Countryside Homes Home Counties South Paddock Wood reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

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Donna has been extremely helpful and kind

We viewed a property in Middlebeck, Newark and Donna from the Sales Team was very helpful and kind to arrange a very last minute appointment for us. She explained everything very clearly and took her time to show us around even though it was almost the end of the work day. We were advised to think thoroughly and didn't feel pushed a sale even though it was the last property available of the phase in the development. We are in the process of making an offer and going ahead with the reservation and I am sure it will be a great experience from beginning till the end. Thank you for all your help! We really appreciate it.

Merve · 31 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

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Leaking Windows at Azure on St Mary's Island

Bought one of their properties at Azure in St Mary's Island and have spent the last (almost) 2 years dealing with leaking windows. They replaced every single one of them in the apartment, but unfortunately used non FENSA registered fitters. I'm so fed up with living here that I just want to sell up and go, but can't as I cannot sell the property without the FENSA certificates. The response from Countryside has been disgraceful - their so called Customer Service team doesn't give a damn. My advice is to not go near this company, even if you have to!

Peter · 23 August 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Sonia and Karen are absolutely amazing!!!

We have reserved our house back in January with Sonia at The Colleys and together with Karen they have both been absolutely amazing throughout the process! They have kept us informed, went over and above to help us and give us updates/allow us to view and enjoy our new house being built! They have literally made our dream come true. The house Countryside built for us is absolutely stunning, however it would not have been such a thrilling experience were it not for Sonia and Karen! Thank you!!!

Sebastian · 23 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

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Royal Hill Park in Redhill: After-sales customer service that has literally given us nightmares

Having bought one of the first seven properties sold on Royal Hill Park in Redhill just under 2 years ago both my wife and I have been so stressed out dealing with Countryside Properties that we have had dreams where Countryside feature as completely incompetent ruining other parts of our lives.We are now having to spend thousands of pounds on work that any purchaser would not contemplate being necessary (and we are not the only ones in the road), have been struggling for about 18 months so far to get Countryside to repair significant damage they did to our house (making our thorough inspections before purchase a waste of time).Countryside have an ingrained culture that assigns the client extreme low priority, no functional QA on what they have built, no understanding or interest in basic project management, no basic understanding of issue tracking or management, very low standards of contractors employed to do the work on your house, very low standards for clients even right at the top of the company and Countryside’s word (even when written) cannot be trusted. Most of all though, Countryside are terrible at communicating, operate at a glacial pace and conveniently ignore and forget the issues we are having. Their office operations are simply broken. Even with the direct involvement of the director of customer services, he has been personally managing our case of issues that we had already been chasing for months or years, we have had no progress on the majority of our issues for the 6 months he has now been directly involved and we have now been told all the plans we had previously been told were in place are being swept away in order to start with a new contractor from scratch (with no explanation why) which has taken over a month so far just for them to take a look. Escalating issues to upper management has little impact, probably even making things worse. All of this makes the process of getting defects rectified inefficient beyond belief and whilst the expense for that sits mainly with Countryside the inconvenience and demands it places on the purchasers is immense as we have put ourselves out again and again to accommodate their work but don’t get the same in return.The main defects we have had with the house (please check thoroughly if you intend to purchase) include a garden that readily floods around 2m wide by 15m long around the back of the house for about 6 months of the year despite us being on a hill (some coming up for sale do not have the benefit of the hill!). We have had three qualified landscapers say that it is laid on subsoil (regulations say it should be at least 10cm of topsoil). Countryside insist there is 15cm of high-quality top soil. You need to check this before you buy, it has caused us and the other residents in the road serious problems, it is easy for them to hide (the lawn was glorious and green when we bought and yellow a month later) and expensive to rectify! The lawn is completely rutted and needs relaying (which is going to cost us thousands as Countryside say it meets their standards). This seems to be an issue across Royal Hill Park. Countryside even sent in their landscaper who confirmed the problems with the lawn and stated that they would need to resolve them. Countryside, despite numerous requests from us, simply failed to read the report from the landscaper (whom they had initially stated was trusted by them and any actions needing doing would be done) instead they waited 9 months and then sent in a different ground survey which they say is now grounds for not addressing the issues (thus we have to dig up and relay the whole thing ourselves). The house was built like Swiss cheese with water ingress and large drafts coming into many of the rooms (it was two winters before this was addressed with mastic and expanding foam and even now we still have some drafts). Our balcony was supposed to be finished just before we moved in but is still out of action as the glass and metalwork has been left in a very poor state damaged by them after we moved in (they have been saying this will be resolved for nearly two years now) and underneath has an inch of stagnant water because the drainage hole is in the wrong place (which Countryside insist will be resolved by adding some large beach-like stones). The front door did not lock due to having an incorrect mechanism which took 9 months for them to make fully secure. Extensive damage was done after we moved in by Countryside’s contractors for which they still have not rectified and have refused to take full responsibility to rectify. They have, however, replaced 28 of the 29 panels of glass which were damaged mostly by their operatives after we moved in.I'd love to justify each of these claims adding some useful advice for anyone thinking of buying one but I have hit word limit.

