the day Zenith ruined my windows!!

Furts

Adding to comments already made, you need to check out the status of your local Zenith branch. Is this part of an overall group, where they may be Technical Support and such like. Or is is a franchise where the Technical Support could be one spiv dangling a cigarette? You have signed the order, you will (probably) have an unpaid invoice in your In Tray, so it is straight forward to establish the trading name and company particulars.

The on line reviews are poor - 1 out of 5 does not inspire confidence. But this reflects sales tactics. Of course sales are a passing piece of nothingness, and what matters is the windows. However, if these get approached with the same mindset as the sales then of course there could be huge problems.

And it does sound like you have (potentially huge) problems.

surfsister

thanks all for the useful help.


To recap it is a 1960's bungalow with cavity walls (no insulation) and I am not yet living there but I was there when they broke the two units on the first day and they had lots of trouble fitting the units they said due to the concrete sills. Then returned the next day to make good which took most of the day but I was at work so a friend was there.


They returned again (different fitters) when I was there to refit the two replacement units and when they broke one again I had a really good look at the work and was shocked. So refused payment again.


I asked a builder to take a look and he too was shocked.


I contacted the fitters and the manger returned to lists problems and he was shocked.


NOW when I contact the Zenith firm I get no reply to emails and want to keep it in writing. So now deciding what to do next.

I think my next thing must be to formalise a complaint to Zenith company in writing as I hope to have replacement windows (the manager said this could be done but the fitter with him seemed to be talking him out of it).

Furts

Again think about strategy. I have asked about a franchise but have no feedback. You now add that you have been contacting the fitters directly - why was this? There are questions here - are the fitters sub contractors? When you signed up what had you discussed on the use of sub contract labour? Who is your contract with? Again I have hinted here with my comment about the company name.


Zenith might want new windows fitted and the fitter "who seemed to be talking him out of it" might be a sub contractor. So conflicts of interest here.


You could be stuck between different liabilities - direct labour, sub contractors, franchises and such like. Unless your strategy has sussed all this out you may struggle to fire forward with fantastic shots.

surfsister

well I am not at the house when I go again I will pick up all the paperwork and find out details.


When I signed up I was told that the installers were all Zenith employees and very experienced at the fitting and on the website it says they are master craftsmen! (When they turned up they did not have a Zenith van but some other outfit.)


I was dealing with the fitters first to see their response now I am going on to the main Zenith people.


Will post more when I have the paperwork.

Furts

surfsister wrote: »

well I am not at the house when I go again I will pick up all the paperwork and find out details.


When I signed up I was told that the installers were all Zenith employees and very experienced at the fitting and on the website it says they are master craftsmen! (When they turned up they did not have a Zenith van but some other outfit.)


I was dealing with the fitters first to see their response now I am going on to the main Zenith people.


Will post more when I have the paperwork.

A plain white van, or a van clearly labelled with a hire company name could be explained. Here the Zenith van could have been in a garage being serviced so a short term replacement van was sought.

The "some other outfit" suggests sub contractors, and all the more so if the name was that of a builder or a window fitting company.

The more you post the more info filters out and all round the more concerning your situation gradually becomes.

If the work was sub contracted, was this the sales person on a fiddle? Or was it the depot manager on a fiddle? Or was this Zenith policy? If so, why were you not informed of this? But if the depot is a franchise then to an extent the personnel could be making up their own rules.

surfsister

Well the van which turned up was a fixing company and not Zenith as I had been told.

So now I have sent a letter to Zenith in Cheshire which is the link it takes you to when I go onto the Ipswich website (they have moved with no forwarding address I can find). I sent it signed for and tracked to make sure the firm cannot refute they received it. I am asking for the windows to be replaced with windows which fit into the window apertures and that I cannot pay until this has been resolved. I asked for a reply within seven days and resolution of the issues within 21 days.

I also contacted a solicitor who have put me onto a trainee solicitor who is going to give me some informal legal advice. They said the story sounds pretty dire so far.

Also re: the fitters being on the fiddle. I had wondered if this is the case as I am pretty sure that one of the sealed units turned up cracked and they pretended to break it in the front garden. Then said don't worry we can claim for replacement under your guarantee. So they would get more work paid for from the guarantee. I refused of course. When they cracked the second unit they said the same for both. I refused and refused to pay despite pressure.

It's all turning into a nightmare really. Thank goodness I have only paid a deposit.

surfsister

a slight development.

I received a Fensa guarantee dated for the first fitting visit to my property in the name of Clearwin with Zenith underneath.

Yet at that time the property had two cracked windows which seems odd.

Not sure what to do next as the manager I had been dealing with keeps ringing me and says the registered letter I sent to Zenith Cheshire has been passed to him but nothing in writing.

I also noticed that the glass has no safety mark as my conservatory does. Also some windows were fitted from the outside not the inside - hence the wide picture moulding.

I really want to keep everything in writing but they ignore letters. Any ideas?

Debbie_Savard

Feature in local press?

Furts

surfsister wrote: »

a slight development.

I received a Fensa guarantee dated for the first fitting visit to my property in the name of Clearwin with Zenith underneath.

Yet at that time the property had two cracked windows which seems odd.

Not sure what to do next as the manager I had been dealing with keeps ringing me and says the registered letter I sent to Zenith Cheshire has been passed to him but nothing in writing.

I also noticed that the glass has no safety mark as my conservatory does. Also some windows were fitted from the outside not the inside - hence the wide picture moulding.

I really want to keep everything in writing but they ignore letters. Any ideas?

Who are Clearwin? Who have you been dealing with? I have asked various times, to no avail, if you are dealing with a franchise or a sub contractor. You need to know because if you are dealing with one poor man and his dog then your chances of redress could be slim.

It sounds like the other side is ratcheting up the pressure. Basically "your FENSA has been issued so the job is complete and approved." Hence you are being pushed into a corner. If you are not countering this then matters are looking bleaker for you.

It looks like you now need some technical back up.

FreeBear

Furts wrote: »

Who are Clearwin? Who have you been dealing with?

From the Zenith web site:
Zenith Home Improvements, which is a trading style of Clearwin Ltd, is an appointed representative of Opensky Ventures Ltd