Cala Homes North Counties Waterbeach reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Trading on an old reputation

Cala Homes West in Scotland is trading on an old reputation and is now no better than some other new build developers where quality and assurance checks appear absent or ineffective. In our experience there was poor quality on finishing (skirting boards had chips and knicks, interior painting looked thin and faded instead of fresh and dazzling, external doors not closing and sales agents making up stories to get us hooked. The fact that the sales contract states the buyer has to pledge they are not relying on anything the sales team has told them says it all. Get everything in writing before you hand over any money. "I've never heard of anything like that!" exclaims the agent when our faulty central heating had to be re-installed after moving in which involved ceilings coming down. When we got to know the other Cala residents we discovered there were many others in front of us complaining about poor quality and heating system issues. Cala told me they had their own building team of permanent tradesmen ("we are different to other builders in that we have our own building staff") but this amounted to 2 groundsmen and all the rest were unsupervised contractors. Note the Un-Supervised. We've had great new build houses before (10 and 20 years ago) and only a few snags which were very quickly sorted but this house has been built, in our opinion, without due care and attention. 39 snagging visits later we regret purchasing a home on a Cala development. Reply to Cala's comment below: we are in contact with Cala through the complaints process and hope redress will be made. Will update when this happens. We have sent you the details requested.

RD · 27 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great house

We were apprehensive about purchasing a new build and throughout the whole process of buying and selling, the sales consultants Tom & Georgina were always polite, patient and professional. Our experience with CALA has been really positive and they've been very helpful both before and after the purchase. The house has lived up to our expectations and were very happy here.

Jay · 29 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Avoid Cala in Bellwood Oaks Penicuik

We bought a Cala house in Penicuik and moved in last June only to be hugely disappointed by the quality of our home. We understood that a new build house may have some snags but we never thought we’d have a leak in the downstairs toilet so the entire floor would need replaced, or that our boiler would be installed incorrectly, or that our shower drainage in 2 out three showers would be installed incorrectly or that our hot water tank would be installed incorrectly and leak through to our kitchen or that our kitchen hot water boiling tap would be installed incorrectly…the list goes on! Mainly incompetent plumbing causing the issues. We went through months of talking to useless site managers who palmed us off many times, it took an independent plumber to come out and eventually fix some of the issues. And still, over a year and an half after we have moved in, we have an outstanding plumbing issue where water comes back into our property in the bathroom upstairs every time there is heavy rain outside! This is unacceptable and poor service for a company that claim to be a 5 star builder. We have a baby in the house and have had numerous Cala trades people in and out to ‘fix’ the issues, which is so disruptive, especially when the problems aren’t actually fixed and they have to come back time and time again. Our main issue is the many hours of our time we’ve lost constantly phoning, emailing and chasing Cala to fix our issues. This time could have been spent enjoying the first year of our baby’s life but instead it’s been used to chase a company who really don’t seem to care about its customers. Not to mention the stress of waking up each morning wondering what new leak/problem we are going to find. We also have a massive drainage issue at our property where our front and back garden floods every time there is heavy rain (which in Scotland is not uncommon!) and Cala debated back and forth what to do about it for the best part of a year. Then decided to fit a drain along our wall but only half way up, only fixing half the problem!Our boiler system is the next issue, Cala have fitted a custom combi-boiler with a heat source air pump from Daikin. However what they don’t tell you upon moving in is that only Daikin will service this system, no other company will service the system as a whole. We are now opting to rip out the boiler and air pump and put in a new one as it actually works out cheaper than paying the Daikin service plan. Our last issue is that we weren’t told about the sewage pumping station that was to be built within metres of our property. We are extremely unhappy about this, especially as the plans on the council website show Cala building this pumping station on the other side of the huge sudds area in front of our house. Not to mention the pumping station blocked a month ago and pumped out fresh sewage right outside our property. Despite Cala telling us time and time again it was working. I would never recommend anyone I know to buy a Cala home, I feel like we have been robbed of buying our dream home and have wasted our hard earned money on a broken house that will never fully be repaired. I know for a fact that there are plenty unhappy Cala customers in our estate in similar situations and what’s worse is Cala literally couldn’t care less. We have been ignored countless times via many emails. We did make progress for a while with a customer service manger who seemed to care but has since started ignoring us again. Merry Christmas Cala, you have continued to make another joyful time of year stressful for our family. If I could give zero stars I would. Avoid this house builder at all costs - especially the Bellwood oaks site in Penicuik!

