hylton chimneys Reviews 11

At his core, Hylton is a cowardly, dishonest man. He knocked down our chimney breasts without consulting a structural engineer or getting drawings and calculations so now, we can’t get a completion certificate. It took him months to admit his negligence and since he did, he’s made no attempt to fix the situation. He’s buried his head in the sand and has left us to pick up the pieces with other, more straightforward tradespeople. Because not only could he not be bothered to finish the job, but he couldn’t even bring himself to state plainly that his plan was to take our money and run. I can’t think of a single reason to recommend him. Even with 5 fake reviews out of 10, he’s only a 2.5. It’s a shame a 0 rating isn’t an option.

Hylton is one of the worst humans I have had the misfortune of meeting - aggressive, dishonest, dangerous, greedy... I even feel I have to use an alias to write this review. Didn't provide his insurance, did the job extremely poorly, was aggressive, went WAY over schedule, created an outrageous mess (easily avoided with coverings). Please, to anyone considering Hylton for even a small task - steer clear!

I wish I had taken on board the damning reviews found on Google and Trust Pilot but I gave the company the benefit of the doubt. Don’t be me! This has been a traumatic, sloppy, and dishonest service from Hylton Chimneys. I will stick to the facts, despite feeling many emotions towards the events. Hylton, despite this being in the invoice and contract signed by himself, did not manage the building control process in any way. He did not apply to the council 48 hours prior to the work starting, as required. This is despite the fact that this project was confirmed on March 1st for an April 22nd start. I raised this multiple times to be told it was being taken care of. Of course, you think you can trust in the ‘expert’. In May, it becomes clear this has not even been applied for. He finally sends them a form on May 7th for the council to inform me he has not signed it so it is invalid. I obtained a copy of this from them to find numerous mistakes, including the spelling of my first and second name and the incorrect postcode of the address. Absolute shambles. We will now receive a regularisation certificate instead of the optimal completion certificate because of their own delays in doing this. On the supposed last day of the job, a workman’s work resulted in my living room ceiling collapsing. While Hylton says such things can arise, it is apparent that a lack of care/diligence was exercised to prevent this. The significance of the damage clearly indicates this. They did not make good the condition of both my lounge ceiling and dining area ceiling to the original condition, despite saying they would paint them (I have messages as proof), leaving me to spend money on hiring someone to do this. Even where they did plaster these areas, it is a terrible job and requires further work to make good. A list of damage to my property caused by Hylton and the workman: black staining on the beige front of my house from a lack of care when cutting materials (this has not been rectified by them); scrapes and dents in my corridor all up the staircase from the steel beams (he painted this with a different shade of pink so I will need to pay someone to decorate this); a cracked windowsill in master bedroom (not resolved); not replacing my spotlight in the dining area where the ceiling was worked on, despite telling me he would and then backtracking and saying ‘I am not an engineer’, all of which I have proof of; cracks in door frames; broken plug and wiring where the workman plastered without protecting it, causing damage inside of the plug and fuses to trip. I had to pay an electrician to resolve this. Hylton has not rectified any of this, despite the contract stating that they will rectify any damage at their own expense and within reasonable time. It also states that any breakages or damages will be compensated for from the final balance and their website says that they will leave the home as they found it. Not only did they not do that, they left it in a worse condition. Hylton asked me for payments several times before these were due, which was very uncomfortable. The contract says the final payment is due upon sign off of the work from building control. He said he needed to pay his workman for the additional days spent repairing the ceiling collapse, as if this is my responsibility. I repeatedly told him I was following the contract payment schedule he created and signed. Hylton charged us an extra £850 to increase labour so the work would be completed by Sunday (April 28th)- I have this in writing. However, they didn't even work on the Sunday let alone get it done by then, so where that money was allocated is unknown. I was told the work would take 7 days typically, maximum 10. It took 17 days for the whole job to be wrapped up and for Hylton to return my house key. He did not follow his own contract conditions, didn’t inform me when areas to my home were damaged (to avoid ‘panicking’ me, as if they have a right to withhold such information) and was dishonest about his assurance of rectifying some of the damages. A horrible experience.

