Stephens and Stephens Group Ltd - Truro

Sally B.

Reply to response:

Thank you for your response but it is not helpful. Belmont have nothing to do with fixing original building problems and you are trying to force residents to fix the boilers you need for your new development next door.

Readers and prospective buyers - I urge you to take the developer's replies with a hefty dose of skepticism. We have had processional confirmation that the boiler system has never been fit for purpose and is worsening every day. The developers are denying responsibility and trying to make the residents pay for repairs through the management company. All the while their intention is to use them for the new development next door. It is nothing short of thievery.

I am afraid that my hand has been forced and I now have to leave this review. The Cliff Edge building is a very unpleasant place to have a residence.

The Property Management Company is beholden to the developers (who are also the freeholders as well as the Management Company) and seem unable to make any changes that the developer does not agree with which means sky high charges and no maintenance.

Our structural warranty is heavily involved with the leaks in the building that have been present since day one.

The boilers (which are also meant to be used by their latest development next door) are in a very poor state. We are often left with no heat or hot water.

I quote the report:

"The heating system at Cliff Edge Apartments exhibits multiple issues, primarily stemming from an undersized expansion vessel, poor water quality, and aging components. These issues have led to repeated failures, ongoing maintenance challenges, and compromised system performance.
Immediate corrective actions, including an expansion vessel upgrade, water treatment implementation, and critical component replacements, are required to ensure long-
term system reliability. Without these interventions, continued failures and additional complications are inevitable, particularly with the impending integration of an adjacent building.
Further assessment and design reviews are strongly recommended to prevent future operational failures and ensure the system meets current and future demands."

The attitude and hostility from the developer is very obvious in their replies to other reviews and I am expecting the same here. I no longer care.

Thomas T.

UPDATED:imagine being so out of touch with your own projects you are not even aware your own building has an alarm fault. Terrifying really. It's okay though you'll ignore this till your building teams turn up at 7.25am revving their motorbikes and playing local radio for the entire town to hear. Absolute farce

Are there any plans in the making to address the continued fault with the alarm system at one pentire? Or will the local area continue to be awoken at 4.30am. Not even able to leave any correspondence with the office as the voicemail inbox is full. I imagine with messages about your fire alarm

Jennifer B.

IN RESPONSE - IF ONLY IT WAS BECAUSE THE BUILDING IS NEXT TO SEA. The basement is damaged.

UPDATE - the district boiler system installed is constantly failing leaving residents without heating or hot water.

The management company asked Blue Flame to conduct an assessment. The report is 4 pages long, here is the conclusion:

Conclusion
The heating system at Cliff Edge Apartments exhibits multiple issues, primarily
stemming from an undersized expansion vessel, poor water quality, and aging
components. These issues have led to repeated failures, ongoing maintenance
challenges, and compromised system performance.
Immediate corrective actions, including an expansion vessel upgrade, water treatment
implementation, and critical component replacements, are required to ensure long-
term system reliability. Without these interventions, continued failures and additional
complications are inevitable, particularly with the impending integration of an
adjacent building.
Further assessment and design reviews are strongly recommended to prevent future
operational failures and ensure the system meets current and future demands

Avoid at all costs, shocking company that are putting my mum through a endless amount of stress - they simple don’t seem to care

FUTURE INVESTORS - PLEASE NOTE THE DISTAIN OF S&S REPLIES TO ANY REVIEWS THAT CHALLENGE THE QUALITY OF S&S DEVELOPMENTS. THEY JUST WANT TO SQUASH GENUINE CONCERNS AND NOT FIX…. UNFORGIVABLE BEHAVIOUR

Billy W.

Visited an apartment at One Pentire this week and was thoroughly impressed with the quality of build and the finish. Having been involved in renovations personally acquiring a holiday apartment like this, at this quality looks a great option for our family.

Some of the reviews here do not seem to fit the experience I have had so wanted to express my good wishes to the team. Well done.

James E. (.

