I was in need of getting an architectural plan for my house, I searched the internet for architects who offer this service and found a name Seekan in many places and their web page with attractive designs. That is how I ended up with this’Seekan’ architects.
Note: They also operate in the name’Jalihal associates’
After I found their page I called them and the guy who attended the call told me the amount he charges and he insisted me to make the full payment to start working on the plan. I was a bit hesitant to make the full payment to some stranger, so I searched for reviews in the internet, but there wasn’t one single
real review on them. All I found was the same repeated text which they themselves have posted. In Google reviews, I found around 10 such reviews posted under the names’masterblastin_156, masterblastin_106, masterblastin_157, Vinay, seekan, seekangroup and etc. Only real name I saw there was Vinay, but later I came to know that he is the owner of Seekan.
I was a bit skeptical after seeing this kind repeated of spams, so I decided to meet them in person to find out what they were up to. I expected a decent office there, but their office is located at a room in a terrace of a house which is located in a congested area. There I met a guy called Vinay who is the owner of Seekan, he convinced me that he would deliver the best architectural plan that satisfies my taste. So I gave the job to him.
Based on my experience, this what happens once you give the job to him;
First of all the guy who runs Seekan is not an architect, he just collects money from people and subcontracts the job to an architect. He will charge you more than other real architects and You need to pay the full fee in advance. Once he gets the fee, he doesn’t care about you. He will not give any bill for the payment you made.
He’ll initially tell you that he will complete the job within 2 weeks, but after two weeks he will not even remember about your job and the specifications that you gave him
You have to call him frequently and remind him about the job you gave him and your specifications/requirements
If you are lucky, you’ll get the design after 4-5 weeks. your design will be worked on in hurry and he will send it to you through email
Once you received the design you will realize that it was done in hurry and it is not drafted according to your specifications/requirements/taste
You will tell him that you need corrections in the design, and he would promise you to complete it with in 2-3 days
After two days, if you call him he will buy more time and this cycle goes on for another 4-5 weeks
After many such frustrating calls the corrections you have asked for will be worked on in the last minute and will be sent to you through email
You will again find that the design was done in hurry and it does not have all the corrections that you asked for. At this point you will be completely frustrated
You will go back to him, call him again many times and he will buy more and more time
After another 1 - 2 weeks, Your frustration level will reach the sky, and you’ll decide to live with whatever the design he has given you so far.
So in the end, all you’ll have is just one soft copy of the design that is sent to your email, You’ll get no printed hard copies and no painting color choices. That single design you’ve got will not match your taste or specifications. In another words, it will not be the design you dreamed for your beloved house.
These are some silly excuses that he makes
Can you give me your construction plan, we are waiting for it(Though you had given it to him already)
There is a problem with your construction plan, that causes delay in drafting the design
First we need to sketch rough hand drafted plan, before making the plan in computer. It takes time
Architect is not feeling well
Architect has gone to his hometown
We were busy
I gave your job to the architect only yesterday, it will take one more week
On top of all, sometimes he won’t even attend your calls(If this happens try calling him from a land line phone)
Bottom line is, please stay away from Seekan architects. I would advice you to find a reputed firm and save yourself from high frustration, high blood pressure and high telephone bills.