Charity president, 66, buys giant banner calling out developers for problems at ... trends now
A charity president who spent £200 on a giant banner calling out a major housing developer for failing to fix problems with his brand-new £500,000 home today told how he decided 'enough is enough.'
Balbinder Singh, 66, from Mickleover, Derby, says developer Avant Homes has been ignoring his repeated requests for issues to be repaired, and even caused further damage to the property on one visit to inspect the house.
The retired businessman, who lives with his wife Kulbinder Kaur, 62, moved into the four-bedroom, three-bathroom property in April 2021 - but immediately noticed issues with the construction.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline on Friday, Mr Singh described at least seven separate issues with the property that have emerged less than two years after moving in.
He said he hopes his banner 'shames' Avant into taking action and accused the company of 'making millions of pounds' while not caring for the families they are selling to.
Charity boss Balbinder Singh, 66, spent £200 on the giant banner after claiming Avant is 'ignoring' his attempts to contact them
Even before Mr Singh and Mrs Kaur, who have four children and four grandchildren, moved in they noticed a significant amount of water was running off the porch roof and down the wall next to the front door, soaking the brickwork.
Mr Singh said when he contacted Avant about the issue, they said they would fix it 'straight away' - but no-one has ever come to look at the problem.
He added: 'We are still waiting. The wall is absolutely full of water, it shouldn't be like that.
'Then we started noticing other problems after we moved in.
'The extractor fan wasn't connected to anything, there is no duct to the outside.
'So the air and cooking smells it sucks in were just circulating around the room.
'Even if we are cooking pasta, condensation from the steam drips off the cooker hood.'
He claimed Avant did send someone to fix the extractor fan, but instead of fixing the fan the workman caused a new problem by breaking their under-counter strip lighting.
The couple say they noticed water pouring off the side of the porch before they even moved in, and it has now led to mold and damp on the house's exterior
One major problem is a porch overhang from which water runs off and pours down the outside wall
Avant Homes allegedly promised to replace glass which was covered by brown paint before the Singhs moved in, but it has still not been done
Mr Singh claimed a member of Avant staff arrived to fix their extractor fan, but instead caused further damage by breaking a section of the couple's strip lighting
When the couple complained about the damage caused, around Christmas 2021, they say they were promised someone would come and fix it - but no-one ever did.
They showed MailOnline damage to the patio doors they say was present on the day they moved in, consisting of a large area of brown paint-like splatters.
Mr Singh said: 'They [Avant] came to look at it but said they couldn't remove it, so they would replace the glass. Again, that hasn't been done.'
He listed further issues including interior doors that were marked before they arrived, and a cracked toilet seat.
Mr Singh also said the wardrobes in the master bedroom were not fitted properly, meaning one door has already completely come off.
He said: 'This is all stuff we have told would be repaired, but hasn't been.
'These might seem like minor things, but they all add up. And when you spend half a million pounds on a house, you expect it to be perfect.
'All we want is for Avant to come out and finish the job. It would only take a day or two.
'But they are making millions of pounds, and simply aren't bothered.
'I gave them a week's notice before I put up the banner. But they still didn't respond. Now they are ignoring me.
'I had it done because I was angry, and I decided enough was enough.
'It cost me £200 from a local printer, but someone had to say something. I hope it shames them.
'They
