What happens about warrenty when company sold

lizann52

Hi this is my first time posting so please bear with me

I had a composite door fitted 5/6 years ago with a 10 year warrenty, suddenly the bottom lock on the door has failed, so I ring the company peacock windows who fitted the door. After a visit from a fitter, a visit from a rep 3 days after my first phone call I am told the company has been sold since my door was fitted and as it is now a limited company my warrenty no longer applies, yet the web site still says it is a family run business. I am now told I must pay all costs
This door is the door onto the garden which will no longer open and as i am a dissabled pensioner with poor mobility i am desperate to get the door in working order to let my pet dog into the garden

Can anyone please advise me

Undervalued

lizann52 wrote: »

Hi this is my first time posting so please bear with me

I had a composite door fitted 5/6 years ago with a 10 year warrenty, suddenly the bottom lock on the door has failed, so I ring the company peacock windows who fitted the door. After a visit from a fitter, a visit from a rep 3 days after my first phone call I am told the company has been sold since my door was fitted and as it is now a limited company my warrenty no longer applies, yet the web site still says it is a family run business. I am now told I must pay all costs
This door is the door onto the garden which will no longer open and as i am a dissabled pensioner with poor mobility i am desperate to get the door in working order to let my pet dog into the garden

Can anyone please advise me

Sadly that gives you no additional rights.

If the company is now a different legal entity then they may well be able to get out of honouring a warranty from the original firm. Without knowing the exact structure it is impossible to say for certain.

Most double glazing type warranties are underwritten by a national body (FENSA ??). It may be worth checking to see if there is any mention of that on your original invoice.

shaun_from_Africa

How did you pay for the original installation?
If it was by credit card or finance specifically for that work (A personal loan doesn't normally qualify) then the credit provided is equally liable under the consumer credit act for any failure to honour the contract and the warranty is part of the contract.

bris

Did the original company go bankrupt? If the new owners took over the old business then it also takes on the old companies liabilities so if all it's assets went to the new company then so does it's liabilities.


If the old owners were a sole trader/ partnership then you could also chase the trader/ partnership personally.


The circumstances of the change would need to be determined to advise you properly regarding your rights.

wealdroam

Undervalued wrote: »

Most double glazing type warranties are underwritten by a national body (FENSA ??). It may be worth checking to see if there is any mention of that on your original invoice.

No, FENSA does not underwrite insurance.

FENSA insists that all its registered installers do provide insurance cover, but FENSA do not supply it themselves.

From their website:

Guarantee or Warranty: FENSA Registered Businesses must give a guarantee or warranty covering the cost of completing rectification work in respect of defects for a period of ten years.

Having said that, it may well be that the guarantee is underwritten by an insurance company.
Certainly worth checking.

Ectophile

"Family run business" doesn't mean a great deal. If it's now a limited company, then it just means that the main shareholders are relatives of each other.

You said "now a limited company". Does that mean it wasn't a limited company before, or it was a different company? If it wasn't, then potentially you may have a claim against whoever was the boss when you bought the windows.

It's also worth checking if the warranty was insurance backed. If so, contact the insurance company.

System

bris wrote: »

Did the original company go bankrupt? If the new owners took over the old business then it also takes on the old companies liabilities so if all it's assets went to the new company then so does it's liabilities.


If the old owners were a sole trader/ partnership then you could also chase the trader/ partnership personally.


The circumstances of the change would need to be determined to advise you properly regarding your rights.

On takeover it is not normal to also take on the liabilities unless that was agreed in the takeover contract. The same applies to warranties

paddyrg

Alas warranties on builders work frequently seem to vanish just in time for when they are needed

unholyangel

!!!!!! wrote: »

On takeover it is not normal to also take on the liabilities unless that was agreed in the takeover contract. The same applies to warranties

Bris is right that it depends how the sale was conducted.

What you're referring to are the rules of an asset sale - where assets of the company are purchased (sometimes even their trading names) rather than the company itself.

Takeover by merging or buying shares and you'll find its "warts and all".

ETA: You are right that thats the default position of an asset sale - and that sometimes they negotiate to assume liabilities in exchange for a cheaper purchase price, but as above, with takeovers....they have no choice - liability passes.

naedanger

lizann52 wrote: »

Hi this is my first time posting so please bear with me

I had a composite door fitted 5/6 years ago with a 10 year warrenty, suddenly the bottom lock on the door has failed, so I ring the company peacock windows who fitted the door. After a visit from a fitter, a visit from a rep 3 days after my first phone call I am told the company has been sold since my door was fitted and as it is now a limited company my warrenty no longer applies, yet the web site still says it is a family run business. I am now told I must pay all costs
This door is the door onto the garden which will no longer open and as i am a dissabled pensioner with poor mobility i am desperate to get the door in working order to let my pet dog into the garden

Can anyone please advise me

What was the exact name of company/business/individual on the original paperwork?

Also did that paperwork mention FENSA (and if so did it give a company FENSA number) and/or did it give the name of any company underwriting the warranty?

The company Peacock Windows Limited was only incorporated in March 2013 according to this website:

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08449157

However this website says Peacock Windows (albeit without the limited) have been established for 20 years:
http://www.rehauhome.com/peacockwindows

[As a sidenote: I thought that a company could only take credit for the business of another company if it had taken over the other company (and so was responsible for that previous company's liabilities) - so not if it only bought the other company's assets, or employed its staff etc. Therefore I wonder why Peacock Windows is claiming 20 years of business. That said, the claim is not on Peacock Windows Limited's own website from what I could see.]

I suspect the business you originally dealt with was not "Peacock Windows Limited" (or at least not the same company as that currently listed with that name). You will therefore need to find out what happened to the company(or individual) your contract was with. If that company (or individual) was liquidated (or bankrupted) then unless a separate company underwrote the warranty then you will have no-one to hold liable for honouring the warranty.

However if that company still exists or has been taken over by another company then you should have someone to hold liable for honouring the warranty.

wealdroam

lizann52 wrote: »

I had a composite door fitted 5/6 years ago...

That might be significant.

Can you be more precise about the purchase date? Was it under six years ago?

Did you use any form of credit, e.g. credit card or a loan arranged by the installer?

If so, you may be able to get the credit supplier to provide a remedy.

Have a read of MSE's Section 75 article for more detail.

Edited to add:
If you are in Scotland, that six years from sale may be longer.