Initially we were absolutely impressed with the wh...
Initially we were absolutely impressed with the whole concept of these Tiny Houses. We bought a house and bathroom combo. At the sales office we asked how to get to the bathroom and the salesman told us that you could butt them together and all we had to do was cut out the panel with a window in it. Brilliant!
Unfortunately, there were problems with the Tiny house from the moment it arrived. There were no instructions for assembly and the company told us to watch a video on their site (which has since been removed unsurprisingly)There are two stabilisers, one at each end to stop the house from falling over when you winch the floor and wall down. To operate it was necessary to undo a bolt, repositioning the stabiliser to be effective and then do the bolt back up. The nut was supposed to be attached inside the frame. When we undid the bolt we heard the nut fall inside the frame as it had not been fixed in place during its original construction. There was no way to correct this issue as the house needed to be winched and folded out to get at the nut but needed the stablisers to preform this operation.
We had to purchase and used 2500lb ratcheting to stabilise the house to a nearby shipping container at one end and an established building for the other end. First issue solved by us!
We lifted th roof and attached the hand operated winches as shown in the video. The winch body was of comparable quality, however the 5ml stainless steel wire rope was threaded through the barrel of the winch and folded back on itself and held with a tiny stainless steel D shackle, the same shackle used with stainless steel wire fencing. This D shackle proved to be more than inefficient, it was unfit for purpose and extremely dangerous. My son was on one winch and I was on the other. We had lowered the floor about 25 degrees when the D shackle failed. The weight was immediately transferred to the only remaining winch which was not strong enough to hold the 1200lb floor on its own and it instantaneously let go along with the first winch. It was only through sheer luck that the floor did not crush me as I had just moved. My wife who was watching fell backwards onto our trailer in shock. The noise was substantial. The feet had not yet been attached causing the floor to fall past its functional position beyond 180 degrees breaking the spine. We immediately contacted their head office who told us to hire electrical winches to fix and complete the unfolding. There suddenly became more activity from the company after we pointed out the fault with the winches and it being a workcover issue and a law suit just waiting to happen. In hindsight sight, we should have taken that path and not been so accommodating.
So by this stage we had purchased extra ratchet straps and now winches to complete the foldout.
Once the House was folded out and still in constant contact with Containers Domes and Shelters, the original sellers of our house we set about sealing it. Like so many others, our house leaked. That I suppose could be blamed on poor sealing however the leaks were not coming so much from where we had sealed it they were literally squirting out of the silicone joins between the refrigerator panels used to make the walls and pouring out of the windows. As days into weeks and weeks into months we had many visits and exchange of dialogue from the company. The steel structure as the company advised us had not been primed by the manufacturer in China and that’s why it was peeling off and rusting. Originally the wood flooring, according to Wes from the company, had proven unfit for purpose because white ants loved to eat it so they changed to compressed fibre glass. Wes informed us that the silicon application by China was not good either and as time went by, Wes stated that Containers Domes Shelters had changed manufacturers in China due to poor quality and workmanship. The external silicone between the panels had lost its integrity also and the refrigerator panels were filling with water, hence the pressure which caused the water to “squirt” out of the failed silicone on the inside between the panels.
The whole house from woe to go had been a failure and the company finally accepted that it needed replacing.
Unfortunately we desperately needed somewhere to live and this had continued for over a year. We had put in a kitchen, furniture and a bed. We had, as advised by the company and in-line with their photographic modelling, cut a doorway and built a breezeway to reach the bathroom. All of this had to be undone and taken out before the house could be replaced. As this was due to no fault of our own we insisted that the company was responsible for this. We had already paid for it to be installed, and we wanted it put back the same way when they were done. In-line with the quality of the house, so was their workmanship and our kitchen bench top was substantially damaged. They did not refix the breezeway or reattach the plumbing but told us they would cover the cost to do so thereby making their problems mine and extra work with a less than satisfactory living quarters until a tradesman could come.
NB: I need to point out here that Wes and other company representatives did not point out or advise us that any of the improvements were not complicit with warrantee, guarantee or company guide lines (which was probably because we were not given copies or advised of such. This was only used in argument by a new division of the company called “My Little House” when we pressed for repairs due to faulty construction and unfit for purpose materials by Jorj whom we have never met or heard of until now. We could not adhere to the warranty issued by my little house because they were not in existence at the time we purchased nor did they issue or draw attention to their new companies warranty at the time of replacement.
Our time in Alternative accommodation was not paid for nor were we reimbursed by either Containers Domes Shelters or the new subsidiary My Little House.
The replacement house was put in place, constructed and SEALED by the company representatives, namely Wes. It rained heavily during the replacement and I had to supply the ratchet straps again to hold the taurpolin which completely covered the house because there was a very very large puddle forming inside. I called it a lake! The company representatives assured me it would all be fixed. On return they used my wet/dry vacuum cleaner to help clean up the “lake”.without the filter!
The replacement house leaked in most of the same places and even more so from the wall/floor join which Wes representing the company had sealed. Rather than rebuild the new door with all its internal locking mechanisms, they decided to fix the door from the original house. This door has never shut properly and rattles in the wind. I believe a lot of the water damage around this area is due to the loose fitting door. Most of the windows leaked causing damage to our furniture and curtains and black mild was now appearing through out. We have taken great steps to try to fix these issues.
The floor began giving way at the front door and that’s when we discovered that the house they had used as a replacement had a wooden ply floor. This indicates that My Little House used a predated unfit for purpose model and this is confirmed by the flaking paint from the unprimed steel structure.
That’s is to say, My Little House took away one substandard house only to replace it with another one that they already knew was not fit for purpose.
After approaching the Company in November 2024 and continuing phone calls some six months or more and several heavy rain events followed by a tropical cyclone, the company agreed to fix the floor, the rust and the leaks. Two company representatives arrived with a price of plywood in the back of the ute. Despite many attempts to get a representative out to view the damage prior to commencing, nobody was interested.
These two men viewed the house and asked to be excused to call the office. My wife heard the man tell the office that “this isn’t just a fix this is a major issue”.
The men left without attending to or fixing any of the problems. The company, I believe, realising the extent and cost have backflipped on their warranty and pledge to fix even stating work done by their own electricians as faulty and a warranty breach.
We are now dealing with the ACCC and as we have heard now from many sources that we are far from the only unhappy customers, we are trying to contact as many as we can for a class action against the company and individuals personally.
If you are unhappy with your purchase from this business please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us!
