A very unpleasant experience
I have contacted Hughes Architects on June 7, 2021 looking for professional supervision of installation of a new en suite bathroom and addition of a toilet in existing master bathroom. I have mentioned other home improvement projects that I was considering implementing in the future, depending on my financial situation, with no certain date in mind. This was clearly explained to Doug Hughes during his site visit.
I found their “service” misleading and unprofessional, to say the least.
I am inexperienced in dealing with the architects and am a single woman.
With the hindsight, I feel, HA had seen and taken an opportunity to take advantage of an inexperienced customer.
Hughes Architects caused me to waste over 3.5 months in time, making me wait and falsely leading me to believe that the project for the two bathrooms HA agreed to supervise, was in hand, and charged me £5.100 for the following:
1. Many designs absolutely unrelated to the projects discussed; 2. Designs with incorrect measurements; 3. Designs without measurements; 4. Designs that cannot be implemented.
HA started avoiding my communications after I have promptly paid all bills. Doug Hughes strung me along from June 21 until October 8, when I was eventually informed during our final meeting, to which I have come fully expecting to receive costings for both bathrooms, that “it will be much more cost effective for me to find my own contractors to install the bathrooms”, effectively informing me that he had reneged on his promise to supervise the project.
I left the meeting in a state of shock and wrote a letter of complaint to Hughes Architects.
I have also taken my own measurements of all projects measured by HA and found practically all of them inaccurate, some to an extraordinary degree, demonstrating as much as 75 cm discrepancy.
Measurements for about half of the projects were not provided at all.
In his reply to my two letters asking why HA have not advised me to find my own bathroom fitters in the first instance, led me to believe for over 3.5 months that I will be receiving bathroom quotes any day, while charging me for drawings unfit for purpose and of no use to me; and requesting a full refund, HA has chosen not to answer my questions and stated the following:
“We have reviewed our drawings against your measurements and our original survey notes. We confirm all measurements are within expected tolerances and do not prevent the project from being constructed, unless you can supply technical data from the bathroom fitters to the contrary.
We remain of the opinion that we have discharged our service obligations fully in accordance with our original terms with you.”
I have engaged bathroom fitters who have come out for a site visit on October 18 – they have confirmed inaccuracy of the measurement and unfeasibility of the design proposed by HA.
I am now in the process of gathering final pieces of evidence for my case against Hughes Architects to start a procedure in a Small Claims Court.
November 8, 2021
Unprompted review