Ben · 28 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Countryside Wolsey Park

I have called the Countryside Wolsey Park development a couple of times to ask some questions about the development and the area, and both times I have spoken to an extremely rude and unhelpful member of staff. She couldn't be bothered to answer any of my questions and was extremely dismissive and kept interrupting me when I wanted to speak. I could not believe how rudely she was speaking to me and her tone of voice was very aggressive and disgusting.

Damian · 27 July 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

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Ashmere home

We've reserved a property at the Ashmere development. Very impressed with the level of service received by Ed Meliuskanas, who has been our Sales Consultant throughout the process. Ed has ensured the process has run smoothly, and our questions have been answered promptly. It can be daunting buying off-plan, but Ed has done all he can to make everything clear on what we can expect. And we've been happy with the style and quality of the various Countryside developments we've visited in the past. We're looking forward to moving into our new home!

Peter · 27 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Country-sigh.

I bought a house in a countryside development, the house visually is beautiful, nice layout etc but since being here 4 years it’s become apparent it’s not all as it seems. Sadly the management company used by countryside aren’t good either so complaints go nowhere.After having work done of several parts of the house, it’s frequently apparent that corners were cut in the building process and things weren’t done as they should be. My favourite example is the insulation - after taking plasterboard away we saw that the insulation was in the wall, but not unrolled and just left to one side. I couldn’t say they hadn’t insulated it, but they just hadn’t installed the insulation before plaster boards etc, quite funny actually! A big thing that sold the house to me originally was the fact it was situated in a gated community, however the gates have been broken for 8 years and although appealed, aren’t getting fixed.In my opinion it’s extremely apparent that speed and low cost materials is a priority at least for the houses in my development. I personally would avoid any further countryside developments in the future, and I would recommend my friends and family avoid too.

Rhema-Faith · 22 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

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Shocking, avoid!

Sadly, it doesn’t let me pick no stars. They took my reservation fee, I then paid for fixtures and fittings and my solicitor informed me that they had been withholding documents. When chasing this it turns out those documents were the declaration of Japanese Knotweed across the site and also that they had sold 27 houses on this ‘private estate’ to the house association. They did this under the table and requested my deposit prior to this. Complete misrepresentation of what was being sold. They also haven’t refunded me the money they told me I would receive…it’s now been a month.

C · 10 June 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Our New Home at Ashmere

I have reserved a property at Ashmere the day when I and my family members having a long-distanced video conference with our sales consultant, Edvinas Meliuskanas, who are excellent in explaining the pros & cons of the plots available. Though there are some delays in the process but we are happy not only the services provided, but also the professional altitude of Edvinas in keeping his promise to contact us all favorable plots available from time to time. We look forward to receiving regular updates on the progress and the assistance from the team of Countryside Properties to solve any problem we may encountered till we can settle down happily.

Dorothy · 18 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Been living in a home for 3 months now

Been living in a home for 3 months now, brand new.Absolute appalling service regarding the sales of the house, the two saleswomen clearly do not communicate with each other and one of them is downright rude. We have tons of snags which almost none of them have been addressed since we’ve moved in, we were lucky they took 3 days to get around to fixing our front door to be able to lock.Shocking houses and company, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE.

Skyline · 1 July 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Stressful and unpleasant experience

We were very positive when first purchasing the property. The initial sales team were great but things started to go downhill when exchanging contracts. Lots of delays and promises made to rectify issues before we moved in which we are still waiting to be resolved 20 months later. We are constantly having to email to address some major snags still outstanding. Some of the work we've had to do ourselves as work to replace some damaged fence slats resulted in the fencing company repeatedly making the problem worse e.g. replacing with non matching and mouldy slats. We've been emailing at least once a week for well over a year to get our issues resolved and constantly being told they will be sorted soon but still waiting. We still have a balcony we can't use, a garden that is a mess and has had drainage fitted incorrectly, a leaking shower that no-one seems to be able to fix. All in all a very stressful experience

Katherine · 30 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Very poor experience