HH · 22 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Sunni and Dawn at Inchcolm Green

Sunni and Dawn at Inchcolm Green, Aberdour - have been simply first class in providing us with all of the support we needed to move into our beautiful new home. It has been a rather long nine months journey from viewing to buying but at every step of the way they have provided an excellent service - always responding immediately to all of our questions and in being proactive in providing us with anything else they thought we needed to know. They were brilliant in reassuring us that all would be in place for our December entry date. They were right - we moved in today and are absolutely delighted with our new home. Thank you Sunni and Dawn and thanks too to the Cala Site Management Team. L & C

Linda · 13 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Excellent Customer Service from Claire at West of Scotland Team

It’s been a bit of a journey to complete snagging on my new property - but I’d like to say a huge thank you to Claire in the West Scotland Team. Friendly, professional and a great organiser she has taken personal responsibility for working through the issues and getting them sorted with the Contractors. It is rare to see people really step up these days. But Claire is definitely an exception, and she has made a huge difference. Many thanks again for all your help. Tony

Tony_Coll · 12 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great customer service

It’s been more than an year living in cala homes, for all the issues Darren and Lynne did excellent job from the Customer Service East Team. They were quick in responding for all snagging problems, visited the site to check the issues that needs to be noted and resolved them within seem-less time. Appointments were always scheduled at my convenience.

Deepthi · 6 December 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

We’ve been really luck with our house…

We’ve been really luck with our house (touch wood), no major snags and anything that did crop up was fixed within a week. Tom was very good during our first month of moving in great communication and got everything resolved quickly.Can’t fault Cala and Tom they have both been great, Remus the team that look after our estate however are quite the opposite, we’ve been chasing for a year and have got no where with them

Jack · 4 March 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I was very impressed with the unhurried…

I was very impressed with the unhurried and informative discussion I had. All my questions were answered and it was good to get a quick appointment to view. I had a great conversation and would happily recommend Cala homes.

Michael · 10 September 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Our experience with Cala

Our experience with Cala so far has been excellent. We have recently purchased a home with them and we are really impressed all round. We have had a lot of support from Sylvia (who has led our process) as well as her colleague Lisa - both of whom are knowledgable, friendly and very helpful. We have also dealt with Sam, the Site Manager, who took time to thoroughly explain things and provide a lot of reassurance about our investments. Thank you so much.

Fiona · 28 November 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I reported a issue within my property…

I reported a issue within my property and Karl from Cala homes attended To sort the problem, he was respectful ( took his shoe off outside ) polite and friendly and done a great job. I also asked if he was able to help me with my intercom phone ( which wasn't his job ) but with two min he solved the problem he went above and beyond which was very much appreciated. Thank you Karl.

Jenna · 19 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

GREAT SERVICE

Courtney and team been great through out. As always Cala been the best looking after their customers no problem at all did get a chance to get the issues sorted whilst on site but missed it took a while to get things looked into. Thank you guys other builders I heard it’s only a year for snagging list but cala gives 2 years which is quiet good.

Velaga · 5 August 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Connor's Visit for Door Adjustments

Connor's Visit for Door AdjustmentsConnor visited our new home to adjust the doors following some settlement. He arrived promptly as scheduled and carried out the necessary repairs with professionalism and a positive attitude. His optimistic approach was greatly appreciated, and he completed the work to a high standard. Connor is truly a credit to Cala, and we’re grateful for his excellent service.

Simon · 24 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Bucklers Park Berkshire, what a team!

First time buying a new house and CALA massively exceeded all of my expectations. Maria and Edwina at Bucklers Park were absolutely brilliant together with the support of Lucy and Tony. They could not have been more helpful and were so supportive of my mother who was buying a home for the first time. Always available whenever we needed help and always willing to offer advice and support. I cannot praise the team in Crowthorne high enough, they were and are amazing!

