written by mbultraslan on 02/11/2023
I recently embarked on the journey of finding my dream property, and it led me to Cala Homes. The experience I had with this company, particularly with the assistance of a representative, was truly exceptional. I encountered a few challenges on the way, primarily related to my mortgage and the need to sell my existing property to make my dream home a reality. Given the state of the market, selling my property in a short amount of time was proving to be a significant challenge. In my desperation, I reached out to Cala Homes, hoping that they might consider my property for part exchange. To my disappointment, representative from Cala Homes informed me that my property couldn't be considered for part exchange, as the property I desired to purchase was itself a part-exchanged property. However, her response went far beyond just a mere rejection. She assured me that Cala Homes was committed to making people happy, not just selling homes, and she vowed to do everything in her power to assist me. True to her word, she demonstrated unwavering dedication to my cause. She assured me that as long as I was making progress on my end, they would prioritize my offer over any others that might come their way. Remarkably, Cala Homes remained true to this promise throughout the entire process. Even when other estate agents presented more favorable offers, Cala Homes stood by my side and patiently waited for me to secure my mortgage. Throughout the journey, her support and attentiveness were truly remarkable. Her commitment to my selling progress and her determination to make me a happy homeowner were evident in every interaction we had. She went above and beyond, ensuring that my dream home would become a reality, despite the challenges we encountered. In conclusion, my experience with Cala Homes and, in particular, this amazing girl, was a testament to their unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction. They live by the principle of making people happy, not just selling houses, and they backed this commitment with actions. If you are in search of a property and value exceptional customer support and dedication, I wholeheartedly recommend Cala Homes. They turned my dream into a reality, and for that, I am immensely grateful.
written by 429Holloway on 03/03/2023
I own a 3-year old Cala property in the North of Scotland. I can honestly say that the standard of their customer service is appallingly bad. They show minimal levels of interest, willingness to show their duty of care and desire to provide a quality service. In summary they do not care about their customers! All they're interested in is maximising their profits by sacrificing the quality of their customer service. I could list loads of detailed examples of this inadequate service, however I don't think this texting box is big enough to accommodate them all. I am already looking forward to the paper thin / wishy-washy response I receive to this exceptionally negative review. Will they reach out to me and offer to help, absolutely not don't be stupid. They do not care!! Avoid!
written by Calaisawful on 05/10/2021
I got a house through the part exchange from cala,they did not do a survey even though they advertise they do and when I found out I had a issue with flooding in the crawl space from the house they sold me, they said they don't have to listen to complaints and only deal with solicitors, I never thought a company as big as cala would be happy for a family with a problem, to be told to go away unless you have a solicitor,absolutely disgusting customer service, should be ashamed of there self's!!! Would give no stars if possible.
written by Collrach on 05/05/2021
Avoid CALA Homes! We bought a house in 2012 from CALA Homes (previously Banner Homes) and have had numerous issues with no land registry approval for the house until 2021 - over 9 years! We have spent hours of time chasing CALA Homes, hundreds of calls and emails, accommodating numerous site visits and also being subjected to stress from neighbours when their house fell through due to the lack of land registry approval. No apology or action taken by CALA Homes despite promises from their Customer service for a goodwill gesture.
written by txKeller266 on 22/04/2021
The homes look lovely but have many issues - many of which are hidden (eg faulty stopcock that burst, loo that was incorrectly plumbed meaning a leak all over floors, carpets). The process for fixing problems is woefully inadequate meaning that sometimes the same problem has to be attended to 6 times before it gets fixed. The reason for the one star review is that Cala Homes tried to cover up rather than apologising and accepting responsibility for their mistake. We are taking the matter further with our solicitors but this is a warning for those who want to buy a Cala Home: Make sure you get a copy of the handover file. They will ask you to sign the last page but then if they've made a mistake they will switch the paperwork after you've signed it, so it looks as if you were aware of something that was not the case. Cala Homes are not to be trusted, despite their slick and glossy sales presentation.