Normally I like to share positive insights or deal with myself on minor defects in a new build. Unfortunately, I moved into a new flat in Greenwich in 2019 and have had a number of defects already i.e. window having a large gap and not being airtight (for which they had to break the wall and replace..), dryer suddenly stopped working, wood flooring coming out, dimmer switch stopped working. After months of chasing countryside at various points during the year, they sent individuals only after causing enough stress and hassle to me. This is not why I put all my savings in a new flat - I could have bought an old flat and dealt with same issues. I am still chasing them or the appliance maker on some of these issues. Also, they argue on what is covered under warranty / what is not to make you give up your claim. Please do not buy from them, seems like they rushed the construction without having proper quality checks / procedures in place and rather buy a used flat which you can at least check in detail / negotiate on price. All my friends have had much positive experience with other developers where even during COVID, faulty items / defects were rectified within a few days. Other residents in my building have expressed similar frustration in dealing with countryside.Further update (29/6/2021): the flat had the following additional issues for which i had to chase the relevant folks for months and get them sorted: MVHR unit breaking down (twice!!), leakage in the roof and door bell not working (third time this year along). Very poor quality materials used plus the 2 year warranty is a hassle to go through. I have to spend 3-4 hours a week just to get these issues sorted with the customer service team.

Q · 29 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Outstanding service at Bluebell Manor

We couldn’t speak anymore highly about the sales team at Bluebell Manor, Bethany & Emily have been helpful from day 1. We first visited the site in Feb 2021 to view the show homes, we were so impressed we then went and reserved our first house in April 2021!It’s been a fantastic journey so far, all questions have been answered in an easy to understand way and it seems nothing is too much trouble, always on hand and a pleasure to deal with. Our full reservation day where we looked at all the drawings and plans for our plot was so exciting, and albeit a very long few hours to get through Emily ensured we had sufficient time to understand various aspects and take breaks.As first time buyers it’s a very exciting time, so it’s been great that the team share the excitement with us when there are updates, and even when we exchanged!! It’s made it so much more enjoyable. Such a big milestone in anyone’s life is the purchase of their first house. You hear a lot of stories about other developers not offering a great service once you’ve reserved, but Countryside Bluebell Manor smash it. They have really made sure that the process is one to remember and in a good way. Can definitely say we will always think back to buying our first house and smile! Thank you so much. We’re so excited to watch the build continue and can’t wait to be a resident in this beautiful development.

Jamie · 28 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

STAY CLEAR ABYSMAL CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

My property is beautiful, I can not complain about the design, however the customer service that I have received is shocking to say the least! They are quick to take peoples money but when it comes to snagging and fixing issues they spend more time trying to get out of fixing it instead of actually fixing it or being helpful!…I have had an issue with my heating/radiators for months where it is hot at the top and cold at the bottom. They provided me with fraudulent/fake documents claiming it was supposed to be like that! They are not fixing the problem and are trying to lie their way out of it, because it is a huge problem across the development and is going to cost loads of money for them to fix!! … will NOT be buying another property through them!! They need to work on being helpful and I recommend they provide extra training on Customer Service/people skills! THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY HAVE 37% BAD REVIEWS they all have a common theme ‘TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE’ AND ‘HAPPY/QUICK TO TAKE PEOPLES MONEY BUT NOT TO FIX SNAGGING’ THEY ONLY REPLY TO 58% OF NEGATIVE COMMENTS TYPICAL OF THEM! WITH SERVICE SO BAD (ACCORDING TO 37% OF CUSTOMERS) THEY SHOULD BE REPLYING TO 100% OF THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK!!

Frankie · 23 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Its been a pleasure buying a home from Countryside

I would like to say how Helpful the sales team was at the beginning and made the buying process so easy. I would also like to say a big thankyou to site management team including the site aftercare team who have attended to all my minor issues in a timely manor and these jobs have been carried out to a high standard,I would certainly recommend Countryside and the team here to anyone,Thank you all for making this experience a good one,Kind RegardsMike

Michael · 14 June 2021

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Good company, but after sales service needs immediately addressed

St. Michael’s hurst bishops stortford Everything perfect and friendly during buying process, estate kept quiet and tidy during construction but after, minor issues with my own house took months and one took a full year to complete. Incomplete insulation in the en-suite took from reported date in December 2020 to March 2021 to be fitted. This was during a cold winter and cost a fortune in gas to heat the house. Outside drainage in the garden took 1 full year. Spoke to site manager who finally resolved everything for me immediately but after sales service was shocking. Some emails took 3-4 weeks for a reply. It’s such a shame as I already got another one of my friends to buy a house at £600k and a good company is let down by after sales service, hope these issues can be rectified by them soon!

