Services - Abbey Lofts
Bathroom remodeling
Remodeling
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Recommended Reviews - Abbey Lofts
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2 years ago
Abbey did a really good job on our loft. They were reasonably priced and worked really hard to get the job finished on time. Communication was great at all stages and everyone was really professional. Would definitely recommend. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
Thanks very much for taking the time to provide feedback. We…
4 years ago
I am currently a couple of weeks in to the build process with Abbey Lofts for our existing loft conversion removal and then extension incl new Ensuite, and during this time I have gotten to know the team pretty well. Rob is managing the build from the office, he always returns calls if he misses one, Fred (who writes the responses on here) is the the technical guy and knows his business well, and has come up with good ideas to improve the space and keep the build ticking along. The lads on site daily, have been courteous and clean, the scaffolding, shute and skip mean the garden is always tidy. The only thing holding up our build is the Oct wind and rain, mean we cannot remove the temporary roof. So far I have no concerns with the rip out (which I knew was going to be a nightmare due to the 90 years of abuse the house / plumbing and electrics have sustained over those years, the schedule of work is good and the staff are easy to talk to. The director has not called once to hassle me about anything and Im not sure I'll here from him at all. There is a 6 stage payment schedule of which we are at stage2, so no one should have ever paid all the money up front, as mentioned in one of the other reviews. Thus I can't agree with any of the 1 start ratings. Ill write another review once the work is complete. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
Philip, thank you very much for taking the time to leave us a review.…
6 years ago
Abbey Partnership or The Abbey Group (aka Abbey Loft Ltd) have taken tens of thousands of pounds from me and many others with either no work or partial work completed. They have ignored all my communication in the last few weeks and have left my house as a building site since late-March with no work being done. Don't be fooled by sales spiel from Guy and Freddy about value engineering or quality finishes. The more they talk about a given topic the less they mean it. They are incompetent and irresponsible. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
“Abbey Lofts is a family-owned business that provides high quality…
8 years ago
One of, if not, the worst company I have ever had to deal with. We paid what we considered a premium for Abbey Partnership's service in order to get a managed job from start to finish. In the end, we got almost no project management and in fact got the opposite. The only time we heard from anyone was when there was a demand for money. Which was rude and insulting considering we had been asking for days for updates. People failed to turn up when we were told they would then we wouldn't hear from the company for days and sometimes in fact over a week. We struggled to get hold of people when we needed updates or to plan when we needed to be available. I lost work due to no-shows on more than one occasion. They had so little oversight of the job that they didn't spot issues even though they were flagged on the plans. Totally let down by Abbey Partnership. NOT recommended at all. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
“Abbey Lofts is a family-owned business that provides high quality…
7 years ago
Worst decision we ever made was using the Abbey Lofts Partnership. Their workers are a group of subcontractors and it's the luck of the draw who you get. Project managers and directors are some of the worst people I have ever met. We paid them £70k for work mostly in cash as their director requested but the building control has confirmed that they cannot sign off on the work as it's not in compliance with the regulations. Our bedroom ceiling fell in due to them not sealing the loft bathroom correctly which caused a leak. They put cement all over the driveway and promised to sort it out but never did. I am prepared to show photos of our driveway to anyone thinking of using this partnership. Do so at your peril. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
Abbey Lofts have no record of ever having carried out work for Terry…
7 years ago
I recently had my loft converted by Abbey, and I am really happy with the results. The team who worked on it were professional and tidy throughout the project and the support team were also great. Thanks guys, I really appreciate you holding my hand throughout the process. I couldn't be happier. read more
8 years ago
The previous reviewer couldn't have put it better. This is the worst company we have ever dealt with too. We are now in week 19 of an estimated 9 week build, and only because Abbey are too lazy to finish the job. We've asked for the reasons for the delays and never been given any, not even any attempts to make up an excuse. Repeated requests for information are ignored, you will not be informed when people will attend your property (there will be long periods when noone will turn up too), people will arrive unannounced, or not turn up when they say they will, if you try to complain they will just ignore your messages. I'm not entirely sure that Abbey are even aware of where our property key is most of the time, as most of the team who turn up don't have it. They will send you repeated emails asking for early payment because "they are ahead of schedule"; if you question it, staff will tell you they are "just acting on orders" and will put the phone down on you. As well as the shocking timescale so far, the plasterers work was really bad we have had to sand the walls ourselves yes sand fresh plaster! And they still don't look great, and pieces are crumbling off and cracking. The scaffolders broke our conservatory roof; we're still waiting for that to be fixed weeks later. The roofers were not toilet trained and wee'd on the floor. The guy who fitted the plasterboard cut himself and wiped the blood on the walls and on our white towels. Someone else broke the tiles in our existing bathroom by drilling through them we're STILL waiting for those to be fixed weeks later. The radiators were not installed straight and a different plumber had to come back and fix them. The shower leaked after being installed and caused a wet patch in the ceiling below. And the roof wasn't sealed properly, and during a storm leaked rainwater into the loft. Our downstairs hallway will have to be redecorated as the walls have been badly damaged with knocks and dents, and smeared with plaster (there was no reason for the plaster to be in that area, just carelessness on the his part). We have recently heard from building control (who inspected the work weeks ago), to say that they are waiting for Abbey to send them the electrical certificates before they can sign the property off. We now have to chase Abbey to send this information. The latest response is that they are waiting for the certificates themselves (despite telling us they are in the safe at Abbey's offices). You will also need very special skills to understand any of the project manager's texts (yes he thinks it's professional to correspond by text) and emails, as they use little to no punctuation and are also never spell checked, and he clearly doesn't read them before sending them. But on the plus side, they are now a source of amusement to try and decipher what he's trying to say. I've spoken to other customers who are experiencing similar problems with Abbey. My advice to you if you are in the same boat is to call citizens advice and trading standards immediately. We have and are now following their advice. If you're thinking of using this company, seriously don't. There is a house a few mins from us that has been built from scratch in less time than its taken Abbey to get even remotely close to completing a bedroom and a bathroom in our loft. read more
