Stroma Building Control Ltd Arvostelua 284

The worst run building control company I have ever used. I asked for sign off for a unit on a 5 house development months ago now. The lead surveyor in charge has blanked us the entire time, his assistant has responded twice with very little information. We then received a letter from their head office saying that they were going to have to ask the council to extend the initial notice alongside a huge list of documents apparently outstanding, 95% of which we had provided and 5% which we had never been told that we needed to provide or that we had specifically been told by the lead surveyor that we did not need to provide. Their head office have promised action but delivered nothing. Our broker calls them several times a week or emails and gets no response. He has told me to never use Stroma moving forward as they have taken on huge amounts of work from some other building control companies that have gone bust recently and they are not capable of dealing with what they have taken on and that many of the customers they have are now suffering as a result. We are likely to lose the buyer we have now and are about to issue a letter before action to Stroma. BE WARNED - NEVER EVER USE STROMA FOR YOUR BUILDING CONTROL. Appalling service.

Stroma Building Control was appointed to undertake building regulation plan checking and inspection on our domestic project in 2019. Our architects and builders submitted all necessary information and photographs. The inspection work was not completed and a final certificate for the building works was never issued.

I paid Stroma's invoice for an initial part of the estimated fee in August 2019. They stated: “The remaining fee will be billed upon commencement of works.” I never received a second invoice and never heard from the company again.

Our builders wrote to various people at Stroma on several occasions about this uncompleted work, most recently on 24 August this year, making it clear that we needed the final certificate as part of the paperwork for selling this property. No replies were ever received to those messages. I wrote formally to Stroma on 4th December but it was neither acknowledged nor responded to.

We are currently readying this property for sale and we must have the final inspection paperwork as part of the required documentation for sale. A complaint to the compliance manager at Stroma this month has similarly been ignored. I would like to take legal action but it would be too costly and time consuming for what it is worth and the work would still not be done. A completely frustrating position to be in. I would never recommend anyone to become involved with this company.

Always very helpful. Prompt in answering e mails/ phone calls. Turned up at appointed times.

Throughout our recent build project the Stroma process was responsive, clear, informed, pragmatic and flexible. Requests for time extensions to enable the completion final remedial outstanding actions were granted. Final approval was promptly confirmed along with issuing the attendant certificate.

I am very impressed with Storma especially Liz Gaywood. She made the process of signing off my new build project as painless as it could be. Explaining things properly and easily for me to understand so I could get all that I need done and to spec. I also appreciate her patience as things were often delayed. Great company and highly recommended.

A great company keeping us well informed at every stage of the project which was most helpful. Always available for help and advice.

Stroma picked our case up after they took over from another company. They handled the whole process with a very professional outlook, they kept us informed and arrived on time for appointments. We are very satisfied with the experience especially dealing Leigh Till and all the other staff from Stroma and would not hesitate to use them again.

Great company very quick and efficient when dealing with any issues

Great support throughout project
Really happy with the service for our residential project. Harry our surveyor was excellent. When the inevitable things did come up his feedback was clear and solutions signed off promptly. Emails were answered quickly and site visits were all within 48 hours of the requested time which ensured the project wasn't delayed.

Professional and efficient team. Very helpful and provided a smooth and swift service throughout process.

All went smoothly - thank you

Awful experience. My building project was completed 3 years ago during Covid. The first surveyor reviewed the project, however they left the company and notes were lost. The kept then asking me for pictures of the loft insulation. I dont have any to hand and the job was done 3 years ago so how am i supposed to prove that? I then demanded that a second surveyor come out. He did, he said everything is fine. I felt relieved. Then i get a letter saying i need to provide pictures of the loft insulation. So what was the point of the second surveyor coming??? So frustrating. Anyway luckily i recall that some did take some pictures of the loft construction and i managed to find a picture of the insulation and send it off to them a week ago. They then send me another letter saying that the picture of the insulation is outstanding and they will refer back the case to the local council. AHHHHHHHHHH I feel like they dont listen!!!!!!! Most frustrating company ever. AVOID.

Used Stroma for many years and found them to be efficient, helpful and an overall great company. Would not hesitate to recommend them to others requiring a Building Control service.

AVOID THIS IS JIHAI - LIERS

Excellent service by Patricia Hawkins
Building Inspector
Keep up the good work
Rear of 54Ashley ave
Ilford
Barkingside

STROMA tests and Certification Practices, adding to my previous feedback.

I am deeply concerned about the quality and reliability of certifications and tests performed by STROMA. In my experience, the company’s testing has enabled substandard construction practices to go unnoticed, leading to serious defects and safety concerns.

For instance, following a separate sound test conducted by another company, the NHBC's feedback revealed that the separating wall between a bedroom and a plant room failed to comply with Approved Document E. Furthermore, it was suggested that the Robust Details Design E-WM-17 was not correctly constructed—a critical issue that had previously gone unaddressed by STROMA's testing.

Given these findings, I strongly advise others to avoid relying on certifications or tests conducted by STROMA, as they may not ensure compliance with necessary construction standards.
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Replay:
Is Stroma Building Control part of the Stroma Group ltd with the same company address?

The complaint team was contacted and I was advice that the Build Environment Team and Warranty Team will contact me!
After those departments is there anyone else to contact?
Do those departments also belong to Stroma Group Ltd or are they just using Stroma's name and have the same address as STROMA building control?
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In 2018, three reports were provided by Stroma (or the department using the STROMA name in the certifications) for a newly built property, with the following outcomes:

- Certificate of Housing Suitability (CHS): The CHS certificate was withdrawn.
- Sound Testing Report: A 48-hour sound report done by different company revealed a critical issue that went unaddressed. The NHBC confirmed that Stroma did not follow Building Regulations guidance.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): "The SAP calculations and EPC are audited by the certification body (Elmhurst) to confirm we (STROMA) have carried out the process correctly as per the information provided (by builders)"
EPC report will be issued without attending the property, this is just a DESK JOB!

As I mentioned earlier, I strongly advise against using this company.
While I don’t have specific comments regarding certificates issued under the STROMA name, it is concerning that there seem to be different entities using the STROMA name registered at the same address!
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New update:
"Stroma Built Environment dealt with the EPC, which is a separate company to Stroma Certification as it was know before the merger with Elmhurst Energy). We were entirely different companies just under the Stroma Group brand. A Certification company cannot undertake assessments as it’s a huge conflict of interest."
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As I stated, please avoid this company and do not trust to their certificates or tests!
From NHBC:
"...the test carried out by Stroma is not admissible as it has not been undertaken in accordance with the requirements set out in Approved Document E Annex B paragraph B2.15."
From: 04/10/2024

It was a pleasure using Stroma Building Control and they provided a professional, informed, prompt and friendly service, with the certificate issued straightaway. Their advice and guidance ensured that everything we needed to do was correct and proper.

5* professional service from start to finish. In person and on line

My experience with STROMA is TERRIBLE! The building construction is finished a year ago but until then I did not received the building certificate. When I demanded it, they gave me all the excuses and seems they are playing around that they ignore you in spite you have paid them in full. So UNPROFESSIONAL! The surveyor promised to visit 3 time during course of the construction but only came once. FRAUD!

Avoid this company if you want a piece of mind.

Mr Simon J

Sarah and Neil from the Swindon office were extremely helpful. They were both very responsive and resolved my issue so much quicker than was expected of them. Throughout the whole build, Stroma were a pleasure to work with.