Our initial experience with the sales and marketing process was impressive. We were drawn in by the luxury angle, stunning location, and the convenience of their sister company's interior design services. It felt like an exciting investment, financially supported by our wider family.

Unfortunately, the post-completion experience has been deeply disappointing and far from what we were sold.

The first shock came when the floor plan didn’t match the final build. Despite this being acknowledged by the initial customer care rep (we’ve had four in two years), the issue remains unresolved, leaving us with a £5k bill to fix it.

14 days after completion, the developer finalised their purchase of the Marina Hotel next door. This wasn’t disclosed during the buying process or searches. We later learned there are provisions in our building for adjoining the developments, potentially impacting shared facilities and our investment. The lack of clarity has been frustrating.

Two years post-completion, our snagging list remains untouched. We've had to fund urgent fixes ourselves, revealing poor workmanship. Original plans included glass balustrades for outdoor areas, but they remain uninstalled, leaving the space exposed and unappealing. Installing them ourselves may cost another £1-2k.

Scaffolding has been up multiple times to address building leaks, amounting to nearly a quarter of our time here. This undermines the property’s marketed appeal as a luxury holiday let and has forced us to refund several guests due to various issues that shouldn’t have arisen.

More recently, two of the four doors in our apartment failed. The developers didn’t cooperate with suppliers, voiding warranties. Repairs have been quoted at £3k, and replacing the doors entirely could cost £4-5k. It’s clear they weren’t fit for the environment and interesting they’re not the supplier for the extension.

What began as an exciting family investment has turned into a constant source of stress and financial burden. Despite raising concerns through solicitors and staying patient, customer care remains disorganised and unresponsive. Many questions about our insurance coverage and ongoing construction next door remain unanswered.

Our annual maintenance fees, initially advertised at £1,888 but now £3,900, are another point of contention. We prepaid for the first year but have withheld further payments until fundamental building issues are addressed and questionable charges explained.

This experience has seriously dampened the joy of owning this property and raised broader concerns about its long-term value.

We recognise the privilege of owning a holiday let, but the past two years have been incredibly challenging. If this were a car, we’d have returned it for a full refund by now.

Regrettably, we feel obligated to share this review to help others make informed decisions about their investments.

Sian R.

Seeing your very large company vehicles abuse the use of the Parent and Child spaces in our local car park (on a daily basis) really shows what the company morals are here. All the while I see parents with young children struggling in a tight, busy park.

The car park staff have been informed - really terrible behaviour.

Graham M.

As a professional landlord and property investor, I had high hopes when I bought a property from Stephens & Stephens. With a snagging list that has been constantly ignored for over two years and many finishes/installations that I have had to correct myself, along with poor buildings management and customer service follow-up, unfortunately the reality has proved to be most disappointing. I have a further three properties in which I intend to invest in the next six months, but I absolutely will not be investing again with Stephens & Stephens.

In reply to Stephens & Stephens comment:

Thank you for your reply. Sadly, this is indicative of exactly the manner in which customer service is handled, both by omission and the casting of blame. All these issues were raised over two years ago, with ample time to reply and have them dealt with. The issue with the balcony door has never been a manufacturer’s problem, it was damage from the apartment’s construction, which was signed-off by yourselves. The part is common to all apartments, so could be easily identified from the remaining apartments that you own. Given I live over 200 miles away, it was sheer sandbagging to continue to ask for it and so delay action. Interesting that you fail to raise the issue of lifting floor tiles, a problem that even two years on you will not acknowledge. I would welcome a call from Tess, if it would actually move the situation forward in a proactive manner, rather than insistent requests for me to jump through hoops to solve your problems. Thank you for helping me to illustrate the points I made above and reinforcing my resolve never to invest with your company again.

Auriol D.

Such a shame noone answers the phone anymore the fire alarm has been going off multiple times a day for months now and noone seems to care when it's reported. Having been told by the sales team people would be moving in in November id say they are lucky noone has given the alarm issues they seem to have