7 years ago
Its interesting to see such a variety of reviews on this site but comforting to note that we are not alone in our issues with The Abbey Partnership. Its also worthy of note that the good reviews are predominantly always displayed on Abbey's website. We were never allocated a project manager but left with the sales manager who made promises that he found hard to stick to and who left the company before our job was complete. Subsequent project managers did not respond and we had issues that took some considerable time to resolve. As others have commented, we too have had no response or poor responses and unkept promises. Most recently we alerted them to significantly cracking on our staircase, back many months now, which they never resolved and in the end we got fed up and fixed ourselves. The new project manager made several promises over several months to return to fix it but never bothered. Everyone we know has commented on how poor it has been that this company did not respond or return to rectify decoration faults, cracking etc. but once they have your money they are not interested. One of their contractors caused damage to the conservatory roof of ourselves and our neighbour and tried to cover it up so by the time it was discovered at the end of the job when scaffolding went we had water damage in our conservatory. It took weeks for Abbey Partnership to get someone back to sort and it also affected our neighbour, luckily, we have a very good relationship with them. They never offered to sort out the internal damage! Our job was finally completed in Oct/Nov having started on 2nd August, so rather than 6-8 weeks wasmore like 16-19, first fix was very fast but second fix very slow and issues hard to resolve. Some second fix contractors workmanship not great either. It seems Abbey took on too much work and had wholly inadequate project management to get things finalised and resolved but did nothing to take this pressure from their customers at all. The only time we heard from them was when their director wanted to very aggressively chase us for payments! In 12-19 weeks he visited on day one and final snag day only. The rest of the time it was text/email and not very pleasant most of the time. Its a pity he wasn't so responsive when we had problems. All we got from him was that the project had cost him money, I very much doubt it given what we paid. I would not recommend Abbey Partnership, I am sure there are overall far better and more consistently efficient companies out there. read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
Abbey Partnership cares greatly about its clients and welcome all…
6 years ago
Just as per other reviewers, they rope you in with niceties and promises of great customer service until you sign the contract and hand over a very large deposit, much of it in cash. Then you get handed over to their subcontractor who barely communicates with you and hardly ever turns up and then Abbey simply do nothing about it. All subcontracted - no communication. Loft still not finished and going on for nearly 6 months. No contact, no project management, numerous mistakes, a complete nightmare. A total disaster from the start and which has forced us out of home... costs added in once work already underway, project management woeful, huge delays from suppliers, huge gaps between teams where nothing happens, basic failure to use tarpaulin led to a flooded bedroom, nothing turns up on time, refusal to secure the house properly each night. And worst of all, no one seems to care. As soon as Guy, who despite the misery he knew was heaped upon me has complained I named him in my initial review, has your signature and deposit, he performs a disappearing act. He won't return your call or emails no matter how many messages you leave or how desperate you become. They sub-contract to someone else then wash their hands of you. read more
7 years ago
Do not trust Abbey Lofts. We decided to engage this partnership for our loft conversion and it was a complete nightmare. We had issues with design and architect service, project management, issues with timescales, and big issues with the quality of build. Abbey Lofts turned out to be a sales and marketing company. You get handed over to their subcontractors who barely communicate with you and hardly turn up and this Abbey Partnership does nothing about it.They use subcontractors, in our case Mercury BS who in turn use subcontractors too, all from Lithuania. All "tradesman" they use are unprofessional, they can't even read the architect's drawings. We were appointed a so-called project manager who was very polite and on time the first day, the day we were due to make a big payment. After that, he was very difficult to contact as he started to avoid our emails, phone calls and texts. Then after a few weeks he completely disappeared. I have been told that he went back to Lithuania. No new Project Manager was appointed by Abbey Partnership so we have been left to act as the project manager ourselves. A project that they stated would take 8 weeks turned out to take 16 weeks and was not properly completed, lots of defective work has been left. We have issued a snagging list, but they resolved very few issues and took a long time to do so. We have received notification that the build does not conform to Building Regulations and of course they are not responding to contact. Avoid at all costs to save yourself unnecessary stress and anxiety. read more
7 years ago
Abbey doesn't allow negative reviews, the public are only allowed to read the over the top fake reviews on their website. Absolutely shambolic customer service and workmanship. The RSJ has been put in the wrong place so one of the doors from the 4 rooms is out of place and doesnt match because it had to be alot smaller than the other 3 doors. The work was supposed to be completed in 8 weeks. It took 20+ weeks. Another team had be called in to pull up the floorboards in the two bedrooms and reset them so they were actually lying flat. The Juliette balcony and the work around it had to be redone. A few weeks into the work, on a day when their joiner, couldn't be bothered to turn up, we had rainwater coming through into my rear bedroom below. After calling and texting him, I got a reply from him saying don't worry, it's nothing. The ceiling in both rear bedrooms below were damaged from this leak. The ceilings in my rear two bedrooms below were damaged to the extent that They need re-plastering and econoloft have yet to make good on the damage, two years on! They sent a plasterer round to get an estimate of the damage, after promising several times that they would sort it out. When they were given the cost to re-plaster the ceilings, they decided that I should sort it out myself with the joiner. Within 2 weeks of the loft conversion being completed, the ceilings started getting little blowouts. I took photos and emailed them, asking them to sort it out. I eventually received a reply, telling me that it's just a minor thing and that I should sort it out myself! They don't even deserve 1 star but reviews don't give you an option of awarding zero stars... Don't use them! read more
Business owner information
Fred A.
