Elbec Garden Buildings - Consumer Rights not helpful

Davefromchester

Getting in touch with consumer rights was not helpful at all, firstly had to go through Citizens Advice who then gave a telephone number, contacted consumer rights on the number who then told me to write a letter to the company concerned (Elbec Garden Buildings) I wrote the letter giving Elbec 14 days to reply they rang after 19 days by which time I was back in touch with consumer rights who then told me to write another letter threatening Elbec with court action if they refused to acknowledge my complaints - Elbec still haven’t done anything.

I am 68 years old, disabled and very ill - to take Elbec to the small claims court (as suggested by consumer rights) would cost me £500 not only is this a cost I cannot afford I really do not want the stress and anxiety of going through court and how long would this take ? 

This is my complaint against Elbec Garden Buildings:

Elbec are the worst company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. We purchased a garden log cabin in April 2023 I hasten to add that although the building was purchased through Elbec it was manufactured by Shire Garden Buildings and was  erected by Shire in July 23 and we paid the extra money to have it erected, this is a log cabin 44mm spruce, double glazed with a felt tiled roof.

By August 23 I had contacted Elbec more than 15 times and requested 3 or 4 times that someone from management come out, we had window frames not fitting, floor trim the wrong way round, gaps at the bottom of the doors and 12mm gap between boards.

At the end of October 2023 the heavy rain came pouring through the top of the gable end window soaking carpet, electrics and lifting the floorboards, we complained (again) no one came out to repair and with more heavy rain expected we removed the top window facia on the inside of the building in the hope of sealing any gap, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing there is a 50mm hand sawn gap  that runs the length of the window and movement of the boards (which is a natural occurrence) caused the external top window facia board to drop revealing the said 50mm gap and rain pored in. If that wasn’t bad enough roof boards began to lift, after further emails and phone calls a team from Shire was sent who promptly told us that the building should never have been built like it was and they were unable to carry out repairs at that time as it was too big a job and the building needed to come down and rebuilt, after taking photos the team left. 

More emails and phone calls to Elbec followed, by the middle of December nothing had been done, the roof has lifted further and the 12mm gap remains between boards and now floor boards have lifted.

Over 30 emails (all saved) and numerous phone calls only to receive replies of “We genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding during this process and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused” which seems to be a normal reply. There are many many things which I could mention (all documented) and the lies they tell are unbelievable the main problem is that we the customer are dealing with 2 companies, Elbec and Shire, because we purchased from Elbec our complaints go through them, who then pass to Shire and Shire then make excuses to Elbec. 

Elbec on one occasion emailed us to say that a report from Shire said we had put screws in the window frames which didn’t allow movement, we then sent Elbec a reminder of a complaint email with photos we sent the week after Shire had erected the building, showing clearly screws they had put in.

Due to the repairs needed on the building we have never been able to use it since its construction in July 23.  It is now January 2024 and nothing has been done. 

[Text removed by Forum Team]

ArbitraryRandom

Davefromchester said:

Getting in touch with consumer rights was not helpful at all, firstly had to go through Citizens Advice who then gave a telephone number, contacted consumer rights on the number... 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience... but can I check this bit? 

I THINK what you mean is you contacted Citizen Advice, and they gave you a number to call the Which? consumer rights team (who are a registered charity providing consumer rights advice and support to members of the public). 

As such, I think they're quite helpful in that they give free of charge advice and help for customers who need to understand and enforce their consumer rights. 

If you don't want to take the actions set out in law to enforce your rights, I can understand how that might be frustrating for you... but that's not their fault. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Davefromchester said:

Getting in touch with consumer rights was not helpful at all, firstly had to go through Citizens Advice who then gave a telephone number, contacted consumer rights on the number who then told me to write a letter to the company concerned (Elbec Garden Buildings) I wrote the letter giving Elbec 14 days to reply they rang after 19 days by which time I was back in touch with consumer rights who then told me to write another letter threatening Elbec with court action if they refused to acknowledge my complaints - Elbec still haven’t done anything.

I am 68 years old, disabled and very ill - to take Elbec to the small claims court (as suggested by consumer rights) would cost me £500 not only is this a cost I cannot afford I really do not want the stress and anxiety of going through court and how long would this take ? 

This is my complaint against Elbec Garden Buildings:

Elbec are the worst company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. We purchased a garden log cabin in April 2023 I hasten to add that although the building was purchased through Elbec it was manufactured by Shire Garden Buildings and was  erected by Shire in July 23 and we paid the extra money to have it erected, this is a log cabin 44mm spruce, double glazed with a felt tiled roof.

By August 23 I had contacted Elbec more than 15 times and requested 3 or 4 times that someone from management come out, we had window frames not fitting, floor trim the wrong way round, gaps at the bottom of the doors and 12mm gap between boards.

