James C
We purchased a house and land package from Stonewood Homes Tauranga in December 2020, finally moving into the house September 2022. Initially the red carpet was rolled out, however after that it was nothing short of the most stressful period of our life.
Ground was not broken until the end of August 2021, after numerous requests asking when the start date was. The questions were skirted around, with the owner telling us to basically stop complaining as the land had gained value. I guess he expected us to pitch a tent on site.
After the work started, we soon realised that customer communication and care was not a value they held. There were times we’d hear nothing for a month then suddenly we’d get an invoice to pay within the week. We’d have to go back each time asking for an update and what work was completed or we wouldn’t be paying the invoice. Only then would we get an email back.
We were told consistently that XYZ was happening, only to then drive by and see nothing was going on.
Painting was a nightmare, with Stonewood using someone who couldn’t paint a straight line or do anything to best practice. This was after asking in May 2022 what was happening with the interior colours, as no one had asked. They even forgot to order in our wardrobe (that we paid the invoice for a year earlier), as they’d assumed we were doing it.
After the second project manager left, no one told us. Despite emailing the project manager and CCing in the owner to no response for weeks. Only when I messaged his wife were we told he’d resigned.
Going to head office was a waste of time. They glossed over complaints, despite me detailing that more than half of our emails were going unanswered and there was no communication. This was after an agreement being reached that we’d get an update every fortnight.
Heck, even when we moved in, the front door didn’t work, and it was the wrong one! Come January 2023, I contacted the sub contractor and they came and fixed it that day. Still no knowledge of when the door we paid for is actually going to be installed. Several windows had scratches in them too, with dried paint left on windows throughout the house.
I could keep going on about the issues, and have spreadsheets and emails documenting their failure. Our friends and family are surprised they can even run a business like this, and others in the industry were aghast with how we were treated by both Tauranga and Head Office when I did my due diligence to make sure I wasn’t having unrealistic expectations.
Reading online our project was not an isolated incident, with several customers detailing delays, lack of communication, and more issues. I’ve now used this entire project as a written case study on what not to do with communication.
If anyone is considering Stonewood, I’d recommend you don’t even engage with them or Google them. Getting married and my father dying in the same month through COVID was nowhere near as stressful as this build.