Business Owner
Abbey Partnership cares greatly about its clients and welcomes all…
7 years ago
We chose Abbey Partnership, they were the most expensive quote but we assumed that indicated quality. How could we be so wrong? Our friends who used other companies got their lofts with a fraction of the aggravation we had with this lot. To be fair, they do some things very well: 1. Request payments 2. Choose sub-contractors. 3. Use a media agency to bombard social media and hide negative Tweets. Be patient, if you look, you will find many people who had a bad experience. What they do badly: 1. Project management. Our Project Manager answered his phone once. He replied to voicemails twice, but one included a threat to report them to Trading Standards so he probably only rang me back to deflect that. On a day when water was pouring in due to Abbey's failure to leave us weatherproofed, I left 7 messages. He did not ring back. Apparently, he left the company at some point during our build. No one told us and I can honestly say I didn't notice, as he did not do any managing in the first place and did not keep in touch with us. 2. Customer service. This was lamentable, with contact often verging on plain rude 3. Communication. We got emails with spelling, punctuation and grammar that rendered them incomprehensible. We were told our build would take 6 to 8 weeks, it took 16, with a lot of nagging on our part to reach that point. Two months after work finished, we are still waiting for them to send guarantees and deal with a leaking roof. They are focused on getting money from customers. At the start of the build, they would ask for money before it was due under the contractual payment schedule. At a meeting, when I refused and said I would stick to that schedule, the company owner walked out of the house, and then continued to get his accounts manager to send emails asking for payment in advance of the schedule. Once they had done a lot of the work, and thus got a lot of our money, they just left us hanging. One week, my wife and I rang and emailed every day with no reply and no work on site. It was such a struggle to get the work finished, and if you go through Twitter you will find other people who can verify that this is not at all unusual for this company. I would recommend you stay well clear of this awful company. read more
More info about Abbey Lofts
0330 108 8838
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http://www.abbeylofts.net
From the Business
Specialties
Loft conversions in London
History
Established in 2000.
Loft conversion specialists
Meet the Manager: G B.
Manager at A Lofts for 10 years
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Hours
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
78 reviews that are not currently recommended
The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.
6 years ago
We Chose Abbey Partnership of 1 Whaley Road Potters Bar EN6 2RA as they are near to our house and this has turned out to be the worst mistake of our lives. We discovered they used to run another similarly named company called Abbey Lofts Ltd but this recently went into liquidation due the company's failure to pay off a loan so people should note to start with, this company's directors are dishonest. Avoid them or you will regret it. They are in the habit of asking people for proof even though they take all monies in cash and therefore don't issue paperwork. The best proof would be to check out Abbey Lofts Limited at Company House Records and view under liquidations. The experience throughout our build has been nothing short of a stressful nightmare. We were fooled by the promises of quality, and taken in by the chit chat of their clever salesman. I've had every disaster you can think of and it has been complete disorder from start to finish with every single aspect of the works needing to be redone due to bad workmanship. A water pipe was cut and caused a flood down to the kitchen. There has been no project management and the level of incompetence of some tradespeople has been staggering. This so-called partnership actually attacks any of their clients who place adverse comments on review platforms. I have never had a response to my complaints from management. In fact, they point blank refused to talk to me. Things went from bad to worse in recent times as it seems Abbey Partnership stopped paying a number of their suppliers. We had their scaffold company visit us at home (and they are a rough gypsy traveller type bunch) and threated to remove our scaffold and then the building team walked off site. And after 4 weeks not a word from management. They were aware that my property was unsecured and open to the elements but they didn't care. Be warned and do not be taken in by their director's claims of being caring for his clients, he is not. I heard the same from my neighbours further down street. If that doesn't discourage you, you should know I am in active communication with 16 other dissatisfied and horrified Abbey Partnership customers and please consider all the bad reviews to be viewed online. The previous reviewers couldn't have put it better. This is the worst company we have ever dealt with. We are now in week 20 of an estimated 9-week build, and only because Abbey are too lazy to finish the job. We've asked for reasons for the delays and never been given any, not even any attempts to make up an excuse. Repeated requests for information are ignored, you will not be informed when people will attend your property, there will be long periods when no one will turn up and people will arrive unannounced, or not turn up when they say they will, if you try to complain they will just ignore your messages or put the phone down on you. I'm not entirely sure that Abbey are even aware of where our property key is most of the time, as most of the team who turn up don't have it. They will send you repeated emails asking for early payment because "they are ahead of schedule"; if you question it, staff will tell you they are "just acting on orders" and will put the phone down on you. As well as the shocking time¬scale so far, the plasterers work was really bad ¬ we have had to sand the walls ourselves! And they still don't look great, and pieces are crumbling off and cracking. The scaffolders broke our conservatory roof; we're still waiting for that to be fixed weeks later. The roofers were not toilet trained and peed on the floor. The guy who fitted the plasterboard cut himself and wiped the blood on the walls and on our clean towels. Someone else broke the tiles in our existing bathroom by drilling through them¬ we're still waiting for those to be fixed weeks later. The radiators were not installed straight and a different plumber had to come back and fix them. The shower leaked after being installed and caused a wet patch in the ceiling below. And the roof wasn't sealed properly, and during a storm leaked rainwater into the loft. Our downstairs hallway will have to be redecorated as the walls have been badly damaged with knocks and dents, and smeared with plaster (there was no reason for the plaster to be in that area, just carelessness on his part). We have recently heard from building control (who inspected the work weeks ago), to say that they are waiting for Abbey to send them the electrical certificates before they can sign the property off. We now have to chase Abbey to send this information. The latest response is that they are waiting for the certificates themselves. You will also need very special skills to understand any of the project manager's texts they think it's professional to correspond by text as they use little to no punctuation and are also never spell checked, and he clearly doesn't read them before sending. Avoid, there are hundreds of better loft companies. read more
6 years ago
