Aged Parents Conservatory Guarantee Running Out

Adamc

My folks have had a conservatory for 9.5 years which has leaked every year during heavy rain. The company have been out many times but the leaks have always come back. 

My old man has recently disclosed all of this to me and asked me (with 6 months left on the guarantee) to help him get it fixed in warranty. 

I've left a negative review on Trust Pilot and the owner immediately got in touch with him telling him to take it down or he won't attend to inspect it. 

Now my Dad tells me (though I have not witnessed it) that he's been calling the chap who keeps on pushing back the date of the call out. I can see that a repair has been attempted with some flashing. 

My dad also said that one of the techs in attendance told him that the parts at the Apex have stopped being made which sounds strange but may offer some insight as to why the problem has never been addressed????

Where do I take it from here?

Foolishly my dad has not kept a record of the correspondence and yearly call outs. He has the guarantee paperwork which will expire late spring this year. 

FENSA wont deal with conservatory complaints. 
GGT have been emailed. 
Trade Standards have been emailed. 

I have kept the emails in which the owner has asked him to take down the review or he wont come out. 

Advice please?

Baldytyke88

Adamc said:

My folks have had a conservatory for 9.5 months which has leaked every year during heavy rain. The company have been out many times but the leaks have always come back. 

My old man has now disclosed all this to me and asked me with 6 months left on the guarantee to help him get it fixed in warranty. 

Foolishly my dad has not kept a record of the correspondence and yearly call outs. He has the guarantee paperwork which will expire late spring this year. 

Yearly callouts, but you stated that he has had it for 9.5 months.

Alderbank

Adamc said:

FENSA wont deal with conservatory complaints. 
GGT have been emailed. 
Trade Standards have been emailed. 

Who do you mean by 'Trade Standards'?

Do you mean a conservatory trade body such as DGCOS? If you mean Trading Standards Dumfries, they won't help your father but they will take note of your information. Their role is to prosecute businesses for criminal offences.

GGT was run by a roofing contractor and his wife from their home in Melrose. I suppose it is he who your dad has been in contact with? Apparently the company had some disputes with unhappy customers before it was wound down. It was finally dissolved in 2022 so I would not expect a reply to your email. 

Tell us about the T&Cs of the 10 year guarantee. There are no standards for guarantees - every one is different. Was it underwritten by GGT or is it insurance backed?

MysteryMe

I think the reality is a trader who is not competent enough to install a conservatory properly is not going to be competent to rectify issues, which is what we appear to have here. It is not normal for leaks to be an annual occurrence, they simply weren't properly addressed at the outset.

Unfortunately your father has allowed this situation to carry on until the last few months of the guarantee. My feeling is that he is not going to get a satisfactory resolution from the trader and seeing the post above if it was a limited company that is now dissolved you have no chance of any resolution from them. He is also out of time for a S75 claim which is 6 years assuming one would have been applicable.

I would focus on bringing in a competent person to fix the issues. It's going to cost your father money and unless the guarantee is backed by a third party insurance, it ceased to have any use the moment the trader went out of business.

FreeBear

MysteryMe said: I would focus on bringing in a competent person to fix the issues. It's going to cost your father money and unless the guarantee is backed by a third party insurance, it ceased to have any use the moment the trader went out of business.

The whole point of having an insurance backed guarantee is so that it provides cover even if the company ceases to trade.