VENT! VENT! VENT! VENT!

Good luck Jo, do you not think you can stick it out any longer?

I know what you are going through, we almost threw the whole thing in too (a couple of years ago) and thought about just selling everything up and buying established, but in the end we knew that this was really our dream and we wouldn't be happy anywhere else.

But only you can decide this, it just seems a shame to give up when you are so close to starting, but then again how many stuff ups do you have to put up with.

Hope you can sort it out with them

I cannot imagine if this happen to me... my DH properly gone mad and run into their head office straight away...

Hi Joles

Venting is good because it gets it out of your system. You need to do it so that you can clear your head, it works.

Allow me to introduce you to my good friends at the BCAV, phone no. 1300 557 559. I say this because having built with MB I have spent a lot of time talking to these people. This is the best place to start. Ultimately they may say seek legal advice, however, they do understand these issues. and they are the best place to start. I have raised my voice a few times when talking to them but they handle these situations quite well too.

Now about your comment:
"I really feel enough is enough..... and I think I'm prepared to lose 15k deposit to walk away. I will sit on this and think about it. But at this very moment I have lost all confidence in M3tricon".

If you are willing to lose $15,000 then here's my suggestion. Rather than do that, see what the BCAV has to say. And then get a lawyer who specialises in building/construction to handle this for you. It will cost you a lot less to get them to go over the contract and all the information you have in writing, and then for them to write to the builders than it would for you to walk away. Sometimes you will find that lawyers will give some advice free over the phone, then if you want to take it any further that's when they charge.

The thing is even if you get everything right on the contract and plans, as others have said, they can still stuff it up. We were one day away from having our slab poured with the wrong set-back. It was only because we went out and checked the site prior to slab pour. All this because someone was given the wrong plans. And if you change builders you may have exactly the same problems again.

I know that this may hold your build up, but so will changing builders and going through the whole thing again. So prepare yourself for a bit more of a delay, but take the control from them, use the resources available to you and make them accountable.

Things will seem a lot better in the morning.

I think the mention of BCAV, maybe enough of a kick start for them to get it together!

Most builders don’t want to go down this track, but you have to make it clear to them that you are prepared to do so.

Now might be time for the old scare tactic… give it a go in the morning Jo, see where it gets you. It might be all you need.

I've sent an email to request a meeting with the regional manager at head office. I will see what the response is in the morning.

sorry to hear about ur plans jo! i feel ur pain...we had get our final drawings re-drawn about 5 times before everything was right...

hopefully u get to have that meeting with the regional manager and kick some butt into gear!

good luck!

Joles hopefully you get a good response tomorrow,$15,000 is alot to walk away. You might find its a new drafties in the office trying to get things done without the right kind of guidance. Not as an excuse but just to know what these morons are doing with your time and money.
As long as you have everything by correspondance and somewhere there is in writing all your upgrades then it should reflect in your building but I understand you want to see it on the plans...............you would think for builders this would be the easy essential part......
I feel angry for you. Getting dic#ed around by these people is so frustrating you just want to shake one of them and ask them when they are going to wake up.

Good luck...

"Please find attached your Final Construction Drawings which have now been checked and completed for construction. They will reflect all changes requested on your contract and variations."


The new kid stuffed up in drafting just isn't gonna fly with me.

SO frustrating for you Jo.

BUT if you've got everything in writing, doesn;t that mean that it can be changed back to the correct stuff?

Surely that's not worth losing $15k over? Yes it will hold you up and yes it's the 'n'th time they've done it and it's freaking annoying, but is it worth walking away over?

Um, I'm having an ice cream for you to go with that wine

Donuts,
Yes it can be checked and corrected.
Yes it can be checked and corrected.
Yes it can be checked and corrected.
Yes it can be checked and corrected.


Sorry..... just been hearing that line for months now... so no, apparently it isn't as simple as it sounds!
Otherwise someone would have managed to do it!!!!!!!

Jo,

You look safe. Everything is in writing, just get them to fix it.

Cheers,
Casa

Yep point taken, hence your vent right?

Have another glass..

Chill pill time Joles.

As photogirl says - take big deep breath - take the emotion out of it - rationally approach the issue.

It's far better to sort through it than to simply take flight and try to run away into another set of issues with another builder.

Until then - sit back relax and think of something like how cool those dolphins were in your river the other day.



Try not to give the voodoo doll too hard a time tonight



Text from web site: Voodoo doll will fit snugly into your revenge fantasies. Whether it’s piercing an eyeball or stabbing a testical she’ll be there for you. Voodoo doll is 24 cm tall, filled with firm cotton and a steely resolve to endure pain. Pins and satisfaction included.

And remember to remind the SAID builder - about that fellow whose nose used to grow when he told porky pies


Steve

I need a boyfriend. Someone to hug me would have been very nice tonight. Wonder what SD is doing.... It's cold and all his blubber would keep me warm and happy.

I have a plan for tomorrow. I'm being logical. I'll be taking my damn money if I go. The main point is two fold.... I've lost confidence in their competency and I've lost confidence in their honesty. Well as much confidence as you can have of either...

And Steve... I really want one of those voodoo dolls!

I hope it all works out ok Joles.

/hugs

Batesy

Maybe you need one of these - think of all the M3 staff you could put in there.



re pulling out - take a day or two to cool down before you do anything rash re your contract etc. and do as photgilr said. See some organisational types to see what they say.

Steve

Thanks Batesy and Steve.
I won't do anything rash.... but I'm not putting up with anymore crap.
The point is we should have started by now.... they've held everything up... not us. If the contract had been ight to start with we could have pretty much got stuck into the building when the land settled.

I'm just venting... I'll be reational when I deal with them.

We're just at the beginning, but I can understand your frustration. I asked for a contract and start date for our house - they replied they were waiting on council approval and demolition of the old house. Problem is, council approval was given last week (which they knew about because I emailed them and they said they were just waiting on paperwork now). Also, old house was demolished over 2 months ago, which they also knew. I'm hoping to nip this in the bud now, but I don't like my chances.

Hope you get everything sorted out the way you want.

Judie

What is it with this particular industry that their customer service, in most cases, is non-existent ? How did lack of it, get to the stage where it's rampant ?

I've come to the conclusion, that they have gotten away with it for so long because their customers treat a build as personal. Yes, it's personal but at the end of the day it isa also a HUGE business transaction.

If over the years, customers had reigned in their emotions & treated the process as a series of business decisions & walked away when they got bad service, then I really believe builders would have taken a serious look at their practices & upped their game.

I work in the commercial building industry & there is no way we would be so successful or still in business for that matter, if we treated our clients this way !

But unfortunately, the precedents have been set and I don't see anything changing.

Worst thing is, the biulders know it !

Totally agree Southies!

The problem also is they have a product that people want at a price that is very competitive; they are very good at selling a dream. I also think customers are prepared to put up with absolute crap and incompetency because of the complexity of finding builder to build a home at a reasonable price.

Going down the custom home road is not filled without its risk and dramas. Builders can go broke or just take a loooong time to finish the house. It also can be much more costly to go with a CB...add another 200k on top of the build (at least for us)

Big M and other volume builders know they have cornered the market and can treat their customers as rudely as they like. I am also flabbergasted by the terrible customer service and if I displayed any of those qualities in my job, I would have been sacked years ago. There is no excuse!

I think people do have to start walking away before they get the message, sadly I don’t think it’s going to happen. The display homes are too alluring.

Mrs B

Jo...I definately think you should not walk away as you have already paid a big deposit. Just go through the steps in the next few days and see what eventuates