We made the mistake of doing a loft conversion and general renovation of our Victorian terrace with Abbey Partnership, who subcontracted the building work to Dominik Glowski, who I also would not recommend. We still have problems a year later and they make no effort to fix anything. We should have pulled out when their initial drawings measured wrong, missed an entire chimney stack, incorrect loft subfloor structure and moved the family bathroom because they wrongly claimed there was no room for stairs. After they replaced the 1st architect, things improved so we signed, but post contract things degenerated fast. After paying the 10% deposit, they asked for another 10%, which we had to pay or work would stop. They always invoiced for work before finishing it. I had to double check everything myself to counter being overcharged. Incorrect measurements meant what they built was not properly drawn first. For example, in the loft ensuite we had to double a side wall so the window would be center. I bought a laser measure and redrew everything to try to avoid further mistakes, which was very time consuming but very necessary. They built the loft party wall diagonally rather than stepped, so building control made them redo it. Several months delay getting final building control approval because they failed to pay the £900 fee we had paid upfront. Turned out they owed Building Controls for multiple projects and we could not get our approval until they paid the lot. Lesson learned is to pay 3rd parties directly yourself, not thorough a DODGY architect. Getting a work plan with dates from Abbey Partnership was impossible, but the initial roof work went fast thanks to good weather so they proposed to finish in 7 months instead of 8. Turned out that after charging me to replace the entire roof structure, they did not replace the rafters so of course it was faster. One of the loft windows is not level as a result, so they eventually had to admit their short cut. Abbey failed to be ready for the double-glazing installation despite several weeks' notice and discussion. So the subcontractor firm turned up from Yorkshire to install, but had to reschedule. So, 1-month head start turned into a 1-month delay despite continued good weather, because often no one was onsite. They told us to get all the fixtures and fittings onsite in advance so they could build to fit, which they then did not. Fitting problems included toilets, taps, bath overflows, shower panels and radiators. So far 4 different ceilings have been damaged by water leaks coming down from the loft. In both bathrooms grout and tiles are cracking because the wrong grout was used and/or subfloors were not properly prepared. Installed a lock on the wrong door. Lost several original parts of our new art deco door handles. They lost the original house keys so we had to change the locks on the back doors. They misplaced large boxes of tiles which then had to be reordered with urgent delivery costs. The paint job looked great, until they did not bother finishing it. Most of the woodwork and walls obviously needed at least another coat. Building site was a mess and disorganized. When they finally finished they left so much mess, I had to pay someone else to remove it. Other tradesmen told me their wooden scaffolding was amateur and dangerous. They even left all that scaffolding piled in our front lawn for over a month and only removed it when I threatened to give it away online. All in all, a nightmare, and one which would have been financially and otherwise ruinous if I had not had the time and energy to micro-manage these fools. read more
5 years ago
Please do not entertain contracting with this company for your loft conversion, it will mean no end of stress, poor project management, poor communication, downright rudeness and they are the most unprofessional organisation I have ever experienced. They will deny responsibility, deny the facts to their own trade body federation and even deny ever knowing you. They use different company names. If you do entertain contracting with this company for your loft conversion, ask them, do you deny using the name of your previously dissolved company? https://abbeyloftconversionslimiteddissolved.com/ http://www.datalog.co.uk/browse/detail.php/CompanyNumber/04892105/CompanyName/ABBEY+LOFT+CONVERSIONS+LIMITED Do you deny changing your identity but still using the same prohibited company name? https://mariobarba.co.uk/portfolios/abbeylofts/ Do you deny threatening your clients who complain to your trade body or write bad reviews, I have read over 70 bad reviews on this company They threatened me and my son also. Do you deny using different company names? Abbey Partnership, The Abbey Group, A Lofts or of course Abbey Lofts Ltd We contacted Abbey Lofts after seeing many good reviews. The initial meeting left a good impression we were promised outstanding service with no hassle. Their marketing and website looked impressive, promising exceptional build quality and customer service but we discovered the reality was different with most of the reviews on their website being just made up. We had a very negative and disappointing experience. To their credit, the team turned up every day in all weathers and seemed pleasant. One day there was an enormous bang and when we investigated, there was a big crack in our ceiling and cornice. They were hammering the steel beam in and knocked it into our neighbour's property. We alerted the builders who came and had a look and although apologetic, they said the damage was minor and they would fix it. We were worried about the damage this may have caused and wanted a surveyor to check it, but Abbey Lofts wouldn't agree to pay for an independent surveyor. I contacted Freddy and was told that the project manager for this job would sort out the problem, but he never did. The builders "repaired" the damage, but it was a pretty shoddy repair. Worrying cracks then started appearing all over our house. When I raised this with Abbey Lofts, they simply ignored my calls and messages. The Abbey Partnership took all of their payment from us up front before work started. We then had to pay each of the trades people directly for their work. We were never given a schedule for completion of work and expected payment dates. We were told that inspections of the quality of work completed would take place before payment would be authorised but most payments were demanded without any inspection taking place and on 2 occasions, they emailed us demanding payment for work that had not yet been carried out. We paid them money for the work that they did not finish. Freddy promised to come back, we paid him and never came back. Another grave problem was that my loft wet room was leaking and considerable damage to the bedrooms below the loft was also caused. So many other problems with The Abbey Group too many to list here. They didn't respond to any of our phone calls. In the end we had to pay for someone to correct all the issues. Please stay away from them read more
7 years ago
We had a loft conversion completed by Abbey Partnership in June 2019. The whole process was extremely stressful and I cannot recommend that anybody use this company. Construction proceeded in a haphazard and disorganised manner. The project manager was rarely to be seen. We were told that he would be managing the project but we saw little evidence of this. Crucial information was not passed between the office girl, the joiners, plumbers and electricians. For example, the plumbers had to keep coming back to us for the design of the bathroom despite us having submitted it to the company on a previous occasion. We also tried to get in an alternative bathroom fitter, because we were concerned about the ability of Abbey Partnership to organise the bathroom installation, but our selected fitter was unable to get hold of the joiner to arrange the installation. Their subcontractors were messy, leaving teabags and dirty mugs around the house, and bottles, food cartons and cigarette butts all over the garden. Our patio was covered in an untidy mess of waste materials for the entire duration of the project. Due to the disorganised nature of the construction and the lack of project management, the joiners built the loft around our boiler flue resulting in the boiler pumping poisonous gases into our loft space. When I questioned this, I was advised to open a window. I pressed this further with Guy, and eventually the plumber was sent round. He immediately told us to stop using the boiler because "we could all die". He arranged a prompt re-routing of the flue, working late into the night, to make sure that we were left with a safe boiler. Unfortunately, he fitted the flue with a missing terminating cap, which has since resulted in British Gas issuing us with an "at risk notice" advising us to not use the system. The architect was uncommunicative over design details. The sales rep told us we needed a hip-to-gable conversion which required full planning permission but did not explain why despite being asked numerous times. We asked whether a scaled-down design could be made, which would fall under permitted development rights, but our questions were ignored. In the end we decided to go ahead with the planning application purely because Abbey Lofts had taken our deposit and ignored our suggestion that it be returned. The time from our initial approach to submitting the planning application took six months. This delay was largely down to the sales rep and the architect ignoring questions. Also, documents were "lost in the post", or at one point left on somebody's desk for a fortnight while they were on holiday further delaying the planning application process. The time from submitting the planning application to getting it approved took nine months, largely due to delays in getting the correct documentation to the council, and because I had to perform all the negotiations myself without any assistance from Abbey Partnership. The coordination was all very, very poor and caused huge and intense stress. We were also left with a leak and water penetrating to the bedrooms below the loft. read more