Niall · 14 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Brilliant from start to finish

From reservation to completion, Countryside have been helpful, informative, and just amazing really! We’ve bought in a development in North Wales and Siân from the sales office has been exceptional. She is a credit to Countryside and has been there for the entire journey, seemingly any day at any time! (We are convinced she never goes home!)The home is a very high quality finish, and of the few minor snags (as you would expect in any new building) we had following moving in, the site team have been extremely helpful and proactive in organising the necessary repairs/replacements. The site is excellent at keeping the occupied parts in a good condition utilising road sweepers almost constantly in order to keep dust and dirt levels low. We, like many others were new to the home buying process, but Siân, and Countryside have helped steer us in the correct direction, even having our home ready for completion around 2 months in advance of the original planned date, which was brilliant.What else can I say? It’s everything you would hope for and more, and easy guided process and a high quality home at the end. Thank you!

Michael · 9 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Fantastic Team Support

I recently moved into my Country Side property on the City Fields development, Wakefield.I have had excellent customer care from day 1 of my visit to the site to view the show houses. Gavin & Rodhri have been so supportive and accommodating throughout my house buying journey. Nothing has been too much trouble for them. They are always courteous and professional.My after care has also been a positive journey with this house building company. I love my new home and the support the teams have given me has helped me to settle in quickly.

Barbara · 9 June 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Many thanks to Penny and Victoria!

Many thanks to Penny and Victoria!Life changing experience. We just bought our first home. In 30 days from viewing to completion, staff were being very helpful guiding us through the process!The house is amazing!😍

Alex · 20 December 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful Aftercare at Customer Services and…

Aftercare at Customer Services and emergency out of hours just do not respond. Alarms have been going off in un-occupied properties for over 48 hours because the Staff are incapable of opening a window after painting. Smoke alarms have been going off in multiple un-sold properties for days without any action from countryside. Multiple complaints have been made by multiple people on the development and all we're told is 'it's been escalated'. Escalated for 48 hours means that nothing has been done.

Miss · 26 May 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I am so fed up with this company

I am so fed up with this company. They were more than happy to take my money when I signed up for an off plan property but ever since we moved in it has been hands off entirely. My property has damp mould since 2017 which I ended up having to fix myself even though I raised it 6 weeks after moving in on the snagging list. Now I am trying to sell I am struggling to get any kind of response from these people. It took 11 WEEKS to get a management pack turned around. I now have an outstanding query that needs to be answered about fire safety and my mortgage offer expires in 3 days. It is now 5.30 so I assume I will only have 2 days to turn this around. I have sent email after email asking for this: to the exact email that you provide on these comments so you already have the info in the group@ccplc email address but it is still not being answered. My entire chain could fall apart at this stage. What can I do?

Alex · 13 May 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful customer service

Awful customer service, poor build quality. I’ve had 4 leaks, a new ground floor concrete pad, multiple defects, been forced to contact the NHBC as Countryside wouldn’t rectify the issues (to which I was correct and the NHBC forced Countryside to comply) this in a property which is only three years old! I am still waiting for the final but major defect to be rectified which was notified 2 and a half years ago! No direct phone numbers provided for the people responsible to solve issues, so you can only ring / e-mailcustomers services (who only pass the message on) Please think twice when purchasing!

Paul · 12 May 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Absolute Nightmare...I do not recommend

Absolute nightmare. Purchased very expensive 'home' in 2017. 4 years later I'm still waiting for them to fix several serious issues. These include several water leaks, which have got mould growing on the walls. Unaligned patio and front doors which means a constant draft throughout the house and insects crawling through. Fire doors have been fitted which do not meet regulations. Showers not fixed to the wall properly. Constant knocking sound coming from under the floor when taps are turned on. And that's the taps that actually flow properly- at least 3 of the taps the water just drips out. Bedroom doors that cannot be closed because the door latch and plate do not line up. Boiler not properly installed which meant it was constantly on for 6 months. Seals in the bathrooms around shower tray not done properly meaning water damage on the ceiling of the floor below. Poor drainage meaning rain water flows directly out of overflow pipes. Weeping vents have been cemented over. Radiators have leaked causing damage to the walls. Bathroom towel rail has never worked. Water pressure keeps fluctuating. The list is endless. A professional inspection was done within the first month of purchase and that found over 120 faults. Unbelievable! Despite having several 'inspections' and contractors coming to fix the problems, nothing has been fixed. They are also unable to provide any reports from the contractors of the works they say have been done. Countryside continue to say they will complete ALL of the outstanding issues but I'm still waiting. I've had no choice but to escalate to NHBC to resolve. I can provide evidence of everything.

Am · 7 May 2021

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great experience from start to finish

We have now moved into Countryside's Rochester Riverside complex and could not be happier. As a starter flat for my partner and I, it has been a great way to get on the ladder and in such a perfect location. Nadia, and the fellow sales advisors were brilliant throughout answering all questions that arose and assisting wherever necessary. Once moved in, we provided further snagging for them which has always been resolved in a time-effective manner. We both could not be happier and could not recommend them enough!

Liam · 4 May 2021