chase constantly only for our liason officer to be constantly either in meeting or her phone wasn't working, then when I finally got through it was a snotty response. I experienced the worst customer service today when ringing the office to speak to someone and Carol at reception, her attitude was simply disgusting, I felt I was asking her to do impossible tasks, when really all I wanted to do was speak to someone. I fully appreciate all customer service staff are now working from home due to the pandemic but why does that stop me from ringing their work phone? Would I be able to get through if I was interested in buying? Absolutely I would! For something that is going to be the most expensive thing in your life only to have the worst customer service I've ever experienced is ultimately disgusting! I would absolutely advise anyone not to buy a new build home from Avant. I could literally go on and on with the problems we have had in only 18 months we've had the house. Sandhill croft plot 27

Aaron · 21 October 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Ellie was fantastic and so helpful

Ellie was fantastic and so helpful, we cannot wait to move into our Shipley Lakeside home.

Lewis · 5 March 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Avant - Waverley

We have found Avant to be polite, helpful, and very quick to respond to any questions or queries. We are in the process of completing a Part-Ex on our current property for one of their new builds on Waverley. We are waiting a completion date, but I can not fault our experience thus far.

Vicki · 3 December 2023

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Thank you Avant for your response

Thank you Avant for your response. Of course I am fully aware of H&S on building sites and I have absolutely not raised that as an issue. From your reply im assuming that you are not able to explain why your website indicates that 2 x2 bed properties were available when I was advised that there was only possibly 1 by sales staff. You are correct that 'hours' after my last review I received a call, yesterday, and I have accepted an appointment to view the available property tomorrow, Friday. I still feel that i have done more chasing than i should as a potential purchaser and i can advise that had i not received a call back yesterday I had made the decision not to further pursue a purchase on this development. I hope I love the property tomorrow and that progress can be made.

Lorraine · 24 September 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

New home @Jackton Green.

Just reserved a new home at Jackton Green. Jaqueline McPhee, the regional sales manager was so helpful, knowledgable and fun to work with. We are so excited to be moving there with her help and guidance along the way. Totally recommend!

Gilly · 12 February 2022

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

I am finally getting to view properties…

I am finally getting to view properties at the Sheltone Village site. I first approached the sales office here over a year ago, my details were taken and i heard nothing for about 2 months. I was then called by another rep, my details confirmed and then again nothing. Fast forward to last week, about 8-9 months after my first visit,I go back to sales office to arrange a viewing. This was arranged however I missed it but the rep called me the next day to follow up. I viewed 2 properties and my rep was as helpful as she could be. This is not a criticism of the rep herself because she was lovely, but she was clearly struggling to answer some of my questions and i got the feeling that she might not be kept up to speed with changes on the development. She was however very patient and not in any way pushy, which i very much appreciated. I struggled a bit with not being able to view the physical location of the unfinished properties I was interested in because I wanted to see where they would sit on the development. I understand there are H&S issues on a building site, however being a person who doesn't really 'get' plans and drawings, i prefer to see the location for real. I loved both properties I viewed and am now in the process of deciding and assessing the offers and deals available. If i ignore my earlier experience almost a year ago, I have been impressed. Hopefully that will continue if I find the right deal and go ahead with a purchase.

Lorraine · 18 September 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great Customer Service and Knowledge

Georgia was so helpful and went through the finer details with much knowledge.

Kim · 27 May 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pomegranate park.

Pomegranate park.When we decided to buy a new house from Avant I knew it was not going to be easy and that we would have defects, but the house looked amazing and the staff seemed professional. Well until llinos moved to a different site, then it was like a training camp, different staff none knowing what the other was doing; and our house did not have a second floor at this stage. We selected our extras 3 times with different staff, then being told by a different member of staff we could not have those combinations. We ended up having to choose again after work and in a rush, which is not ideal when spending so much money.We were not shown the house being built at the different stages, nor were we invited to see the house at first fix. Both of which we were told we could.Then we moved in, it was fantastic and the house we hoped for. Until we started with the defects list which started at 60 and grew to over 100, the highlights: a garden resembling a paddock, a leaking roof, the toilet being flushed with hot water, no gas safe certificate for 1.5 years (to rectify this we needed to have the main gas pipe in the house replaced, meaning we needed to move out), tiles needing to be cut out and replaced in the kitchen and hall as they protrude so much you could cut your toe, every piece of glass apart from 1 was scratched, wrong fridge freezer installed; you get the idea. Needless to say over 2.5 years on and we still have many outstanding defects and unless I chase weekly to get anything done nothing is progressed. Avant are unable to be proactive and when they do arrange trades to come to our property, it is quite often for the wrong thing or they do not know what they are meant to be doing at the property. The fixtures and fittings in many cases are cheap and start to look shabby after only a couple of years, unfortunately it seems it is a case of you don't get what you pay for.

Carl · 15 September 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Poor sales team and attitude at Brompton Mews

I did not like the way I was spoken to by the salesman, he was quite abrupt and talked down to me when discussing the extras package. The package we had previously been offered had been withdrawn and apparently would not be offered so we cancelled our purchase and will now look elsewhere.

Chris · 18 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Julie Robson at Vanburgh Gate has been…

Julie Robson at Vanburgh Gate has been an absolute star at getting everything perfect for moving-in day. Thank you to everyone onsite

Daniel · 30 June 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

If i could give it no stars i would

If i could give it no stars i would. Nothing but problems. Faulty wardrobes that was highlighted to them a few months in. 2 years later the warranty was up and they cant do anything. As soon as your house is built and They're onto the next they're not bothered what state they leave your home in. Nothing but trouble from day 1!!