5 years ago
We couldn't have been more disappointed Abbey Partnership are one of those companies that just stink of bad service. They claim to be loft specialists but in reality, they are just salesmen. Firstly, this comany uses several names Abbey Lofts, Abbey Partnership and The Abbey Group; they operate from different offices Watford, Potters Bar, Essex and Northaw. Beware! They collect the total money for the built upfront and subcontract to tradesmen on the cheap. We are extremely upset to have lost thousands of pounds deposit to Abbey. We didn't even get started with our build! We had to walk away because of the all the false starts, incompetence and stress - and having read all the terrible reviews online I'm glad I trusted my gut instinct to do so. The sales process seemed very good but deceptive however once you've signed the contract, we had nothing but excuses and downright appalling customer service. Most of the time we were fobbed off by the office team who would say people would get back to us, but people never did. Every time we chased them up with countless emails and calls the whole process would be so frustrating because no progress was being made with our job. They sent us 3 different builders and we can only assume that none wanted to take on the job because are greedy and didn't offer the builders enough money for the job. In Their business model is something to be cautious about as they will expect you to pay upfront for the majority of the work so by the time your build is in progress they've already got paid and it's just a small amount remaining which is the builders cut. Therefore, if you've any issues during your build or afterwards it's likely that they will be even more elusive than the invisible man. The first builder they put us in touch with said he wasn't even aware of our job and was on another job for the next 6 weeks. He also said that he wouldn't recommend Abbey Partnership to anyone as he had nothing but hassle with them himself. The second builder came around but after we had contacted his references and we were happy to proceed, he then mysteriously said he didn't want the job. The third builder came around and also turned down the job via Abbey. This whole process took months and a lot of time to chase , find a builder, arrange to meet them, get references only to be turned down each time and made to feel as if it was somehow our fault? During all of this fiasco we had prepared our house by moving most of our stuff into storage because we were having our main ceiling lowered so we needed to clear space before the build. A year later a scaffolder turned up at our front door asking what we'd done with his scaffold? The scaffold he never came and put up! I regret not paying attention to all their numerous negative reviews. read more
6 years ago
I cannot rate Abbey Lofts highly enough as a loft conversion specialist. They have been my saviours this last year, completing a beautiful loft conversion with a great team of people. I have no doubts in recommending Abbey Lofts if you want a professional, thoughtful, honest and trustworthy team who really do go the extra mile. When deciding on a firm for my loft conversion back in 2017, I stupidly fell for the marketing pitch of another firm over Abbey. A decision I lived to regret as I later had to terminate for breach of contract mid-build. In desperation I called Steve at Abbey Lofts who called me straight back. He wanted to help and was able to get a team together to help me. Huge thanks to Steve for wanting to help me. Special thanks to Fred for all his guidance and honest advice. And a massive thank you to Albert and his team who helped make me watertight, secure and finish my build to the standard I had originally dreamed. The whole team were so considerate and helpful over the months they were at my property. It really was a pleasure to have the team at my home. Also, I did not have to pay one £ over the agreed cost for the works and their quote was fair for the work entailed. I was never asked to pay any amounts ahead of schedule and had all the paperwork and legals in a standard professional manner. Lastly, when Building Control came to inspect the state my previous contractor left me in, and I noted I was considering Abbey to help me, they said they knew of Abbey Lofts by reputation and noted that they had never had an issue with their work. Be careful reviewing sites with false or exaggerated reviews of firms - good or bad - and instead ask any potential firms for a number of recent customer contact details (I asked for three) and speak to real people with real and recent experiences, ideally from the same team of people who are proposed for your build. That's what I did when I had lost all trust and hope from my first contractor and before appointing Abbey as I was very apprehensive about being left in despair again. My experience of Abbey Lofts was just as glowing as the people I spoke to. When originally considering Abbey back in 2017 I also visited a completed build to check the workmanship, again something I would advise doing. This is a genuine review posted on this site once by one genuine client of Abbey Lofts for a single project completing late 2019. I will share this review on several sites to give Abbey Lofts the credit they deserve for the work they performed on my property and the desperate situation they helped me out of. read more
6 years ago
Take my advice and stay away from these "builders " They are amateurs and so unprofessional. I had a loft conversion done and what can I say....the job from start to finish was a headache....they said they will do this and that before you agree to give them the job but during the job they would disagree on things and say no that was not what was agreed. They are very doggy will try and get out of everything previously agreed. If you want a bad job please call them, their finish is poor and I'm happy to show anyone how bad it is.....inside and outside the house.....where can I start!!! My velux windows handle broke so I called the velux technician to come out He told me the windows have not been fitted correctly and they will break again unless rectified. I called Freddy and Guy but they were not interested, I called his son the so called manager he was not interested either but before the job they offered a guarantee....once they are paid there not interested!! please note all these faults were noticed after they had been paid!...so clearly they did not care! The slates on my roof are not even straight! Front and back of house! Like I said they are amateurs. Builders are supposed to be able to fit velux windows correctly and are supposed to get roof tiles straight! The internal doors are bent and not cut straight...the bannister is not stable and needs screwing down. They couldn't drill a shower outlet pipe in the right place so I had to pay someone else to correct it..they cannot even get the door frames straight.....there are many other mistakes ...the list goes on their job is messy....I really can't see how these are qualified builders...they truly don't care about the finish! I'm just glad it's all over to be honest and they are gone! It was a very bad experience and would rather pay someone else to correct their mistakes then to deal with them...but please note they never offered to correct anything and were not bothered once they had been paid! I even had a builder come in during the loft conversion and after and he was sickened at the job and disgusted and could not believe that these are qualified builders. Last thing I can say is take my advice and Stay away from these builders or you will be disappointed.I'm happy for anyone to get in touch and I will prove to them how bad it is. They get one star only because it won't allow me to give them zero stars! Looking at the other review it wouldn't surprise me if they wrote it themselves! read more