Paul · 15 November 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Seem to be a lot of fake reviews on…

*Update - Cala I appreciate you responding to my very fair and accurate review as this has not been the first time I have received very poor customer service and not alone in this, but to respond further to your reply, as I advised to your customer service dept, despite my property being out of warranty, I was willing to pay for a replacement heating control panel just to get it fixed, forget the warranty as having heating is essential when temperatures are below 10 degrees and have 3 young children in the house, and would think there is a very high chance that your team on site that fit these heating systems would have a panel available, but as usual with Cala, not interested. This Daikin heating system is problematic to say the least and many heating companies will not touch it or look to fix it due to its "specialist" nature, so if it fails, its a long arduous task through the manufacturer to sort it out as even my home emergency insurance cover wont go near it! And all it needs is a simple control panel that you likely have on site.As for the playpark, 6-7 years too late! My kids will be into their teenage years by the time it is installed and the house owners in Phase 1 will be into their 9th or 10th year in the area without this facility or shops. How many times has that plans being changed, as playparks don't make money! As I stated, put the profits before the wellbeing of families in the area! Cala in a nutshellSeems to be a lot of fake reviews on here as I can categorically say that Cala Homes customer service team will lie through their nose not to help you as soon as your house is out of warranty. As part of the 2 year warranty i had with them when i bought my house in 2019, a year of that warranty was taken by Covid, where any issues i had during that period would not be dealt with due to unable to visit houses, but do they take that into consideration - absolutely not.To try and get through to the Aberdeen office customer service is in itself a major hassle, the receptionist will answer, “try” to put you through to that dept and you get an out of office voicemail during office hours, upon 5 times of calling back, same situation. There is an option to hold for the “out of hours” (emergency) contact, even though this is after 9am on a Monday, and even that does not go through and this is not the first time experience of this.So, i have an issue with my heating control panel, which to get a replacement from the manufacturer will take over 1 week, i call Cala to ask if their team on site (as building phase 3 of the development) has one of these control panels (which is highly likely they do) to be told they don’t! And i am pretty damn sure they haven't even checked, and make it clear I am out of warranty, deposit my offer to pay for this emergency part and the fact i have a very cold house due to this issue and 3 young children under 10 years old, they are just not interested.I asked have you stopped installing Daikin heating systems to be told i am not sure, and i know for a fact they haven’t but happy to allow a family to freeze in low temperate when they would likely have a part required on site that i would be willing to pay for, any other source through another company (as i have checked with 3 separate contractors) would mean several days to a week wait for the part replacement.Why this company claims to have gold standard customer service is a joke, absolute shambles and i am not alone in my neighbourhood that thinks this. Once they sell you that house, it is way your hands of that customer (Milltimber development, Aberdeen.)Maybe other areas within Cala throughout Scotland have decent customer services, but this Aberdeen office is an absolute shambles and the lies goes beyond to not help you.Finally, 4 years here in Phase 2 and not a single children’s park. Phase 1 - people being here 6 years and same. Put profits before well being of the people and their families who have spent a fortune on your house! Hang your head in shame

Les · 13 November 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Thank you so much Cala Homes

Thank you so much Cala for a beautiful house. We had a great experience purchasing our very first home with Cala. The customer service team was exceptionally helpful and responsive throughtout the entire home buying process specially Ms. Mercedes Wingfield . We truly appreciate your professionalism, transparency and attention to detail, excellent !

Olivea · 2 June 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Still waiting... still terrible customer service. AVOID CALA

After 3 years of being in our property adn after numerous visits from Cala and 3rd party operatives, we still have a long list of issues found by a professional snagging company that are yet to be fixed or for Cala to admit they are a fault. No number of chasing emails seem to get their attention. Our house has some major defects (our gable wall is over 10mm out of plumb, breaking building standards), and yet Cala don't seem one bit bothered. They have effectively palmed us off to Capital Services who do the remediation work and expect them to take the heat for their mistakes and appalling customer service. Yvonne - I know you read these as things tend to happen after their written and published. It shouldn't take for badly treated customers to write reviews to get your attention. We will be looking at a legal route if nothing substantial is done to address the build quality issues that remain, as 3 years is frankly 3 too many. AVOID CALA AT ALL COSTS. There is a Facebook group for aggrieved Cala customers - Cala plant employees and relatives to write nice things about them - it's patently obvious - who writes something nice on a group designed for people to share their bad experiences!