I have great experience with the company Hilton Chimnie
Professional service for decent price
All the best

Brilliant work from start to finish,Hylton and his team done the work to the highest standard,great communication and nothing was a trouble,highly recommended

it is a serious, punctual and orderly company, I recommend it with confidence.
be strongly involved in making customers happy and proud of their home
is a team with good work skills

I have great experience with Hylton he is very good at his work.

Utter cowboy. Worked with him 5 years ago, Taught him how to take chimney breast down clearly still doesn't know how as he didn't listen to a word I said. He didn't even pay me! Wish I'd never shown him. Poor customers. Avoid at all costs.

I hired Hylton Chimneys to remove two chimney breasts and had such an awful experience I have to warn others.

Firstly, there is no reason to use a chimney removal “specialist” such as Hylton Chimneys. Nearly every builder has the skills to do the work and will have experience.

If you wish to use Hylton Chimneys anyway because you think you will be getting a more premium or quicker service, I suggest you think again and run as fast as your legs will carry you.

The “service” Hylton Forrester offered was nothing short of shambolic. Here are some highlights from before Hylton even started the work:
• Hylton didn’t visit the property or ask for any photos before providing a quote.
• Hylton’s assistant sends me a party wall notice intended for another customer, which is unsuitable for my purposes. I needed to spend the next few days trying to get in contact with Hylton to clarify.
• I had to draft my own party wall notice because the template they provided was a joke and didn’t follow the Government guidelines properly.
• We had agreed a start date which was reflected in the contract. Then, a week before work is due to start Hylton asks me (again) when I would like the work to commence. Then, Hylton needed a few days to “confirm” whether he can actually do what he had previously promised with no hint of any apology or embarrassment in being so disorganised.
• The start date comes and Hylton says that morning that he can’t arrive until midday. He eventually shows up mid-afternoon.

Hylton failed to organise a plumber or electrician in advance of work commencing.

After I paid the first installment, Hylton stopped providing updates. When chased, Hylton said he is away travelling and won’t be back for a week. He had booked this trip prior to agreeing the start and finish date with me and had not mentioned this previously. He was unapologetic and did not comprehend why this was unacceptable.

Hylton started making demands for more money, claiming aspects were “more complicated” than he had realised. These aspects were either very clearly explained to him and agreed prior to him giving the quote, or any cursory inspection of the property would have made it apparent they were necessary. Hylton did not do any work on the property while we were working this out, despite lying to me and pretending he was doing so. At the same time, he ignored my calls and took days to respond to my emails trying to amicably resolve the disagreement.

Hylton’s demands for extra money increased over time, despite him not returning to the jobsite or providing further reasons. First, it was 750, then 900. Then, astonishingly, 3,112 extra for the same work. When we said we would be open to doing gallow brackets to save him these extra costs, he claimed he would need another 2,170 and did not explain why. When we said we are unwilling to pay extra costs without further substantiation, he quit and to date has not returned any of my deposit (I will update this review if he does).

Some further things that suggests Hylton (a) isn’t very good at his job and (b) shouldn’t be trusted:

• Other builders were concerned with Hylton’s approach to removing the chimney breast from the bottom up with a jackhammer and installing the support at the end. Common sense alone tells you that this is dangerous and improper.
• He requires payment by installments, even for jobs lasting two weeks. Any reputable building company is able to wait until the end of a short job for payment (except for a small deposit).
• Hylton didn’t have basic things like dust sheets to prevent spread of dust. He left doors open to allow dust to spread throughout the house.
• Some of his tools look like they were sourced from Poundland and were held together (barely) with duct tape.
• Hylton would agree to, and then ignore clear, basic instructions. Repeatedly. E.g. he kept leaving the house key under our doormat, despite us asking him to put it in the lock box.
• Hylton left windows to the unattended house wide open before leaving for weeks.

Hylton was very friendly. He explained process all the way along, and his team did an excellent job with finishing up our Chimney which our previous builder had left half way. The team turned up right on time, knew exactly what they were doing.

Where do I start? The worse experience in my life. When you talk about cowboy builders, here is your provider. He claims to provide all in one service with facilitating everything. However you end up paying double because this man comes in to do the job with an idea of what has to be done, which just cant be done structurally. Without going into too much details, I just say - If I only knew, I would run away from this company. Multiple errors in documentation, law braking actions - removed half of my wall without signed agreement in place, never appeared for building control - total disaster!!!