At the end of October 2023 the heavy rain came pouring through the top of the gable end window soaking carpet, electrics and lifting the floorboards, we complained (again) no one came out to repair and with more heavy rain expected we removed the top window facia on the inside of the building in the hope of sealing any gap, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing there is a 50mm hand sawn gap  that runs the length of the window and movement of the boards (which is a natural occurrence) caused the external top window facia board to drop revealing the said 50mm gap and rain pored in. If that wasn’t bad enough roof boards began to lift, after further emails and phone calls a team from Shire was sent who promptly told us that the building should never have been built like it was and they were unable to carry out repairs at that time as it was too big a job and the building needed to come down and rebuilt, after taking photos the team left. 

More emails and phone calls to Elbec followed, by the middle of December nothing had been done, the roof has lifted further and the 12mm gap remains between boards and now floor boards have lifted.

Over 30 emails (all saved) and numerous phone calls only to receive replies of “We genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding during this process and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused” which seems to be a normal reply. There are many many things which I could mention (all documented) and the lies they tell are unbelievable the main problem is that we the customer are dealing with 2 companies, Elbec and Shire, because we purchased from Elbec our complaints go through them, who then pass to Shire and Shire then make excuses to Elbec. 

Elbec on one occasion emailed us to say that a report from Shire said we had put screws in the window frames which didn’t allow movement, we then sent Elbec a reminder of a complaint email with photos we sent the week after Shire had erected the building, showing clearly screws they had put in.

Due to the repairs needed on the building we have never been able to use it since its construction in July 23.  It is now January 2024 and nothing has been done. 

[Text removed by Forum Team]

As ArbitraryRandom says, that's not the fault of "consumer rights", whoever they are.  They seem to have been perfectly helpful and have advised you correctly so far and the next stage is a letter before action before small claims court.

What's the value of the log cabin - how much did you pay for it and installation?
Have you had the cabin assessed so you know how much it would cost to put right?  You'll need to do so so you know how much you'd claim.

If you don't want to go to court then you have to hope your letter generates the right response.  If it doesn't, then it's court action or paying for the building repairs yourself.  "Consumer rights" won't pick up the bill for you if that's what you were expecting.

BoGoF

How did you pay for it? Please don't say bank transfer.

sheramber

N or do Consumer Rights have any legal authority to enforce anything.

They are purely an advisory service.

eskbanker

Davefromchester said:

I was back in touch with consumer rights who then told me to write another letter threatening Elbec with court action if they refused to acknowledge my complaints - Elbec still haven’t done anything.

I am 68 years old, disabled and very ill - to take Elbec to the small claims court (as suggested by consumer rights) would cost me £500 not only is this a cost I cannot afford I really do not want the stress and anxiety of going through court and how long would this take ?

Sending a letter before claim is a double-edged issue - in some cases it may precipitate resolution but if it doesn't, and was just making an empty threat with no intention of proceeding with court action, it actually weakens the sender's position....

soolin

eskbanker said:

Davefromchester said:

I was back in touch with consumer rights who then told me to write another letter threatening Elbec with court action if they refused to acknowledge my complaints - Elbec still haven’t done anything.

I am 68 years old, disabled and very ill - to take Elbec to the small claims court (as suggested by consumer rights) would cost me £500 not only is this a cost I cannot afford I really do not want the stress and anxiety of going through court and how long would this take ?

Sending a letter before claim is a double-edged issue - in some cases it may precipitate resolution but if it doesn't, and was just making an empty threat with no intention of proceeding with court action, it actually weakens the sender's position....

I agree. I have been pleased to see that a lot of advice given here on MSE makes the warning clear, if you threaten court action then you must be prepared to go through with it. 

If court action has been threatened alongside a time limit for a resolution, and that time limit has now been reached then the ball unfortunately is entirely with the buyer, to proceed with that action or let the case drop. I can’t see a simple way now of getting this resolved unless the costs and payment method are suitable for any sort of chargeback. 

born_again

No chargeback rights given a April 2023 purchase.

screech_78

I’m sorry to hear of your troubles, however it is extremely rude to say that consumer rights (whoever they are) have been unhelpful. They’ve given you the correct advice. I’m at loss as to why you would say they have been unhelpful. 

Davefromchester

Firstly thank you all for your comments. The cost of the garden building was £7.5k of which £1k+ was the price of construction on a base that was purposely built and cost £2k. 

Some of you seem to think that I was unkind in my comments about the consumer rights and that making empty threats to Elbec only served to weaken my case. Had I been a well enough person these would not have been empty threats and I would have taken them to court, unfortunately I am living a day to day life and trying to enjoy each day as it comes and I don’t need the pressure of a court battle. 

But this review has served its purpose, having not heard from Elbec they contacted me shortly after this review was posted offering to send another team to sort the problem. 

So thank you guys.

eskbanker

Davefromchester said:

But this review has served its purpose, having not heard from Elbec they contacted me shortly after this review was posted offering to send another team to sort the problem. 

Did they give any indication that they'd seen this "review" or were they reacting to the letter, or are you speculating?