8 years ago
I recently had a visit from The Abbey Partnership Loft Company in Northaw, EN6 as I needed a quotation for my loft conversion. The salesman provided me with much inaccurate information concerning this company's history. On the website, they claim they have been in business since 2003 but in fact this company was only established in 2013. I have checked out the details at company house and would advise anyone else thinking of dealing with this company to do likewise. I just received a private message (below) through Yelp from Abbey Lofts following the review which I posted. My reply to this message is also below. Hi Joanna, Steve here from Abbey Lofts/Abbey Partnership. I hope this message finds you well. I just wanted to get in touch to explain that there must have been some confusion. Abbey Lofts was formed in 2003 and the directors are Fredy and Guy, both of them are now the directors of Abbey Partnership, they changed company when they added new people to the team. Therefore when talking to our clients about our history we refer to the fact that we have been going since 2003 because it is 100% true however abbey partnership was formed much more recently. This company has fed 40-50 staff and supporting businesses for 16 years and we love what we do, I don't want our reputation and their livelihoods at risk over a misunderstanding. One of our teams have actually been working for us for 15 years. If you need anything then I would love to talk to you more, Best wishes Steve Sir, There is no confusion on my part. Yes, Abbey Lofts Ltd. was incorporated in 2003 but Fredy wasn't a director at that time, he was only appointed in 2012 (as shown in the company records) so your first sentence is "inaccurate". Abbey Lofts Ltd. was dissolved on 9th December 2016 and this was not because of "new people being added to the team" The true reason for the insolvency is available for anyone to discover by viewing the company records at company house. I also note that on the Yelp "From the Business" section at the bottom of the page, business owner Guy B. claims this company was established in 1999. This is another "inaccuracy" The Abbey Partnership Ltd.is a separate entity which has continued subsequent to the demise of Abbey Lofts Ltd. If your reputation is at risk, (and it is) this is because you have not been truthful regarding your history as stated to me by your salesman, by yourself in this message and the information posted on Yelp. Joanna V. Green read more
6 years ago
Please read this if you are considering hiring Abbey Lofts for any loft work. I don't know who is to blame for what became a nightmare that Abbey and the associated subcontractors created. Let's just say it all started with Gezim. If he turns up on site, then I strongly suggest you go elsewhere. If you do work with Abbey, I suggest that you keep hold of as much of the money for as long as you can. They only do things when they want to and as soon as there isn't enough money left, they just keep making promises and never deliver. A 6-8-week project took 20 weeks and is still not complete. Project management was an absolute joke. Months previous I was told that there were only 2 weeks work left. 2 months of work later and they were still not complete. The builder in question is Zamir. Let's just say that he works hard but not smart, he is messy and is constantly having to redo things. Some of the work had to be redone as we questioned the quality at the time it was done. Only to find that what they claimed to have done never actually happened. There are many issues but some are so big that there was a need to have the roof completely replaced. There is damage to the actual building, there is a snag list is well over 60 items and the quality of work is appalling and the electrics haven't been fully certified and there are bare wires around. They ruined a carpet in one of the rooms that they promised wouldn't be impacted. Replacing that was significant and means one of the rooms is now out of action too. Freddy does talk the talk and seems interested in making things right but, I don't think he has control of the builders he works with and as such of all the promises, not a single thing has been done. They have most of the agreed money so no idea how much it is going to cost to get all the problems sorted! I was told through Facebook by another client of Abbey's they went bust a few years ago but set up again using the same prohibited name and this I found to be true. Please search Abbey Lofts Ltd, moratoria of prohibited names for confirmation. Over promise and under deliver should be their slogan. read more
4 years ago
I am a bit tired of reading some of the over positive reviews on Abbey Partnership (or Abbey Group as they sometimes call themselves) on the internet and a significant amount of people contacting me because of problems with this so-called building company. Several thousand people have now read my previous review but the facts are that currently Abbey Partnership previously called Abbey Lofts Limited had the same MD and the same corresponding office address. Any customers of this company should know they may not be covered by the so called '10-year insurance guarantee' if Abbey liquidate their company again and start up with a new name. Project management was non-existent. Builders hadn't a clue how big the door opening should be, and could not even build symmetrical parallel walls - out by 3-4 cm at widest point (slight problem for floor tiler!) The Lintel for rear dorma was left dangerous and undone. MDs Guy and Fred were constantly demanding money even when next stage of contract had not been completed (in this case, stairs needed to be completed for next payment). They wanted every payment in cash. Two surveyors brought in told us that before stairs were in, the whole loft extension should have had a water tight roof and insulated walls before stair installation. This a standard regulation in the industry which should have been implemented here before installation and the menacing demanding of money. An enormous amount of rubbish was left on the scaaffolding and yet they refused to get a skip claiming they hadn't got enough money for a skip or materials. Rubble subsequently fell from the scaffolding and was left in our drriveway. Contractors were constantly complaining of not getting paid. I even had to pay one of the contractors directly and deduct from the total amount owed to Abbey, this can be proven with signed receipts from the contractor concerned. A really bad experience was Abbey Lofts. The owner of this business will not admit to anything. Deny Deny and Deny, so dishonest. Still trading on a prohibited name. http://abbeyloftconversionslimiteddissolved.com/ read more
2 years ago
We have just completed our loft conversion with Abbey - a new loft room with ensuite and separate dressing room (and upgrading the remaining loft storage).. We chose Abbey because they were the clearest and most realistic of the possible contractors we spoke to. During the initial scoping and planning phase, they were transparent about the various options.and the likely costs (including those of other parties). There was a delay whilst we waited for planning permission but they kept in touch so that when we received permission they were ready to start the build almost straight away. During the build it quickly became clear that they have a tried and trusted process, for example, all the building materials were lifted and stored directly on the scaffolding so easier to access for the team but also more secure and leaving our drive clear for parking. Part of the process is to make a quick breakthrough to the loft so we could see what was happening and make decisions about the exact location of interior walls, plumbing and sockets etc. The team were flexible about locations but they know what works and what doesn't. We had the same core team (Indrit and Jurgen) throughout and we cannot praise them enough - polite, considerate and so hard-working. There was a WhatsApp group set up by the project manager (Rob) so that we were kept up to date on any issues but could also ask questions if needed, which was very useful when the other trades started coming in. Rob was always very responsive throughout. All the other trades continued the high standard of work and flexibility. We had a clear budget and tracking of each stage with any extras (which we asked for) clearly identified - we upgraded from the 'standard' items in several areas and also took the opportunity to have a couple of other bits of work done at the same time. The finished product is better than we had hoped and all completed to a high standard (not just our view but backed up by comments from building control and others) Overall we have had a very good experience and would thoroughly recommend Abbey. read more