written by Helen.surrey on 15/04/2021
I visited a 2-bed Cala's show home at Kings Barton, Winchester. My first and foremost concern was its SIZE i.e.: the insufficient space. It felt like this was designed for a young person/couple with few possessions to use as a pied à terre rather than a permanent home. Here are some aspects I found disproportionate: The tiny kitchen with the huge fridge/freezer and a big dishwasher occupying one cupboard and not enough cupboard/worktop space. For me personally a fridge with a freezer compartment would suffice, but for the sake of accommodating any potential buyer, it might be better to leave a space for it and customise it later. Now, the kitchen is a woman's food processing workshop. Similarly as in a man's workshop, you need space for storing stuff: cutlery, crockery, microwave, various utensils and appliances, food processors, foods, etc... There wasn't enough space there to accommodate a quarter of my kitchen contents. There was a washer dryer in a cupboard outside the kitchen. It would be preferable to have a washing machine in the kitchen and a rotary washing line in the small garden attached to the house. The 2 bedrooms should be at least twice as big. My intention was to use the second b-room as an office, which is a growing trend nowadays. You need space to set up a desk with a computer workstation, printer, bookshelves, cupboards, filing cabinets, etc. Again, that was completely inadequate. There was a bathroom and a separate shower cubicle. They could be combined to release some valuable space and a separate toilet downstairs would be useful. Also, I would like to see bigger windows to let more light in. This is just my first impression without getting into a more detailed inspection e.g.: checking up on a boiler, heating system, a thermal and acoustic insulation, etc. And all this for over £400K? Those prices are out of all proportions. I wish there were more female architectural designers to help design homes which after all, are mainly used by women. Although with the huge demand for new homes, they will sell no matter what, but construction of inadequate homes is perpetuating the problem of housing shortages.
written by Scotland2019 on 21/11/2019
November 2019 I recently read an article where customer experience manager at CALA Homes (North) said: “The customer journey is of the upmost importance, from start to finish." Well, let me tell you about my experience with purchasing a property from CALA. We were misled from day one: extremely poor quality of workmanship, dishonesty about future developments plans and the quality of the sound insulation. During the past 2.5 years I've had around 62 visits from CALA and wrote around 180 emails. The whole flooring was redone, major work with pipes, all windows and a patio door had to be changed due to damage during their installation and later on had to be re-sealed because of leakage. My bath panel was re-installed 2 weeks ago after 20 months - I had to write to the Managing Director because the Customer Service Manager wouldn't organise it. After living in my property for 2 and a half years, neither the communal lights nor the fire alarm system is working properly. This isn't an experience I would wish on anyone. I'm not the only one at this development who feels this way and our "customer journey" has been a been a very stressful one.
written by McKenzie473 on 18/10/2019
We have a Cala home which is now 2 years and 4 months old and we are still awaiting snags that were reported to them in the first 6 months to be repaired. We have had 2 major issues, one of which is not only a structural issue but also a health and safety issue which they’ve known about since January 2018 and still not rectified. Another large and expensive issue which they got a contractor to “redo” and the repair work was completely shoddy and caused subsequent problems. Cala denied all liability for this, every reason given by Cala for why they were not liable was in our opinion disproved and we are now at arbitration with a view to legal action backed by 2 independent contractors reports on the poor workmanship and NHBC intervention. Absolutely shocking customer service and excuse after excuse, not what you’d expect from a so called “premium home builder” when you spend half a million pounds!
written by Pfraser on 01/05/2019
I apart from all the stories we were told at the reservation stage, I was bullied into signing off my snagging list in order for them to complete handover of the building. I was promised this is normal procedure and that work would be completed within a few weeks. I have been in the property over 12 months now and I am still chasing them to try and resolve. Avoid this company at all costs.
written by 472Thomson on 19/11/2018
Terrible finishes, 7 months in house, snagging still on-going. Not happy, do not recommend! Poor customer service.
written by Poole343 on 07/08/2018
I was so excited to be moving into a new home built by a 5 star builder ... well so they keep telling me, but the after care is far less than 5 star and the staff are rude, inefficient and unprofessional. I would never ever buy from Cala again and would actively discourage anyone from doing so. We've had flooded garages, sewage in gardens, floods, leaking baths and showers, people falling over and getting injured on a site that just isn't finished let alone to a high standard. Not to mention boundaries not being in the right place, to name just a few things. The list is too long and would turn into a mad rant if I continue. To be honest Cala are all about reaching sales targets, cutting costs and taking the money and running as fast as possible. Buy if you fancy feeling let down and frustrated for months on end. Good luck
written by 1DEB on 27/07/2018
I am buying a house from Cala that they took in part-exchange for one of their new-build houses. The week before exchanging (when I had paid for a survey and given a deposit to the solicitors and gone through all the hassle of getting a mortgage) I was told that I would not be able to complete for at least 3 months as the new-build house was not ready. Basically you have to pay a 10% deposit then wait while your money is used to build a house for someone else.
