Badly fitted windows/subsequent damage and legal question

saraht_1000

Please delete.

brightontraveller

Once you’ve exhausted all negotiations with window company,
Without expert report you’d be very fall hardy going to court (to easily argued its nothing to do with there initial works etc) Either once you have this or as some legal firms etc recommend certain firms to give reports if they know the courts, judges etc Then all paperwork,. T and C anything you signed, call logs letters, appointments, insurance reports etc to your legal representative and get there opinion,,, Anything else is just guess work without all the facts …

Furts

Unfortunately the cracks cannot be tallied against the windows. It could be settlement, subsidence or heave. You may disagree with this but without conclusive proof you cannot expect to win in Court.

Or to view another way, your window company would only have to offer reasonable doubt to the Judge and you will have lost your case.

You require an expert witness report which will be at your expense. The last one that I commissioned was around £800, and this was a favourable price through my colleagues in the construction industry. I would suggest that today this would be more like £1000. However if you go down this route the window company may take on an expert and challenge you report. A jointly agreed and binding expert report is a good way forward. However if your window company is not co-operative then this may be unlikely.

Now for the delicate area. On the basis of constructive criticism I am sorry to say that if you have dealt with the window company as I read your post then you may have inflamed some issues, or somebody. This approach would also not receive glowing approval from a Judge. Hence, step back, try to be reasonable, and take a pro-active way forward.

greenface

I don't think the op acted unreasonable as a concerned homeowner with no building experience . Name and shame them . If they aren't playing the game you will need to take legal advice to recover your money .

Furts

greenface wrote: »

I don't think the op acted unreasonable as a concerned homeowner with no building experience . Name and shame them . If they aren't playing the game you will need to take legal advice to recover your money .

I am minded to disagree with this. We are all on this Forum to offer the benefit of our knowledge and experience. But there are limits to this. Once a post reaches the stage that litigation is imminent one is moving up a notch, and beyond the area of a Forum. Experts or professionals should be involved. At this stage emotions and sympathies become irrelevant. It is hard facts that decide the case and the truth can sometimes be painful. With this in mind ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.

The unfortunate truth is that there appears to be something wrong with OP's home. It appears that two scenarios are likely. Either the home was structurally dodgy, with poor walls, inadequate tieing in, or a requirement for lintels. Or the installers were brutal in the the manner that they did the work. In the first scenario OP could have asked an architect, or a building surveyor, or an structural engineer about proposals and recommendations. Similarly, in the second scenario OP could have arranged inspection of the work being done.

Even if you argue that these courses are beyond the wit of man it appears that no Buildings Regulation Application was made. Had this been done then the Inspector would, in all likelihood, have flagged up the problems.

This is not knocking OP, for the situation is unsatisfactory. I am simply viewing the matter from a professional perspective. A Judge would do likewise.

saraht_1000

Firstly thank you to everyone for their comments. I completely agree with regards to the wall cracks and such structural issues. As a consequence, I had no plan to take legal action over the wall damage due to the fact of how easily such a claim could be thrown out even with a proper comprehensive building analysis.

However, my proposed legal action is only with regards to the guarantee they provided. There are several issues with the actual windows that are covered under their guarantee they provided me with and which I signed for. Such alignments include damaged frames, seals and handles alongside window condensation. I raised these issues in 2 letters (which they signed for via Royal Mail Recorded Delivery) and dozens of calls and emails. If they have failed to respond and thus honour their guarantee - what else can I do? I have the call logs for what they are worth. I looked at maybe getting a window repair firm to come and diagnose the issues in a quote which may provide remedial work scope.

Furts

My thought is did you pay by Credit Card and can you make them liable?

It sounds as if you have given the company the opportunity to put the work right. I would send a recorded delivery letter saying that unless you receive a satisfactory response within seven days you will be instructing another window company to put the work right. You will then take action to recover the costs from them.

I am not convinced that you will recover your insurance excess, nor the plumbers costs. You may have a liability here, or your window company could argue, perhaps dishonestly, that you were responsible for this. They could further argue that you did not mitigate your losses here. But you can try for this and argue your case.

You will need an expert report, or something documentary, to justify your position.

Expect to end up in the Small Claims Court. Keep your costs of remedial works at a reasonable level. Check what limits currently apply to such cases.

It is said that the process is easy. I have been there and maintain that it is time consuming, administrative and somewhat stressful. Do not expect it to be like taking a walk in the park.

Your local Building control Office would be an appropriate place to commence enquiries. If you submitted a retrospective application and they came and condemned the work this would be a good way forward. You would, of course, need them to put this in writing and not a typical site visit where they say yeah or neah.

Equally as good, or better with some practitioners, would be a good Clerk Of Works. I may be able to suggest one - it depends on where you live.