7 years ago
After reading the other really bad reviews on here for this company, I must say my experience was exactly the same, if not worse. If I could have given zero stars I would but I was obliged to give a least one. Do not trust this company! Abbey Partnership previously named Abbey Lofts went into voluntary liquidation, leaving the bank unpaid and pocketing thousands of pounds from clients without any work done; (see details of this company insolvency at company house on line records) It is a disaster of a company from start to finish and they lie all the time to their clients. I posted some photos of their shoddy work on Twitter and the company director threatened me and told me that I shouldn't make any further public comments about his company. I reported this to the police. The company's negative reviews are prone to disappearing from the internet something I wish I had known about before using this company. I've noted many negative comments about Abbey that have since disappeared and other people before me have noted the same with reviews from years ago. The Abbey Partnership doesn't use its own builders, you find out a few days before the build starts that you actually have to sign a contract with a third-party company. When I complained to the appropriate regulatory body about the conduct of the builders, Abbey Partnership hid behind the defense that it wasn't responsible for the work it was just the middle-man who found us the builders. These builders disappeared for almost a month, working on another job Abbey had on the go. I was promised before I signed the contract that the works would take 8 weeks. But this was a nonsense, it was more like 8 months. Untrustworthy, they are abusive on phone and dishonest. We have been left with a leaking loft and damaged fabrics, as soon as you make the second, payment the customer service completely changes, it was a masterclass in how to do as little for as much money as possible. My advice to any member of the public is the same as many on here have given, avoid at all cost. read more
6 years ago
Please don't try to make out that we are confusing your company for any others with similar names, we know exactly who you are as do your many other dissatisfied customers. You are certainly a master of spin and deception. Please don't reply to me or write on here saying you care for customers when you care for nothing except for your profits. We instructed Abbey Lofts Partnership to build our loft conversion after being impressed by their salesman. Once the deposit was paid and they'd done the drawings it was all handed over to a subcontractor. When problems began with the time schedule and our incompetent project manager, we repeatedly tried to get Abbey Lofts Partnership to be involved but they ignored all communications. The one and only time they got back in touch was after several emails when the subcontractor was trying to overcharge us for something already included in our quote from Abbey Lofts Partnership, other than that they completely ignored us while we went through an extremely difficult time with their subcontractors. The work wasn't up to scratch at all and we have experienced ongoing problems with leaks from the loft bathroom. I wrote a review a few weeks ago and within 10 minutes of posting it the director of Abbey called me up and became extremely angry, aggressive and demanded we take down the review. During this conversation he even asked us if we wanted our 10-year guarantee not realising that the subcontractor had already provided us with it for all the value it has which we find is none. He said I was an 'odd woman' who 'moaned all the time' yet he then said he hadn't read any of my emails and didn't know about all the problems we had been having. I would suggest you avoid THE ABBEY PARTNERSHIP LTD. (not a mistake with their name) at all costs as they are not to be trusted and are considered by many previous clients to be rogue traders. See all the bad reviews hidden away at the bottom left hand side of this page. "46 other reviews that are not currently recommended" read more
7 years ago
We just had a dreadful experience having The Abbey Partnership undertake construction of our loft conversion. Apart from the bad workmanship completed by their subcontractors (we had continual problems with water ingression causing leaks into the bedrooms below the loft), these workmen were very thuggish and threatened my teenage son. They also deliberately damaged the family car on the driveway, this after repeated arguments about the scheduled payments. The salesman was the only competent member of the company though we subsequently learnt that much of what he told us was dubious. For example, he said the company had been trading for 16 years but when we checked out the company records, we discovered that the Abbey Partnership was only established on 27th November 2013 so this was an untruth. The company is operated from the same offices as their other company, the previously dissolved Abbey Lofts. Another questionable piece of information for all to see on this company's website is that they call themselves, "Abbey Partnership, part of the Abbey Group". Well, there isn't any group that I've been able to find and Abbey Lofts was dissolved in 2016. The company owner has written on this website that "he cares greatly about clients". I didn't find this to be true either. My complaints were met with insults and vulgarity. The worst company that I have ever known and dealt with, definitely to be avoided like the plague. I just received an email from Yelp informing me that this partnership had responded to my review above. My reply. I am not at all surprised that you will not face up to your responsibilities. Please explain in your next comments what is meant by: "Comment from Abbey L of Abbey Partnership" Does Abbey L. mean Abbey Lofts?? This is your other liquidated business right?? Also, you don't have any associated firms except the liquidated one. My solicitor checked out your entire history. Please don't post anymore inaccurate information on here for public consumption! read more
6 years ago
This company uses 'internet cleaning' lawyers who intimidate people in to removing bad reviews, it's a bullying tactic that they used on me when I wrote a review on their Yellow Pages site. We have had to get the entire loft re done because it was dangerous and was not constructed according to specifications. We had to bring in our own architect and construction engineer to put right their terrible work. They subcontracted all the work out despite saying they did not. My very strong advice would not to touch them with a barge pole. I know of another two conversions they did that went seriously wrong too. If you check them out, they shut down Abbey Lofts Ltd and started Abbey Partnership Ltd. Their trade organisation website also lists them as a company falsely using a logo. They did a loft conversion with an en-suite bathroom for us. The shower tray leaked from the start. The tiles hadn't been put in properly and were cracked (we bought the tiles ourselves and they were expensive). They refused to do anything about it. It got so bad that it leaked through to the ceiling below dripping down the staircase causing the paintwork to peel away. Every time we had a shower we had to put towels downstairs to stop the water damaging anything else. In the end, we brought in other contractors to put their shoddy work right at a cost of £8,000. We tried to get the money back and even took them to court and got a Court Order against them. We instructed an enquiry agent to find them but they couldn't be found. Their registered office didn't exist and they hold no assets against which a judgement can be met. Another reviewer has pointed out that this company has had many names before; probably because they got so bad a reputation that they leave that name behind and just started again with a new one. I am shocked that anyone has anything good to say about them. I'm only giving them a star because I have to. Do not whatever you do get involved with these people. read more
7 years ago