R · 2 November 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Great Company

We have been in our home for almost 18months and from the offset CALA have been great. Matt, Site Manager, was always at hand to help with any issues that arose and they we generally sorted immediately.Our point of contact for Customer Support has been Rebecca. Always really helpful and super fast in replying to any queries. We recently decided to have an inspection, which we sent directly to Rebecca. Within 24hrs an appointment was made to review the inspections finding and within 7 days a Service Manager visited our home.

Customer · 31 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Amazing customer service

I bought a property from Cala that is new build in Chiltern area. Not only the house is great but the whole experience of buying to interaction with customer services have been excellent. As we go through our snag list, I really want to thank the whole customer services team especially Rebecca Orr for being flexible, relentless, helping organise things. You are a star. Not to miss Roger Newport has done amazing work and very knowledgable. I learned some things to keep in mind for future.Thank you!

Amit · 31 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Prince’s Quay, Glasgow

I would like to thank Vickie, Astrid and the rest of the sales team for a fantastic reservation experience. Vickie in particular went above and beyond to ensure the process was as easy and stress free as possible, leaving me to focus on the exciting aspects of buying a new home. This is the second time I have bought a Cala Home as the build quality and level of finish is exceptional.

Craig · 20 April 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Lee - Cala Operative

This review is for the Cala Repair Operative based at the Bucklers Park Development in Berkshire - Lee.Lee has visited our property several times and is always punctual, tidy and has great workmanship (especially with plastering!) He is a lovely chap and always asks how the family are doing! He deserves the recognition of the hard work he puts in. Thanks so much Lee!

Lillian · 7 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Stay away!

Stay away!! I got a flay through my local council anenity/disabled flat newly built by cala.They are incompetent. They basically bought the land and cut corners and got the cheapest materials and the cheapest companies to build the flats.My co2 has been high for over 1 year, I am always unwell, the highest was a few nights ago when I took my first asthma attack in 20 years. I checked my co2 reader and it was sitting over 6000. Tenants and council have been hounding cala to get the repairs done or they cannot take over the building. My tilt and turn window door in sitting room fell off on top of me every time I tried to open the door. I have a spinal stenosis so this was horrific. They put a latch on it so I can only open the window a little bit! My shower drain was at the entrance of the walk in shower the only bit to get into the shower was where they put the drain, I slipped and fell countless times and took over 1 year to lift the floor and move the drain so I didn't need to step over it. Every flat had the same issue. They used floating floors and everytime I do a wash my neighbour underneath me has to take her pictures off the wall as they fall off when I use my machine. I have purchased 3 new washing machine in 1 year thinking it was the machines I was buying. But they confirmed its because of the floating floor issue.The myson materials they used for the heating system is not the best (read reviews). My co2 reader was installed neat the bedroom door when it clearly states in our hand books not to install near a wall or window. So the co2 is getting some are from the door so no doubt my reading should be higher even though they are high already. I have been ill since moving here 1 year ago with headaches, dizziness, passing out, loss of concentration, confusion racing heart rate all due to the c02 at night time. I am only 44 I thought I had early dementia! That is how bad I felt and my gp confirmed the symptoms are related to the co2.I am going to a lawyer. I have never seen or dealt with a company so incompetent in my life.

Debbie · 27 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

3 Months In

We’re now three months into living in our new-build home in Lancing, and we couldn’t be happier! The whole journey has been so smooth and easy, and the support from the Cala team has been great.

Leona · 20 September 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I recently reserved a property through…

I recently reserved a property through CALA, and the experience was excellent.The entire team was fantastic, with special thanks to Sara and Joy, who were incredibly helpful throughout the process. Their professionalism, guidance, and support made the journey smooth and stress-free. I would highly recommend CALA, and particularly Sara and Joy, to anyone looking for a positive and seamless home-buying experience.

Olamide · 22 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

First time buying a new house and CALA…

First time buying a new house and CALA have been amazing with us, especially Maria and Edwina at Bucklers Park who were fabulous, alongside the support of Lucy and Tony. Everyone was super helpful and very supportive especially as this was second time lucky for us! They have and still are available whenever we need help and are always willing to offer advice and support. We cannot thank the team enough for their support and help during this process.

Holly · 16 November 2023