Warranty woes
Protecting Housebuilders, Lowering Standards
Warranty cover is…
…whatever they deign to give you.
And if you do not like what they are offering, what are you going to do about it? That is the question they effectively pose to you when you make a claim on your warranty.
New home warranties are industry-led schemes designed primarily to protect the interests of housebuilders and mortgage lenders by controlling and minimising the redress you get in relation to defects.
If you want to do better, you have to do different.
We show you how.
Our New Home Buyer Claims service helps you avoid these designed-in pitfalls and get what you are entitled to, not what they want to get away with.
Please contact us today to find out how we can help you.
Can you complain to the Financial Ombudsman?
You can, but it may do you no good.
Let us consider the NHBC, which is the biggest warranty provider.
What if the NHBC, through its Resolution Service - the gateway through which most policy claims have to pass - rejects your legitimate claim? Too bad. The Resolution Service is not a regulated insurance activity, therefore the Financial Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to consider your complaint, meaning the NHBC is more or less free to reject legitimate claims with impunity.
What if the NHBC makes a low-ball cash settlement offer in relation to your claim? Yes, you probably can complain to the Financial Ombudsman, but would you know how to do that to improve significantly on the NHBC’s cash offer? Most policyholders would likely benefit substantially from advice on this complex area but NHBC’s Buildmark policy excludes cover for legal costs, deterring you from seeking the advice needed to achieve the best outcome.
Run by housebuilders, for housebuilders
NHBC is the UK’s biggest provider of new home warranties with around 80% of the market. Their tag line is “Raising Standards, Protecting Homeowners”.
Is that really what they are about, though?
NHBC is run by its board of directors and governed by its Council members. As at the start of 2025, board members include:
Steve Wood, who also sits on the board of the New Homes Quality Board (another body under the influence of housebuilders not buyers).
David Campbell, former board member at Telford Homes plc, Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments and Wilson Bowden Developments, and current board member of HBF (the organisation that awards housebuilders with Star Ratings).
Elizabeth Austerberry, former CEO at Moat Homes and board member of HBF.
Stephen Stone, current HBF board member, former CEO of Crest Nicholson and still a non-exec there as well as other housebuilders including Miller Homes and Keepmoat.
Its Council members include:
All housebuilders who sell homes with Buildmark cover.
NHBC board members (see above).
The HBF.
Lots of other industry bodies whose interests are aligned in driving volume and profitability within the industry, which tends to be at odds with driving construction quality or customer satisfaction.
There are no directors or Council members from organisations that represent the interests of new build homebuyers.
The NHBC is not a quasi statutory body, it is a private company serving the interests of the housebuilding industry, not you the policyholder.
If your experience of the NHBC has been less than satisfactory, this may help to explain why.
If you want to do better, you have to do different. Use the industry’s schemes at your peril.
Our New Home Buyer Claims service is how you do better than they have in store for you, helping you obtain proper redress, affordably and cost-effectively.
Please get in touch to find out how we can help you.
Secret dealings
When you make a claim on your NHBC Buildmark policy, NHBC is normally looking to pass on the cost of any claim it accepts to the housebuilder.
It does that under the terms of its contract with them, called “Rules for builders and developers registered with NHBC”.
NHBC will normally ensure it is aligned with the housebuilder over which of your claims it will accept, before it accepts them. If it were not aligned, the housebuilder could refuse to pay and NHBC would be left out of pocket or have to take them to arbitration which is expensive, so it doesn’t want to do that - much easier to reject your claim safe in the knowledge that the Financial Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to consider your complaint about that…
In practice, NHBC may hold numerous private discussions with the housebuilder about your claim and decide whether to accept it in conference with the housebuilder, even though the decision will be presented to you as NHBC’s work. All of this will be done in secret, without any reference to you.
NHBC does not t hide the fact it will hold private discussions with your housebuilder when you make a claim. It says so in your Buildmark policy when describing its Resolution Service (“…we will contact the builder…”). But most policyholders will never know the extent of those discussions or the degree to which the housebuilder determines the outcome of their claim.
All of which may help you better understand why housebuilders so frequently encourage disgruntled owners to refer their issues to the NHBC.
If you want to do better, you have to do different. It is time to stop using the schemes laid on by the industry, designed to work for them not you and see them profit from your loss.
Our New Home Buyer Claims service is the solution. Please get in touch today to find out how we can help you get what you are entitled to, not what they want to get away with.