Caution - Builders Access

I have just been speaking to a couple of owners who say that whilst PW are doing their snagging they are very careless with security.  One person discovered on return to their apartment the builders had left the door wide open (to a fully furnished apartment) and had left a couple of cans of beer behind them!!  Another has reportedly been relieved of a set of binoculars and some shoes??!!  I was speaking to Carol tonight and she says she went to do a weekly check on another apartment only to find they had chuffed off and left the patio door wide open with all of the furniture etc clearly in view.

I had already formed the opinion even prior to hearing these stories that I was going to be getting my key back from PW this weekend simply because after 2 MONTHS they still have not completed my snagging and I am not willing to allow them access to my property willy nilly any longer.  This has confirmed my belief that I am doing the right thing.  If they want in then they will have to arrange an appointment with the property manager who will be supervising them.  6 months 'free' or not - I want my key back.

AJ,
     I think you are doing the right thing there. It is taking a bit of a chance leaving all your stuff to the mercy of the builders having good security habits. It is probably asking for trouble leaving small easily thievable items in your places also. How much pilfering goes on here in the UK on building sites - quite a bit I'm sure. I think it is common knowledge that there is a lot of immigrant labour working on the Polaris sites and Spain in general that might not be getting the highest of wages. With the amount of vans in and out there is no way a security guy is going to check everything or even know if something has come from an apartment. I think if you tried to get any recompense from Polaris they would just tell you that they had advised you not to put anything in until after the snagging. Looks like the best thing would be to try and get them to come and do the jobs while you were on a visit.

How are you co-ordinating getting your snags done (not) by the way ?

Regards,


This message was last edited by Billbo on 9/16/2008.

I will now get Carol to let them in if need be.  They seem to please themselves and take a very scattergun approach to when they do the works anyway.  As I said on a much earlier thread - I went out one day and came back that evening only to find my brand new TV and DVD player as well as the entire lounge, covered in dust and wood shavings - the place was a mess - I was furious with their lack of respect for my property.  Even then, the 'fixed' counter top - which had a scratch on it and was reported in the snagging list - was now a new, squinty counter top with a big gap you could see fresh air through.  They also left mastic dripping down the wall and a crack in the plasterboard.  All that mess left whilst 'fixing' the scratched worktop!! I really wish I had just lived with the scratched worktop.  I don't even know if they have been back to correct their shambolic efforts.  I will find out on Friday as I am going over or the weekend. 

Hi All,
We are having our locks changed as part of our furniture pack because of our concerns raised in the other postings.
I rang and spoke to the locksmith on Monday to confirm he was coming. He informed me that he thought that PW would probably only have at max 20 different locks for all the different apartments. If this is the case anyone with a key intent on theft would just have to try a few apartments before they found one that it fit.
We will feel far happier in having locks fitted while we are there in the knowledge that we have the only keys and hopefully a unique lock. 
I seem to remember on another thread that you can buy a new lock together with 5 keys for around 18 Eur from somewhere on Campasol.
A wise investment I think!! 

We've been really worried about this lack of security.  There was an earlier thread that spoke about residents saying they had seen property with doors left open- its disappointing because its a good service, having keys at the gatehouse, but not if it leaves a poperty insecure.

Having received the keys ( people said I'd need a new large handbag, and thats very true) its a great pity to have to change the locks as these obviously cost a few bob if getting keys cut in the UK is anything to go by!

We're trying to find out about our snagging jobs and have had no response from customer service either!

Having just returned from our apartment, we have taken the step to recovery our key from Polaris whilst we were there, having arranged for Carol to be our key holder.  

On our previous visit we were told that the remaining snagging items could not be carried out when we were not there, as we had furnished our apartment.  We were fine with this because we knew we were going back in September and would let them complete the rest of the snagging issues then.  Well, when we arrived we were amazed that the issues in question had been corrected, in our absence, and guess what they decided to take a tip for themselves at the same time, as we are the party that found shoes & binoculars missing on our return.  I have spent the whole weekend wondering whether I was going mental "had i really left these items in the apartment on our last visit ?", but then I remembered I had made a full inventory of what I had left in the apartment on our previous visit and this was back in the UK.  On our return last night I checked the list and guess what there in black ink "Flip Flops (not your everyday ones, but OZZY Jangles (which are worth more) and my very much loved & used binnoculars".  Our own fault probably, but did not give them a change to be tempted again, have now signed for our key and Carol is the only person with authority to enter our apartment, other than rental clients.....
Just a warning........

Still the weather was  good, and the company even better, a good time was had at the bar on Saturday and we made alot of new friends...Spent loads more cash, but need to keep some in reserve for Shoes & Binns........................

Regards

Regarding the snagging.  We had our first snagging done on 1st July by Emma.  During our stay in July a few days before we left we noticed that someone had been into our flat to correct a snag on the wardrobe door and to our horror somehow managed to create a very large dent on the metal edge on the front door.  I am guessing this would have needed some strength to do!  It made me angry to think how careless the builders are, especially when they are supposed to be fixing things, but instead do the opposite!   A few weeks ago Polaris notified Emma and ourselves to inform us that the flat was finished and all snags where completed, it only took them just over 2 months!!   Anyway guess what, after Emma's visit  there are still snags outstanding including the dent on the door!! Are they blind!!  I am still waiting for a reply from them and god knows how long it will take to get this done again!

Pauline

Jardine 13

Hi,

These postings all sound really scary, missing items and more damage occuring while correcting original damage.  Carol & Emma are  going to be very busy keeping an eye  on all these careless workers. 

Ali