Unfortunately, after we signed the contract, our experience with Abbey Partnership was not a good one. The people in their office appear to know practically nothing about converting a loft, and pass all queries on to the builders that they subcontract. There are days of delays when providing basic answers, and then going back for clarifications. Abbey Lofts market their service as though they'll help you with architectural drawings, structural drawings, interior design and the build with a project manager helping you through the process and a site engineer that you're allowed to meet and decide upon prior to the build. This was quite different from the real world by this I mean our experiences. Our experience was that an architect drew up an architectural drawing but offered no options or explanations. Luckily, we knew a builder who looked at the drawings and pointed out problems with them so that we were able to get them revised before they were sent to the Council for approval. There was no assistance with interior design. Our request for a technically competent site manager was met with a joiner who couldn't answer basic joinery questions let alone any electrical or plumbing questions that we asked him. When we rejected him, we were told that we should find our own builder. Guy refused to provide a copy of the professional indemnity insurance despite a claim by the company that they'd be pleased to provide such a copy in their pre-contract literature. Abbey Partnership Lofts was good at trying to find every opportunity to add overpriced costs to the original quote whilst claiming that any work that wasn't required in the original quote would have been done for free by the builder. We were very disappointed in a company that heavily advertises expertise and who we put our trust in. read more
7 years ago
Having noticed a couple of negative reviews on Yelp, we thought we would share our very positive experience with Abbey. My wife and I had the loft in our Victorian house in Hackney converted to a split level living room and bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Abbey did a superb job of the conversion and we highly recommend them. The work was of a very high standard and 18 months after completion, we still think "Wow!" each time we're up there. Abbey were a great team with a lead builder coordinating the activities of the various other tradespeople that came and went at different points of the project. Most of them have worked together at Abbey for many years, always a good sign in our opinion. In many ways, they are a family business. We wanted a redesign at the end of week 1 of the build (to make the space more open plan) and Abbey handled this change with ease. Customer service and focus was excellent throughout the project, from early sales engagement, through the build stage to final completion. Not only were the builders always available to discuss aspects of the construction as it progressed but so were the directors at Abbey (indeed, Freddy attended site several times to check on things). We were kept informed and we were consulted as decisions/choices needed to be made. We also feel that if we need to contact Abbey about anything in the future, they will be there. We took the liberty of asking the various workers (builders, plumbers, electricians, plasterers etc.) if they were happy working for Abbey; each one said yes and most have worked for Abbey for many years. We place importance on there being a happy workforce and that the deal works for everyone at the company, not just for the owners. Therefore, another big tick for Abbey! read more
6 years ago
We chose Abbey Partnership after reading some "excellent" reviews on the Trustpilot site. However, we soon realised that what we were experiencing was completely different from what we had read so concluded that the reviews must have been entirely bogus and just made up. Firstly, we were not provided with any project manager so we didn't know when their builders were due to be on site and when they were not. The staff were extremely uncaring about our property leaving the entire house dirty and dusty and succeeded in damaging several pieces of our furniture. It seemed that they never thought to clean up at any time during the long arduous time that they worked in our house. These builders were also very intimidating towards my young son whenever he tried to explain how distressed we all were. We then read a number of bad reviews on other platforms for this company and I can say that our experience was exactly as distressing as other clients had suffered. We made the mistake of paying a large sum of money upfront as a deposit that the director Guy convinced us to do and all of this in cash (supposedly for a discount though this he finally refused to honour). The work took much longer that expected to complete due to the fact that Abbey Partnership abandoned our project to go working on another contact they had won. We are not satisfied with the quality of the work and have been left with leaking problems due to water entering our bedrooms which are located below the loft. We have instigated legal action against Abbey and would advise anyone considering a loft conversion to look elsewhere and be careful before placing an order. read more
6 years ago
I wrote a review on this Abbey Lofts Partnership's bad review site; I am now aware that they have dozens of unhappy clients, just look at their Jelp platform as well as the many other platforms to be viewed on line. We learnt that they use internet cleaning lawyers to intimidate people into removing bad reviews, and since writing several bad reviews ourselves, we have ourselves received calls from gangster like people employed by this company. We have experienced a number of leaks down from the loft following completion of our works causing substantial damage to the four bedrooms. We complained to Abbey management but they completely ignored our calls. The workers were on our job until the start of the virus lockdown but have since completely disappeared. It seems that they are using the current difficult situation to not honour normal commercial obligations. However, considering all the previous problems experienced by their clients prior to the lockdown and the details of which we are now aware, I am worried that we have been conned, plain and simple. The managing director of the company requested that we pay all in cash in order to obtain a substantial discount. We were in favour of having a discount but now regret this arrangement as we now have no documentation to prove all the monies payed. We feel this company is run by a dishonest man who guarantees work but when push comes to shove due to the substandard work carried out by cheap and unskilled workmen, the guarantees actually mean nothing. I would like to hear from all other dissatisfied clients of Abbey's who have experienced similar nightmares. read more
7 years ago
Really poor customer service, rude and aggressive. Not surprised they have been expelled from their trade association last year. Should be avoided as rogue traders. The managing director who came around seemed genuine but when I paid the deposit all in cash, he then completely handed the job over to another building company, After parting with such a big amount of money, I was treated with no respect with a lot of rudeness with the managing director often shouting at me. From the beginning all the way through to 6 months later, the tradesmen did not attend my property more than three days in any given week. The project manager was almost impossible to get hold of and without doubt this company has the most shockingly bad customer service we have ever encountered. We had water pouring in during several wekks as they don't secure water protection covering. We where left with everthing below the loft soaked in water and many items were damaged it seems the more you pay, the less they care, by the time we had paid 70 percent they seemed to ignore us completely. We made a bad mistake with this company I hope anyone reading this will not make the same mistake.Please look elsewhere. Yelp informed me the owner had posted. I am speechless at the effrontery of this man, especially after how rude he was to me and the family now deneying any knowledge of this bad treatment. I have been in touch with other dissatisfied customers of this company and there are many to observe for anyone doing online searches. Don't be taken in by promises and over the top references, try someone without so many bad reviews. read more
Abbey Lofts - contractors - Updated May 2026
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