Fortis Group - Altrincham

Simon W.

DO NOT EVER USE THIS COMPANY.

Why? Because I attempted to purchase a one bed flat in 2017. Two years later the property was not complete so I triggered the sunset clause which permitted me (in the sales agreement) to abort the purchase and get my deposit money back (at that stage it was 50%).

Fortis did not honour this and said they would only repay this once they had resold the property. This forced me to hire a lawyer to recover the money and 3 years later a court ordered them to pay it. This is without doubt the worst and most stressful experience I have endured with a business.

Unfortunately it did not end there as Fortis despite selling the flat did not transfer the ownership via the Land Registry and I have received service charge, ground rent and council demands from managing agents and the local council.

karen J.

I agree and have had a similar experience as the previous poster. I was sold a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom apartment with a balcony, finished to a high specification. The plasterwork is very poor as is the barely there painting. My exterior and interior doors all have big scrapes and chemistry missing out of them or don’t close. The electric sockets were wonky and the same with the light fixtures. My balcony has a big dip in the middle that requires constant sweeping of the water to the drains. I had a professional snagging company to list the snags and there is 249 !! Of these about 3 have been addressed and these were the smallest snags. The building never got the gym we were promised and we re living in a building site. Disgusting company with numerous other companies that they just close and open another one to hide their reputation.

Eli J.

Scandalous company that simply cannot be trusted.
Worrying that they have so many connected companies that have been renamed to try and obscure their links or bury bad reputation and press. (Beaumont Morgan, Qube, Xenia, etc.)

The building that I bought a flat in was delayed many times over the years, with a complete lack of communication. When I eventually got my keys, I was essentially living on a building site for a year.
It became apparent how much corner-cutting there was. From the petty (using two screws instead of 4 for door handles, that become loose over time), bizarre (using non-standard proprietary L1 lightbulbs that only one company manufacture and sell at ridiculous prices), to the outright dangerous — cheap parts and wiring for the hot water cylinder was done so poorly, it completely burned and melted. I'm just lucky it didn't cause a fire.

The cheapest, thinnest paint possible was used and the slightest of touches causes marks. I believe this was intentional so that the connected lettings agency (Qube) can repeatedly overcharge tenants for painting fees, wear-and-tear and cleaning. It's a repeated comment I see from residents here, that despite big chunks being taken out of the deposits, none of it is used for the actual work or cleaning.

I was grossly overcharged (£5000+) for the cheapest, flimsiest furniture pack, comprising awful quality items that fall apart. They also cheated me out of the specifcation too. There was supposed to be shelving, and a splashback on the kitchen wall, and karndean style floor tiling throughout the apartment. But none of these were present, or much cheaper and lower quality substitutes were used. Awful quality, thin carpet that just bobbles and wears out quickly.
There was space for a gym, but they never bothered to put equipment in. Funnily enough, I've found out that the building is still being advertised to renters with the promise of a gym.

The worrying thing is that my building is not the only one. I see a repeated pattern across other sites that they've built and subsequently neglected, or current developments that are stalled.

This company should no longer be running, and I would warn anyone to not invest in any of their schemes.

Deniz K.

DO NOT BUY AN APARTMENT FROM FORTIS! STAY AWAY!!!

First of all, I have purchased an apartment in Adelphi phase 3 in 2016. The construction was supposed to be completed in 2018. However, they have only managed to complete the construction and deliver my apartment in 2021. They simply could not to complete the construction on time.

Secondly, the apartment was handed to me in an awful state. It was so bad that it almost looked like it was vandalised and damaged on purpose. There were deep scratches on the doors, damaged window frames, paint marks all around, chips and etc. After the completion, I travelled from London to Manchester to get the keys for my apartment. They did not even give me the keys and said there was something wrong with the locks. After my inspection of the property, I was shocked and pointed out the issues in horror. The have promised me to take care of everything in couple of days by sending in two men. However, it has been months and they say they run out of money and can't do anything else. I have received an email from them saying "scratches unfortunately will have to remain on the front door as they do not have a spare one or money to buy a new one"

The apartment supposed to come with a warranty. There are many more issues with the apartment but they simply do not care. I heard from the management company that I am not the only landlord having problems with Fortis, there are many many more.

Please save yourself time, energy and money and do not buy from these people. If you want a stress free investment and a decent apartment, buy from a reputable company. It was my worst ever investment decision, please do not make the same mistake!!!

jacky

NEVER INVEST in any of their developments. SCAM. We paid a huge deposit for a town house apartment in 2018 in Media City and the development is nowhere near being completed. Matter of fact they havent even started! They have ignored all our solicitors messages and calls, even tried to get us to extend the long stop date by threatening that their company could go bankrupt and we could all lose our investment.

After doing further research they were granted permission to knock down the existing infrastructure and are looking to build new apartments around that space but haven't even contacted or communicate this.

Would love to hear from people with similiar experiences with this company.

Once again DO NOT buy any development developments with this company

Priyanka S.

I wish I could give 0 stars to this company. We have paid a huge amount as deposit and our building close to Manchester is nowhere near completion. It has been 1 year since the long stop date.
They do not respond to any emails or phone calls. Absolutely rubbish company. Robbers!!!

I would like to get people with similar experiences together to protest against their malpractice. Robbing people of their hard earned money.... Absolutely disgusting.

Piet S.

Do not make the mistake to invest with the Fortis Group. They are big on sales talk but completely absent on delivery. After investing GBP150 000 as deposit for a development in Manchester they kept me on a line for years just to confirm now they do not have the funds to build or refund me. This is not what one expect from a big group in a first world country. I would not recommend investing in the UK to anybody and most definitely not with the Fortis Group.

Diana B.

I'm living in one of the student accommodations from Fortis.
Floods, water leaks, mould, a fire, no hot water for weeks during winter...
It is the same in at least 12 residence out of the 15 they have (and one of the other 3 is not even open yet). Mice infestations and serious security problems too.

It took them 69 days to fix the water leak I had in the middle of my room and 72 days so that I could finally have light. Imagine living like that. They didn't offer any compensation at all.

When I finally could present my official complaint, they responded with false statements which of course I corrected sending evidence. They have now stopped replying. It's impossible to arrange a meeting, have them by phone and they just ignore the e-mails. They are acting the same with everyone who tries to complain.

Check the facebook page "Fortis Student Living - Horror Stories" and the petition in Change . org: Fortis Student Living: Take responsibility for putting our health and studies in danger
Also take some time to search the reviews of their residences in google maps.

It is the most despicable company I've ever encountered.