Coast to Coast Homes under investigation by Consumer and Business Services
Failed builder Coast to Coast Homes — which owes $5 million — is now being investigated, but one customer says it should have happened 12 months ago.
- Coast to Coast Homes goes bust
- Customer tells of building nightmare
- Suppliers target director’s house
- Customers to lose deposits
- Builder undertook ‘illegal’ construction
- Director told to stay away from local pub
The state’s consumer watchdog is investigating collapsed builder Coast to Coast Homes amid criticism it failed to act on complaints about the company that left a trail of financial ruin.
A spokesman for Consumer and Business Services said the agency was “unable” to comment on the nature of the investigation or when it launched the inquiry.
One customer told The Advertiser that a senior investigator contacted her in June, three days after the paper revealed her bad experiences of building with Coast to Coast Homes, which closed its doors in May owing at least $5 million.
Mel Birt’s Tranmere house is littered with defects and faults and she has been quoted up to $162,000 to Coast to Coast Homes’ shoddy workmanship.
She can claim only $80,000 under her home warranty insurance.
Ms Birt, who signed a $474,000 building contract with Coast to Coast Homes in June 2016, said the investigator was from a department investigating breaches of building codes, contracts and legislation.
“I think he’s trying to gauge what sort of problems we experienced, how many and the extent,” she said.
“He said was I willing to make a statement should he require one and I said ‘yes, 100 per cent’, but he hasn’t asked me to make the statement.”
Ms Birt said an insurance assessor who inspected her house on Monday said all exterior paving would have to be replaced.
She said she was also told the bathroom would have to be gutted and replaced and the house repainted.
Another Coast to Coast Homes’ customer, Jacinta Starick, who has an incomplete property at Mt Barker, has hit out at CBS for what she claims was its failure to adequately investigate complaints she raised about the company a year ago.
“Even though the name of the builder was known, there was no interest by CBS and one was referred to legal services and to take legal action as all matters were considered contractual in nature,” she said in a July 7 email to CBS commissioner Dini Soulio.
“After considerable effort by me, 12 months of rattling CBS cages, I was required to spend considerable time and effort in encouraging other homeowners to make contact with you, so that you could take the matter ‘seriously’.
“You should now be aware of the extent of the delinquency of C2CH and the considerable hardship they have imposed on others — homeowners, suppliers and industry alike — QBE insurance alone will have a full understanding of the ramifications of the delinquency of this builder (as will the liquidator).
“When it is obvious through numerous complaints received against a trader that there are substantial issues, how can a targeted body like CBS not take action — what actually is your jurisdiction and influence for change?”
The CBS spokesman said CBS took allegations of misconduct seriously and made “every effort” to support consumers.
“If a consumer advises they are aware of others who are having difficulty with the same trader, we will always encourage them to get in touch to assist with any investigation,” he said.
“Any allegations of misconduct will be assessed in accordance with the relevant licensing regime and consumer protection laws.”
Did you build with Coast to Coast Homes? We want to hear your experiences. Email Renato Castello at renato.castello@news.com.au
