Charles Church Reviews 

Visited Lockside, Lichfield site today with a friend that is interested in a specific plot on the development. My friend had visited earlier in the day but the sales office was closed so she left her contact details for someone to call. My friend was very keen on the property but by 2pm no-one had contacted her. Keen to make progress she asked if I would go with her to speak to the sales advisor. The property is lovely and eventually we did manage to track down the sales advisor. First impression was poor. They made no effort to greet my friend and stood behind a metal fence talking to us. They didn't invite us in to discuss my friend's requirements or show us a site map, etc. and seemed more interested in the the task of moving their office than selling a property. Apparently if we went back in a week or so they could help! We enquired about the various options available in terms of buying the property as well as help in selling an existing property. These options are detailed on your website. We were met with answers that may have been factual but were delivered in a rather abrupt fashion. There was no effort to engage with my friend or discuss any options in further detail. I think it is the opinion of the sales advisor that the houses will sell themselves. I hope for his sake they do and he doesn't have to fall back on their zero communication, customer care and sales skills.

The delay in posting this review is because I did not want it to influence any decisions made by Charles Church during the initial two-year warranty period.

Unfortunately, I have never made peace with what was a very disappointing sales experience.

Once we had decided this was the right property for us, we booked an appointment to reserve it. We arrived at the show home excited to begin the process, only to be told that, because of another property I owned, Mortgages First had advised we could not proceed this was an unnecessary issue as we were not using Mortgages First. Although I was able to quickly provide our Halifax mortgage agreement in principle, this immediately set the tone for the appointment. If there were concerns about our ability to purchase, why were we not contacted before the appointment? From that point onwards, the sales team showed very little interest in us. Despite deciding to continue because we loved the property, we left having paid our reservation fee and selected our options feeling completely deflated.

The lack of attention continued throughout the process. None of our chosen options or carpet selections had been recorded, meaning we were later contacted to confirm them again. More seriously, because the reservation details had not been properly documented, we moved into the property without the agreed appliances having been fitted.

I raised these concerns in my post-handover NHBC survey. To his credit, the site manager responded promptly in person. He was professional, helpful, and genuinely tried to put things right. However, his efforts were undermined by the sales manager, who, through the site manager, promised to contact me directly. Despite several reminders from me, that contact never happened.

Overall, while we are happy with the house itself, the purchasing experience was extremely disappointing. The level of customer service and attention to detail fell well below what I would expect when making such a significant purchase. The sales team showed little interest once questions arose, communication was poor, and commitments made were simply not followed through.

Recently purchased a Charles Church home. 5 bed detached Fenchurch for £440K.
It has been a huge disappointment and we regret the purchase.
Close to 200 snags which included water leaks, electrical faults, wrong doors fitted, internal garage door the wrong way round, appliances dont fit in utility room and general poor quality of work throughout.
The completion of snags is still ongoing after 4 weeks and expect it to continue for the foreseeable which has massively impacted us personally as our home feels like a building site and we are constantly having to stay in to allow works to progress.
Not what I expected considering the cost of this home.
I would not recommend this company based on my experience as well of that of my neighbours who seem to have similar issues.

The sales team, Gina and Warren were very professional and helpful along with the mortgage and legal teams, that helped us in the process. Jeff and James the site reps also helpful, sadly though the expectation over reality of moving into a £490k home have been left a bit short. Numerous defects identified weeks before still unresolved. Appliances fitted but not connected. Rushed workmanship resulting in poor quality of finish. Flooring damaged, doors poorly hung, some incorrect to spec, basins loose. Paint and sealant defects. I understand these companies are building large volumes of houses, and there are obviously costs and deadlines, but take a pause, check the quality and focus on completing to a high standard and right first time…

The sales staff were extremely kind and accommodating to various requests from us as first time buyers. They took care to answer our queries, and worked with us to provide a tailored purchasing solution.

The floors upstairs are not level and need to come up so they can be levelled. No date for work given so cannot have wardrobes etc fitted and we are in hold until they can arrange.

Shower in one of the bathrooms doesn’t drain so floods the bathroom

3 out of 4 toilets leaked

All radiator valves downstairs were leaking

Grass did not have graded top soil put under and is a patchwork of healthy and dead grass

Manholes in the garden wobble

Paintwork has scuffs throughout

Windowsill outside one of the bedrooms is
not level

LVT looks rubbish with gaps in

This is just a few issues there are more. Horrible experience in what should have been an exciting time for our family. Instead I feel like we have bought faulty towers!

Professionals and friendly sales lady (Louise) she explained everything in great detail and was extremely patient and understanding when we wernt sure which type of plot we preferred.

Had a great experience with Charles Church, we are dealing with Shaun who has been fantastic through out the process so far and a big part of our experience.

Reserved at Cathedral View. So far every interaction has been brilliant. Aimee has been incredibly helpful and supportive, having a friendly face when we visit, really makes what is a stressful process, enjoyable. The plot we have chosen is built and we love it and cannot wait to move in

First time buying a New Build, have been very impressed so far. Yes, there have been some little snags to sort out, but then we had plenty of "issues" with our 36 year old house. The Sales office and Site Managers at the Hamlet have been great in addressing any issues we have had.

