DesignBuild fails to deliver

I've recently tried to have some deign work done for my home renovations through a well known design and build company in Queensland, Australia.

Design Build (formerly Majik) in Brisbane, affiliated with Adenbrook Homes and the Avalon Property Group, are supposed to be a professional outfit with experienced architects that deliver what you want for your home renos. This has NOT been our experience.

Despite us providing a detailed list of the renovations we wanted and a strict budget from the very first meeting, these guys designed our renos at over DOUBLE our budget (from $120k to $250k). The company even acknowledged to us their mistakes and the broken promises of their staff - but have refused to give us back our money.

When discussing the original estimate provided, it was revealed to us that the quote was far underestimated by the salesman, in what can only be seen as an attempt to get our business through intentional underestimating.

We have now wasted 12 months on these guys and it's cost us close to $10,000 for a set of plans we can't use. Our home renos haven't even started yet, even though they promised to have them completed by May.

If anybody has some advice on how to chase our money or a similar experience with DesignBuild, please send me an email:

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

Reply to
designbuildsux
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Whinging on Usenet won't help. Contact a lawyer.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Whining might, though ; }

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

Same thing. Whinge is English/Australian vernacular for whine. I was trying to speak his language.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

You're making that up!

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

No it's true, I often see people use that form of the word whine. I thought it was odd till I realized they were from other parts of the world.

Reply to
Edgar

I was kidding. I've seen it written....I wonder if you pronounce the 'g' like in "singe"

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

When I see it I I tend to pronounce it so it rhymes with singe. It's probably worng but that's the way it looks to me.

Reply to
Edgar

g'

You're wrong about being wrong. Two wrongs do make a right.

whinge Pronunciation [hwinj, winj]

-verb (used without object), whinged, whing=B7ing. British and Australian Informal. to complain; whine.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

You're wrong about being wrong. Two wrongs do make a right.

whinge Pronunciation [hwinj, winj]

-verb (used without object), whinged, whing·ing. British and Australian Informal. to complain; whine.

R

Live and learn. LOL I like how they use whine to define whinge.

Reply to
Edgar

I'd contact the local Architectural Registration Board. Here are the Australian standards:

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Reply to
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Careful. The term 'architect' may be used loosely here. According to

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lets anyone design anything, so it's unlikely that the offending designer has the "architect" designation, which is restricted. Everybody's "an architect" in conversation when they're pedaling services, but then many turn out not to be on paper when things go wrong. I've never seen it work the other way around.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

Evidently, they use architects in some kind of collaboration, specifically, Sparc Architects. Can't find a webpage on Sparc architects, and this is really an unfortunate name for the firm since Sparc architeture is a proprietary Sun microsystems Solaris system

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much used in Australia.

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one renno, quality unknown:
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Reply to
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