Stitched Up by a Double Glazing Company

[jims-terrano]

Looks like I’ve been stitched up by a double glazing company.

1st October we placed an order with a local company for a new composite front door with side windows. Was told verbally by the salesman that our matched lock barrel would still fit and that it will take 4 weeks to arrive for fitting.

Last week I phoned the salesman and said I know we are still within your delivery time but our lock is getting stiffer due to temperature changes. He said he would get somone to call me back. Saturday morning I phoned again and spoke to somone in the showroom who took my details and again said someone would phone me this week as our new door is actually due for delivery this week.

This morning I’ve phoned again and was put through to the director who annoyingly has a habbit of talking over me. Anyway he says actually the lead time is 6 weeks and our door is not due for delivery until 21st November. So he also says that my matched lock barrel will not fit. So at the moment I’m thinking this is totally not what I’m wanting so mentioned about cancellation which he got aggressive and told me it is after the 14 day cooling off so I cannot cancel. He said that I wouldn’t find anything in the contract about 4 week lead time, I asked if it mentioned 6 weeks which he said no. He told me that I was being aggressive on the phone so I replied that I’m being forceful and although raised my voice I had not shouted unlike him who swore by using the word bloody, he replied bloody is in the bible and he goes to church on a sunday. He has also stated when the door arrives they will bill me for the remaining £1500 and if we don’t pay it he will take us to court.

So now I’m upset because we are getting a door which won’t be as we were lead to expect by the salesman and we had specifically asked for. We have to pay an extra £1500 and won’t even get it fitted for the same price that was quoted for a fitted door.
At the moment I really don’t know where to turn at all so any advice would be appreciated.

[macabethiel]

Is the firm a small local private outlet or part of a national chain? If they are members of a Craftsman Guild of some sort, Trusted Traders, DGCOS etc you might have some leverage there.

The lead time sounds very long our local bloke usually fits within 10-14 days of measuring up - the manufacturer is Eurocell and they are fairly local. No deposit - I pay when the job is completed to my satisfaction - when the window or door is fitted.

You need to read the contract you signed, have a word with Trading Standards as if he is a bit of a Cowboy they will know him. If the deposit you paid is small enough to write off that puts you in a better bargaining position.

Most Solicitors will do a free first consultation for advice over the contract, if you have paid a large deposit they have you by the short & curlies.

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Looks like I’ve been stitched up by a double glazing company.

1st October we placed an order with a local company for a new composite front door with side windows. Was told verbally by the salesman that our matched lock barrel would still fit and that it will take 4 weeks to arrive for fitting.

Last week I phoned the salesman and said I know we are still within your delivery time but our lock is getting stiffer due to temperature changes. He said he would get somone to call me back. Saturday morning I phoned again and spoke to somone in the showroom who took my details and again said someone would phone me this week as our new door is actually due for delivery this week.

This morning I’ve phoned again and was put through to the director who annoyingly has a habbit of talking over me. Anyway he says actually the lead time is 6 weeks and our door is not due for delivery until 21st November. So he also says that my matched lock barrel will not fit. So at the moment I’m thinking this is totally not what I’m wanting so mentioned about cancellation which he got aggressive and told me it is after the 14 day cooling off so I cannot cancel. He said that I wouldn’t find anything in the contract about 4 week lead time, I asked if it mentioned 6 weeks which he said no. He told me that I was being aggressive on the phone so I replied that I’m being forceful and although raised my voice I had not shouted unlike him who swore by using the word bloody, he replied bloody is in the bible and he goes to church on a sunday. He has also stated when the door arrives they will bill me for the remaining £1500 and if we don’t pay it he will take us to court.

So now I’m upset because we are getting a door which won’t be as we were lead to expect by the salesman and we had specifically asked for. We have to pay an extra £1500 and won’t even get it fitted for the same price that was quoted for a fitted door.
At the moment I really don’t know where to turn at all so any advice would be appreciated.

Jim,
I do not understand why fitting a different lock barrel would incur any great expense unless I misunderstand your post.
Our recent new front door has the new type of Euro Cylinder key. Getting spare keys without the lock barrel number was a nightmare as no one in our area seems to be able to cut a key that fits.

In 2015 our front door that has a glazed panel either side cost £875 fitted with low threshold step it is wood finish on the outside & white uPVC on the inside, letterbox etc. It is all digital pattern glass with later specification gaps etc. The same firm fitted the replacement after the fire, I cant find the replacement cost in 2018 but I think it was around £1200-1300.

https://www.homesecureshop.co.uk/loc...YaAiDFEALw_wcB

[Banshee]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Was told verbally by the salesman that our matched lock barrel would still fit and that it will take 4 weeks to arrive for fitting.

