Problems with roller garage door fitted 3 years ago

itm2

I had a roller garage door fitted by a local installer in March 2020. it hasn't been 100% reliable when responding to the remote control, but has basically functioned OK until recently. 

On Friday, however, the door opened and would not close. The door had receded entirely into the housing (I  could not see the leading edge of the door in the opening of the housing). I wasn’t able to close the door at all, using either the remote control or the manual handle – the door was jammed inside the housing.

I had to call out the original installer, at a cost of £80, to take a look at the problem. He removed the cover and found that the door had become “tangled up” – i.e. it had wound itself up unevenly – and it had to be forcibly untangled. The door then did not fully close – It left a gap of 6 inches to the ground. After a little manipulation from the fitter we were eventually able to close it, but it then stopped working altogether - the fitter told me that it was probably due to “overheating”, so we had to wait about 15 minutes before trying again. It eventually closed. He told me that I should leave the cover off the housing for the next few days, and that he may be in the area again next week.

When I spoke to the fitter on the phone (before he came out) he said that the door was out of warranty, but I've just found my original email correspondence with him and he said that there was a 5 year warranty on the door. I've just forwarded him the email, so I'll have to wait and see how responsive/helpful he is going to be.

The doors have a sticker on them indicating that they were made by Autoroll UK, so I have also emailed them, but in the fitter's original email correspondence he said that the doors were "for me by auto therm in the north east", and that "there is no link to the company", so I doubt that Autoroll will have any interest in resolving the issue.

Any advice on how to proceed if the fitter isn't prepared to stand by the 5 year warranty?

Also, anticipating a possible worst case scenario, can anyone recommend a roller garage door which has lasted them well for a decent period of time (e.g. 10+ years)?

Anthony147

Whilst I appreciate it’s a semantic point - I found that there is often a difference between the warranty on the door curtain vs the motor and or sensors.

In terms of reliable doors - I’ve found somfy motors and glide roll to be a pretty good combination although I’ve always teamed them with both stop sensors with rollback and having hard programmable stop points (set via pin switches when correct) so not lost for a power loss and subsequent manual operation.

plumb1_2

As above, you need to find out if the warrantee covers the motor or switches and not just the door 

itm2

Thanks for the feedback.

In the meantime I got this reply from the fitter:
"The company was taken over last year 

Unfortunately none of the warranties are valid 

But if you read the warranty from then you have to return the broken parts to them in Tyne on wear to be repaired or replaced "

So it's not looking good...

plumb1_2

Ask him if he can supply a refurbished part.

ashe

itm2 said:

Thanks for the feedback.

In the meantime I got this reply from the fitter:
"The company was taken over last year 

Unfortunately none of the warranties are valid 

But if you read the warranty from then you have to return the broken parts to them in Tyne on wear to be repaired or replaced "

So it's not looking good...

Validate this information yourself by giving them a call

itm2

I had already emailed them (will wait for their reply), but in the meantime I saw on their website that they currently offer a ONE year warranty on their doors. I have no idea whether or not this was true when the door was fitted in 2020. 

Jonboy_1984

itm2 said:

Thanks for the feedback.

In the meantime I got this reply from the fitter:
"The company was taken over last year 

Unfortunately none of the warranties are valid 

But if you read the warranty from then you have to return the broken parts to them in Tyne on wear to be repaired or replaced "

So it's not looking good...

Check carefully what happened with them at companies house. If the company was simply taken over then liabilities, such as warranties made as part of the sales process, should still be honoured.

If however it went bust or was liquidated and/or went through a prepack administration or similar then yes it would be dead.

E.g. We found with some double glazing the uncle had sold the name and equipment to his nephew, who was trading under a new company number and was willing to provide labour and parts from stock they already had to try and maintain some goodwill, but not spend out anything they didn’t have….

itm2

It seems that some time in 2021 there was a change of directors - from a husband and wife to a single individual. They've been filing accounts throughout the period since I bought the doors. The accounts don't mean anything to me, but they seem to be solvent.

alldoors

itm2 said:

I had a roller garage door fitted by a local installer in March 2020. it hasn't been 100% reliable when responding to the remote control, but has basically functioned OK until recently. 

On Friday, however, the door opened and would not close. The door had receded entirely into the housing (I  could not see the leading edge of the door in the opening of the housing). I wasn’t able to close the door at all, using either the remote control or the manual handle – the door was jammed inside the housing.

I had to call out the original installer, at a cost of £80, to take a look at the problem. He removed the cover and found that the door had become “tangled up” – i.e. it had wound itself up unevenly – and it had to be forcibly untangled. The door then did not fully close – It left a gap of 6 inches to the ground. After a little manipulation from the fitter we were eventually able to close it, but it then stopped working altogether - the fitter told me that it was probably due to “overheating”, so we had to wait about 15 minutes before trying again. It eventually closed. He told me that I should leave the cover off the housing for the next few days, and that he may be in the area again next week.

When I spoke to the fitter on the phone (before he came out) he said that the door was out of warranty, but I've just found my original email correspondence with him and he said that there was a 5 year warranty on the door. I've just forwarded him the email, so I'll have to wait and see how responsive/helpful he is going to be.

The doors have a sticker on them indicating that they were made by Autoroll UK, so I have also emailed them, but in the fitter's original email correspondence he said that the doors were "for me by auto therm in the north east", and that "there is no link to the company", so I doubt that Autoroll will have any interest in resolving the issue.

Any advice on how to proceed if the fitter isn't prepared to stand by the 5 year warranty?

Also, anticipating a possible worst case scenario, can anyone recommend a roller garage door which has lasted them well for a decent period of time (e.g. 10+ years)?

Hi Itm2, I fit roller doors and have done for 15 years. Are you able to take some photos of the inside. Particularly the motor end where the wire exits the motor (I'm looking to see the limit adjusters). The auto locks as well. These connect the top slat of the roll to the tube (axle). Be useful to know which control unit you have. 

Finally, is the door 55mm slats or 77mm? (a compact or a standard). I might be able to give some guidance based on the photos.

itm2

alldoors said:

Hi Itm2, I fit roller doors and have done for 15 years. Are you able to take some photos of the inside. Particularly the motor end where the wire exits the motor (I'm looking to see the limit adjusters). The auto locks as well. These connect the top slat of the roll to the tube (axle). Be useful to know which control unit you have. 

Finally, is the door 55mm slats or 77mm? (a compact or a standard). I might be able to give some guidance based on the photos.

Thanks. I've attached photos. The slats are 77mm.