written by johnharvey6 on 03/07/2018
we are living in a close of 5 houses built by Cala we are all have the same problems mainly poor heating leaking roofs poor insulation we cannot get telephone calls returned and no intrest from Cala these house cost 1.5 million plus
written by amywestran on 02/02/2018
We were so delighted with our Cala home when we first moved in the sales team were wonderful but I wish we’d researched them more carefully as after 8 weeks they pass you to their customer service team and they are the worst most disgusting excuse for a customer service team I have ever come across. They will do everything in their power to completely ignore you. The only way I managed to get through was to request to raise a formal complaint. They completely drop you at 8 weeks so when they say they support you for 2 years don’t believe them!
written by AshlynnGillespie194 on 07/01/2018
Purchased high end apartment but quickly found many issues relating to appalling workmanship and poor design. At first it appeared Cala were responsive but in fact they were just passing us back to their suppliers. Thereafter they just ignored our emails. Problems with the electrics which if the work had been inspected as per the regulations then these could not have existed. Farcical problem with patio doors where their rep could not open them but insisted he had inspected them the day before. If you deal with the sales team always write confirming emails. I appreciate that when buying a home finances are tight and with a new home you should not need a survey but with Cala you do! As soon as you are seriously interested in a Cala home arrange your own survey and I suspect you will be amazed at what needs to be done.
written by nmbe on 18/08/2017
Moved into our house, within 7 days of move in we were broken into and 30k of belongings stolen including family heirlooms. Burglars entered our house via the garage door that was faulty. We have said to Cala we find them liable for putting a faulty garage door on the property and therefor not making it secure they don't accept liability. All our neighbours with the same house are having same issue with the garage doors. We are now taking legal action against them. Numerous snagging issues still not resolved 8 weeks on including garage door!!!!!! Horrible company and appalling customer service. Wish we never bought from them!
written by BronsonBall on 13/08/2017
I have just moved into on a Cala new build & after a rocky start with the sales team things have improved tremendously the quality of the build finish is very good & the after sales from the site foreman & his tradesmen has been outstanding. Well done Cala I just wish I had complained earlier about poor sales service
written by CorneliusMeadows on 29/07/2017
We bought a Cala home in November 2016. 8 Months later and we still do not have a finished house. We have had so many problems due to poor quality and incorrect work, that its not possible to list it all. I do not recommend buying a new build house as they are so badly built, and avoid Cala homes as they are completely incompetent and only interested in taking your money. The managers will never speak to you or do anything about serious problems, and if customer services do send any trades people out, they are never supervised and the repairs are always substandard. DONT BUY A CALA HOME!
written by Burnylp on 27/06/2017
Let me begin by saying when you contact this lot about things they never get back in touch.The extractor fans in all the showers are not connected properly to the main pipe in the loft,shoddy workmanship.Paint flaking of above the windows no primer used the paint was put straight on to the metal above the windows.rubbish kitchen open plan design hardly any work surface and kitchen cuphoard space.expensive homes for what you get quality and design wise.i would not buy a Cala home again theres better out there.
written by MiaMcCabe487 on 17/06/2017
Bought a Cala luxury home a year ago! Still waiting for things to be fixed! They were quick to take the money and make promises but now I can't seem to get hold of them. We have had everything from disgunctional showers, broken leaking pipes, central heating failure to loft issues and now apparently even the bricks used were defective. It's has been such a stressful experience, it has taken all the joy out of buying a new home! Their own employees complain about them and the staff turnover is sky high!
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Ragay's Comment
Written on: 01/06/2018
We had the same issue with patio doors, squeaky floors, poorly done bathrooms and sanitary ware to the cheapest standard ever seen... they have the worst finish