A furious couple were forced to spend nearly a year living in a caravan after the move in date for their new dream home was delayed eight times by builders.
Rob and Irene Callan, both 64, put a deposit down for their new Allanwater Homes three-bedroom semi-detached house in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, in 2017.
The pair, who have two children and were living in Larbert, Falkirk, were told they would get the keys for the new house one year later in August 2018.
The couple sold their house and moved into a caravan in Fishcross, Clackmannanshire, in 2018
Confident that date would be met, they sold their house in Larbert and moved into a caravan that they had bought in Fishcross, Clackmannanshire, in March 2018.
The couple thought they would stay there for five months but following continued delays to their home, they were left stranded in the caravan until this January.
Allanwater Homes has now apologised to the couple and given them £3,000 worth of extras in their new home by way of compensation.
Mr Callan said: ‘We got mucked about so much with move-in dates. Obviously every time we got told November, for example, we thought: ‘Right, just a few more weeks.’
Rob and Irene Callan spent almost a year in a caravan while the date to move into their new Allanwater Homes three-bedroom semi-detached house in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, in 2017
‘Then we got told again, and it was just that constant upheaval that was wearing us down.’
Despite repeatedly complaining to Allanwater about the problems they were facing, Mr Callan claimed they were never fully told what the cause of the delays had been.
The senior facilities manager said: ‘They would probably tell you they communicated well, and they did.
‘But, most of that was because of me saying: ‘I need an update, what’s going on?’ I just felt I was continually pushing them for a response.’
Allanwater Homes has now apologised to the couple, who are pictured with their dog Skye, and given them £3,000 worth of extras in their new home by way of compensation
The couple, who have two children, started sending letters and emails to the company’s senior staff – hoping to get their situation sorted.
Eventually, they received a letter at the end of March from a senior staff member.
The couple said it reads: ‘Clearly, as you were given eight different potential move-in dates, we did not meet the code’s guideline.’
The employee also admitted that was an ‘unreasonable’ number of date changes.
Despite repeatedly complaining to Allanwater about the problems they were facing, Mr Callan claimed they were never fully told what the cause of the delays had been
Despite now living in their new house, the couple wants to make others aware of the nightmare they went through.
Mr Callan said: ‘It is just absolute annoyance and anger at the way we were treated. I don’t want this to wear me down, but I do want to take it further because it was wrong.’
And his wife, who works as a domestic assistant for the NHS, said the problems continued once they had moved in.
Mrs Callan said: ‘When we moved in, the house was covered in grit and dirt.
‘There were still people working on the house, a painter was there, and there was something wrong was the shower in the en suite. It was an absolute nightmare.’
The couple thought they would stay in their caravan (pictured) for five months but following continued delays to their home, they were left stranded in it until this January
An Allanwater Homes spokesman said: ‘We would like to once again sincerely apologise for the upset and inconvenience caused to Mr and Mrs Callan.
‘The Consumer Code is a voluntary code and open to broad interpretation.
‘One of its requirements is that we give ‘reliable and realistic’ information, and on this occasion, through having to change entry dates, we fell well short of the code’s standard.
‘The couple have been compensated with extras in their new home to the value of approximately £3,000.’