Window company gone into liquidation

full-time-mum

We purchased uPvc windows from a local firm in 2001. We've had niggly problems with them ever since. Now my daughters window doesn't shut properly and their is a gale howling in.

We rang this morning in the hope of getting someone out and were told that they had gone into liquidation :mad: so presumabley the 10 year guarentee isn't worth the paper it's wriiten on.

Coincidently, there is a sale of assets and machinery at this very moment.

Doesn't sound too hopeful.

Any suggestions of what to do next?

I'm trying to find out if the business has been taken over. If this is the case, will the new owners have to honour the guarantee?

ormus

highly unlikely.
esp if they are not buying the business as a going concern?

Poppycat

Did the company not issue a Fensa certicate for the windows? Not sure when the rules came in but double glazing companies have to issue guarantees usually Fensa

ormus

think it was april 2002?

withalj

This is my longest on-going bug bear. We had a new patio door that developed a fault. It turned out that the company had liquidated and then started up again with the same name, same address, same logo everything and told us we didn't have a claim because the guarantee was with the previous company. We took legal advice (free with our household insurance) and they said there was nothing we could do... we then had exactly the same thing with the kitchen company we'd used to install a whole new kitchen.

It makes me sooo angry that they seem to be able to get away with it. It seems to me it's a deliberate tactic to get away with selling shoddy goods and misleading people into thinking they're covered. Of course you can't prove anything but it seems like fraud to me. I even wrote to my MP because I think the law should prevent it.

My own solution since then has been to avoid such companies. I discovered it's remarkably easy to fit new windows, two people, a drill and some foam... it's also a lot cheaper because you can buy the windows you want from a builders merchant and that's it if you do it yourself, or else get a handyman round to do it. You also protect your decor and flower beds a lot better this way.

NB My experience was prior to the new rules coming in on 1 April 2002. See my later post

full-time-mum

Poppycat wrote:

Did the company not issue a Fensa certicate for the windows? Not sure when the rules came in but double glazing companies have to issue guarantees usually Fensa

Yes, according to the company website - which is still up and running! Is there any point if the company no longer exists?
We don't have a fensa certificate in any case.

full-time-mum

withalj wrote:

You also protect your decor and flower beds a lot better this way.

Actually, the muscles that put them in were very good and we had very little damage or mess. My only grip was that they brushed broken glass into the gravel which edges my paths - not good news with (at the time) a 5 year old and newborn

derrick

full-time-mum wrote:

Yes, according to the company website - which is still up and running! Is there any point if the company no longer exists?
We don't have a fensa certificate in any case.

Did you pay by finance or credit card? if so then contact them as they have equal liability under the Consumer Credit Act

moonrakerz

withalj wrote:

This is my longest on-going bug bear. We had a new patio door that developed a fault. It turned out that the company had liquidated and then started up again with the same name, same address, same logo everything and told us we didn't have a claim because the guarantee was with the previous company. We took legal advice (free with our household insurance) and they said there was nothing we could do... we then had exactly the same thing with the kitchen company we'd used to install a whole new kitchen.

It makes me sooo angry that they seem to be able to get away with it. It seems to me it's a deliberate tactic to get away with selling shoddy goods and misleading people into thinking they're covered. Of course you can't prove anything but it seems like fraud to me. I even wrote to my MP because I think the law should prevent it.

Like you I really don't understand why the law isn't changed to stop this sort of thing. Ester Ranzten has been going on about this since she was a teenager - but zilch !

I got caught in a similar way, when the windows in my house failed. The supplier to my builder went bust, then started up again. My builder then said it wasn't his responsibility, which it was ! I then got the NHBC involved ;

NHBC = Chocolate fireguard !

ormus

NHBC = Chocolate fireguard !

been saying this for more than 40 yrs now.

full-time-mum

derrick wrote:

Did you pay by finance or credit card? if so then contact them as they have equal liability under the Consumer Credit Act

Unfortunately, I'm sure we paid by cheque.:mad:

Website is still up and running so I've submitted an online enquiry outlining the problem so we'll see what happens. Nothing on there about liquidation and quotes such as

Our Reputation:
"With this level of quality and performance we feel so confident..................."

and

Our Clients :
"Many thousands of doors and windows have been installed..................."

and

In this fiercely competitive market we have quickly become one of the leading manufacturers and installers of PVCU windows and doors in this region. We are not just blowing our own trumpet - this continuing success and growth, over more than a decade, is testimony to your guarantee of a job well done.

So, if they are still trading, they are relying on their history - I feel a watchdog moment may be approaching.