The house is open, light and so much of better for all the family. Inbuilt solar panels are a great plus and looking forward to lower heating bills over the winter!

Easy move
Great support from site management team

To Emma B @ Persimmon & Charles Church Homes (South Midlands Customer Care)
Just a quick note to say thank you for your continued support. We truly appreciate your diligence and commitment to customer care — especially the fact that you still took the time to follow up with us even while you were on leave. It really shows how dedicated you are, and it means a great deal to us.

Thank you again for everything you’re doing to help move the outstanding snagging items forward.

Kind regards, Mr & Mrs Perera (170)

Excellent sales journey, especially thanks to Kerry the sales advisor.

Excellent experience buying a new build with Charles Church.

The highlight of our experience with Charles Church started with Rosie the sales advisor. She is hands down the most professional, experienced and knowledgable person we have experienced in our long search for our house.
Her knowledge made the entire process so much easier, this followed on by a fantastic site manager, Gary who made it clear the amount of support on offer from Charles Church in the aftercare period.
The company was fantastic in offering professional guidance at any point.
We would absolutely recommend Charles Church to everyone we know looking for a house.

Burgess Hill - The Croft

We have been extremely disappointed with both the quality of our new home and the level of customer service we’ve received from the developer.

From the beginning, we’ve experienced numerous issues with the workmanship and finish of the property. For what should be a premium new-build home, the standard has fallen well below our expectations. We’ve had to spend far too much time reporting defects and chasing for updates.

Unfortunately, the customer service has been just as disappointing. Communication has been poor, responses have often been slow, and we’ve felt that our concerns have not been taken seriously. Instead of enjoying our new home, we’ve been left dealing with ongoing problems and unnecessary stress.

Quality rather than sales. Too fast and keen to hit targets at the expense of being ready. House is very dirty clearly no quality check was completed. Have been though this process before but the house is damaged due to poor quality management. Lovely house shame about the handover

Thanks so much for supporting me through the whole process and helping me to choose my dream forever home. Paul was absolutely amazing and without him I probably wouldn’t have made the decision to move where I have. He kept me totally informed throughout. Thanks team.

"I recently purchased my new home at Lambourne Meadows in Thatcham, and I cannot fault the experience. Kelly, Sara, Rosie, and Gary have been absolutely amazing throughout the entire buying process. They were incredibly supportive, highly professional, and kept me fully informed at every stage of the house move. Their personal and attentive customer service made a stressful process so much easier. I would highly recommend the team at Lambourne Meadows to anyone looking to buy a new home!

I waited a year after moving in before writing this review so I could give an accurate account of our experience.

We bought our home on the Manor Grove development in Lydney, built by Charles Church aka Persimmon Homes South Wales. If you are considering buying here, or from this division of Persimmon, I strongly recommend doing your research first. The homes are marketed as “executive homes”, but in our experience the finish and customer service were nowhere near that standard.

We visited the site regularly during construction because we loved the layout, which was better than those offered by other developers. Unfortunately, that was one of the few positives. Before we moved in, we found a fake bathroom vent, an electric shower fitted instead of the specified mixer shower, a lawn laid straight onto builders’ soil, and several paid extras that were wrong or missing. On collection day, the house was not properly cleaned, the welcome gift was missing, and the hot water cylinder was leaking. We were told it was a warranty issue and left to deal with it ourselves.

Persimmon says initial snags are resolved within two weeks, but that was not our experience. We paid for a professional snagging inspection, yet many issues remained unresolved for months. One assistant site manager genuinely tried to help and even offered a patio extension as goodwill, but he was later dismissed before anything was completed. After my wife escalated our complaints, senior staff, including the South Wales Managing Director, visited and promised everything would be sorted. I booked almost three weeks of annual leave for the work, but nobody turned up, leaving me out of pocket and with wasted holiday. When contractors eventually arrived, the workmanship was poor and many defects remained.

The agreed patio extension was later denied until I produced the email confirming it, and even then the size was quietly reduced. We still have an air brick installed too low, our EV charger failed from day one, and the heating system repeatedly fills with air; an independent plumber even questioned whether it had been designed correctly. Heavy rain has also exposed serious problems with the garage, where water runs down the walls and pools on the floor. During repairs inside the house, we stored furniture there, including an oak dining table worth over £2,000, which has damaged beyond repair.

The complaints process has been exhausting. Once Persimmon has your money, customer care feels like an afterthought. Every issue requires constant chasing, and work is often carried out without fixing the underlying problem. We paid almost £500,000 for this home, and the overall experience has been unacceptable. If you are considering buying here, do extensive research first. From speaking with neighbours, we have yet to find a single house on this development that has not had defects.

Buying a new-build home should be exciting. Ours has been a year of stress, broken promises and disappointment. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend buying from Charles Church and would avoid at all cost in the fire even pre owed properties