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My flat is no luxury...
By Mira Bar-Hillel Last updated at 00:00am on 02.10.01It should have been one of the happiest days in the life of Jerry Beck. He was moving into a new £750,000, three-bedroom penthouse at the Icon, a riverside scheme in Docklands. Developers Persimmon described the Icon as "a flagship, a new landmark, headturning, high-profile".
In Jerry Beck's case, it not so much turned his head as made it spin. He said: "I was assured by the foreman that the flat would be habitable that day, so I agreed to move in. But when I got there I found a flat with no front door, every wall and floor covered in plastic sheets, with rubble and tools filling most of the living room.
"The patio had a skip in it and the fridge was in the main bedroom. None of the bathrooms were usable and there was exposed electrical wiring."
He added: "I earlier received a very angry phone call from sales director Andrew Storey, who tried to bully me into completing. He was very aggressive and threatened to charge interest on the value of the flat if I didn't complete. He didn't seem to care that the flat was totally inadequate."
Now, three months on, Mr Beck - and many others with similar experiences - feel more cheated than ever. A bathroom was made useable on 12 July but then Mr Beck discovered the roof was leaking badly and damaging the interior of the flat.
Barbara Robinson had a similar experience. She said: "We arrived with our furniture on the day Persimmon promised the flat would be ready. There were still workmen in our flat. There was no usable bathroom, none of the kitchen appliances were connected and it actually took two weeks of concentrated work for them to bring it to a basic liveable standard."
Gareth Bashir, a surgeon at Barts Hospital, completed on 30 April, having also been told he would be fined four per cent of the price if he did not.
He said: "The flat was completely uninhabitable. I couldn't move in for over a month, during which time I had to pay the mortgage on a flat I couldn't occupy. The lift didn't work and I once got stuck for an hour and a half. When I gave Persimmon the keys to get the place sorted out I came home to find the front door wide open. I had to move all my stuff out again.
"When I protested, I found Persimmon's London director David Fordham so aggressive and confrontational that I feared for my personal safety."
Martin Pritchard had his two Icon flats surveyed by independent building inspector Stephen Nancarrow on 8 September.
Mr Nancarrow found "potentially fatal" breaches of fire regulations and building regulations. He added: "These flats were not ready for occupation when the Pritchards moved in and they are still not ready now."
Icon flats were also built with inadequate sound insulation. This not only means that residents can hear every word their neighbours say, it is also against the building regulations.
Tower Hamlets council told the Evening Standard: "The developers have acted contrary to building regulations by moving residents in before a completion certificate was issued. If the work is not completed to the standard expected by the council, enforcement action is an option open to us."
Persimmon's regional director, David Bryant, said: "We agreed a phased occupation with Tower Hamlets Building Control." However, the council told the Evening Standard that this agreement had been breached.
Mr Bryant also said the building "has been inspected by the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) and final certificates are being issued as purchasers continue to complete".
The NHBC told the Evening Standard that Icon flats were occupied weeks and even months before their final inspection.
Mr Beck said: "I was told that the completion of my flat had been accelerated in order to improve the company's results."
Persimmon denied this but has reported a 73 per cent rise in profits for the first half of the year, to £84 million. It has confirmed problems with the lifts, the soundproofing, Mr Beck's leaky roof and the poor after- sales service. Mr Bryant expressed regrets about "any inconvenience to our purchasers".
However, a three-page newsletter he sent to the residents last week contained no admission of fault and no apology.
Mr Beck, Mr Pritchard and Dr Bashir are now planning to sue Persimmon for out-of-pocket expenses, damages and compensation.
On another Persimmon development in the City, journalist Sally Shalam has also had massive problems. The final straw came when she had to move into a hotel while her floor was repaired - and Persimmon failed to reimburse her expenses, causing her to exceed her credit-card limit.
She said: "I have just moved back into the flat I paid a substantial amount of money for in March. I hope nothing else goes wrong - I couldn't stand it."
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