Swaddie · 21 March 2023

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Saloon closed

Very sad to find the saloon closed when Google states they were open. To add the frustration whoever reply to my unsatisfactory enquire didn't reply with nothing but a sorry. It was an emergency and no solution was given or a let me see what I can do. Had previous unsatisfied experiences before but enough is enough.

Nush · 7 September 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

This company is terrible to the core

This company is terrible to the core. From the CEO down they have an arrogance that ignores customers who have paid good money for their products. They fail to respond to emails and lack common courtesy. If you have money to spend on a new build don’t fill the pockets of overpaid management who sit in glass offices and fail to face the customers who have put them there.The houses are lovely but the company let themselves down with this arrogant after sales attitude

Mike · 12 August 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Debby is a wonderful person

Debby is a wonderful person. She assisted and guided us a lot.

TT · 13 June 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

A year on and still asking for Avant to…

A year on and still asking for Avant to put things right. This is my second review as I’m a year in now and the customer care is worsening! We still have the same snags waiting to be dealt with. The site manager, nice chap at Alfreton, Derbyshire tells us just to put one room right will take two weeks. There’s a lot more issues besides. We asked Avant to rehome us whilst this is being rectified due to the amount of time and work living in a dusty environment as my husband has sarcoidosis affecting his lungs and I have asthma. A year ago Tim Brickley their managing director said yes. Then He came back and said no. We now have Covid 19 and still Avant say no! What about customer safeguarding? I’ve asked their customer relations manager Mark Phelan to resolve the matter. I hope this doesn’t have to go to court.

Mandy · 30 July 2020

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

After service with Laura

Encountered some snagging issues and reported them to customer services. It took a while but they sent me a lovely lady called Laura. Not only was she polite and courteous, she was very knowledgeable in all aspects of the job and more.. I will only ever ask for Laura in the future for any works tat needs to be done.

Vicki · 8 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Brilliant staff

Andy Jones and Ronnie Keating carried out several repairs in our home and on every occasion did an absolutely brilliant job! Excellent customer service, great attention to detail and both super lovely guys. Huge thanks for all your help, Andy and Ronnie.

Kristina · 13 July 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Frustrated

Some initial issues were rectified quickly, but others!!! Walls out of square, doors not fitted well, kitchen fitted very poorly, bad plastering, garden pools water as no top soil, redllypoor workmanship, Waiting 10 months for kitchen door, 8 months for lights, missed appointments, no correspondence Customer care wash hands of you, feel let down snd lied to

Scott · 23 August 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Avant Homes Knaresborough

Just wanted to say big thankyou to Curtis, Steve & Lynsey great team at Avant Knaresborough.From start to finish I felt I could trust them to deliver a fantastic home, which they did.I would recommend people to buy Avant homes as the quality and service has been fantastic.

Gordon · 11 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible company

Terrible company. Still haven’t done our road works for 4 years, ignore all the residents on the estates emails asking. They keep saying that it will be done but blame contractors constantly. Be warned! Once they have sold you the house they do not care.

Tobias · 14 May 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I can't believe it's called building

I can't believe what I keep finding, as time goes on living in our house from these "builders". Despite having found the customer service to be so poor during the first months. I was particularly shocked when four months after buying the house, some builders turned up, dug a hole in our front garden and planted a tree, without so much as a word to say they were doing so. Calling customer services, left me in a circular conversation with a particularly skilled and evasive service agent, who the company has obviously trained in their typical "wear you down" "fob you off" tactics. The agent refused to let me speak to anyone who would deal with the issue, while insisting that I had to address any complaint to her. However, when I did so, she simply replied that it wasn't something she could deal with...again and again, round and round. As a professional advocate, I felt obliged to take on her challenge and we continued this circular conversation for over 40 minutes, without as much as a care from the customer service agent, or any concern about me, the customer and why I was upset at someone entering my garden and digging a hole in it without permission.Nowadays, everything I uncover doing alterations just shows how badly this building work was botched. I do remember the site manager justifying it when we first looked round saying they had to make these homes poorer quality, as they were cheaper than their other ranges, but I still thought they might have been built by professionals. I am regularly astounded to find the way things were "botched together" again and again.Really, really disapointed. I remain shocked over poor customer service during the first couple of months, when we took posession, and the abject failure to deal with snagging issues repeatedly during those months. We even had a plumber run away one time within a month of buying the house, never to return, when he saw what he had been subsequently brought in by the builders to fix. But this house just keeps coming up with more gems of rank beligerance.I'll be glad to be out of it soon.Afternote: I find it interesting that the company's immediate response to this review is to try and have it removed, rather than trying to contact me, the customer, to try and resolve anything....speaks volumes - steel yourself before buying.

Andy · 12 May 2020

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Great experience with the sales team

Really good experience with the sales team. Sarah helped answer the questions I put forward and responded to my e-mails and phone calls straight away. Sarah also provided all relevant information and talked me through appropriate steps providing guidance on what questions to ask mortgage broker and legal staff

JAB · 19 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

SUMMERVILLE VILLAGE

SUMMERVILLE VILLAGE Have lived here for 1 year.Sale representative Angela Kingsley could not have been more helpful through the whole process of our house purchase, always had time for questions and issues. Customer after care north also very proactive and have dealt with all our snags although purely cosmetic efficiently and we are very happy in our new home

Jennie · 19 June 2023