That was the start of your problems mate!!!!! Always always always get it in writing, I never hand any cash over until then!!!!

Treat everyone as a conning scumbag until proven different Can't go wrong

[jims-terrano]

Well firstly to answer Ted, we currently have an existing up call door must be about 20 years old. A couple of years ago we had french windows fitted at the back of the house and as part of that we had an extra Euro cylinder barrel coded to the same key as the back door and this extra barrel was fitted to the front door. Effectively this means we have one key that opens front and back doors. When we ordered the new front door we stipulated that we wanted our current cylinder fitted to the new door. Turns out the salesman put on the order to give customer the old lock barrel and didn’t state that we had specifically asked for this barrel to be fitted to the new door.
Today the director of the company said that our old barrel will not fit the new door.
So to put it simply we are not getting what we asked for and was told they could do. Also the lead time is longer than we were told. The director was exceptionaly rude and has told me we cannot cancel and we will be billed the full amount and the door will not be fitted and assuming they’ll just dump it in our driveway. He has threatened legal action if we do not pay.
Incidentally has anyone ever tried to contact trading standards or any other organisation like that lately? Unfortunately due to cuts it’s about impossible and certainly they won’t give any assistance in a timely fashion anymore.

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Well firstly to answer Ted, we currently have an existing up call door must be about 20 years old. A couple of years ago we had french windows fitted at the back of the house and as part of that we had an extra Euro cylinder barrel coded to the same key as the back door and this extra barrel was fitted to the front door. Effectively this means we have one key that opens front and back doors. When we ordered the new front door we stipulated that we wanted our current cylinder fitted to the new door. Turns out the salesman put on the order to give customer the old lock barrel and didn’t state that we had specifically asked for this barrel to be fitted to the new door.
Today the director of the company said that our old barrel will not fit the new door.
So to put it simply we are not getting what we asked for and was told they could do. Also the lead time is longer than we were told. The director was exceptionaly rude and has told me we cannot cancel and we will be billed the full amount and the door will not be fitted and assuming they’ll just dump it in our driveway. He has threatened legal action if we do not pay.
Incidentally has anyone ever tried to contact trading standards or any other organisation like that lately? Unfortunately due to cuts it’s about impossible and certainly they won’t give any assistance in a timely fashion anymore.

At the worst you could get the french door lock changed to match the new front door. If you get the lock number off the fitter. As long as it is not over 10 years old there is unlikely to be an issue with updating the lock cylinders. The later locks are better as they cannot be broken into as easily.

[solarman216]

AS Ted says, if your deposit was small (and I guess it was if they are wanting £1500 on completion) then I would be telling them "I do not want your door now" but also as Ted says you could accept their new door and lock then change your rear door to keyed alike, any decent locksmith should do this no problem, Rick

[Lazy-Ferret]

The problem with the Eurolocks is that while they all look, work and fit in fundamentally the same way, they come in different lengths, and offsets. Our back doors are 35/35, the French windows, 35/50, and the front door 45/45. That is basically the measurement in "mm" from the point the key is put in, to the lug that operates the door lock. Getting keyed alike is not too much of a problem, unless it is on the latest 3* locks, which are still limited on the sizes available, and in our case, the French windows were not a size they did at the time in "Keyed alike".

Based on that, the salesman would have had to take the details of the lock, and even then, I would have been surprised if he would have known what locks would be fitted to the door, as even different handles can change the lock length.

I guess the real question is, does the new door have a Eurolock, as if it does, then there is no real problem, and it just means the sales person was like most, and lied to get the sale, but as the others have said, it's pretty easy to rectify yourself later for not too great a cost. It's a really easy DIY job, involving only a screwdriver, and in my case, the opening out of a couple of holes to take the larger security screws we had on our upgraded handles.

I take it you do have a contract, and in the contract, it states a price for supply and fitting. If it does, and they do not fit it, then let him try to take you to court, as he failed to fulfil the contract, so it will not be a problem other than the aggravation of cross words.

Try not to get too worked up about it, hopefully it's just a misunderstanding by a MD that is used to dealing with unhappy customers, and doesn't know how to handle people who are trying to be reasonable.

[macabethiel]

I endorse wat Clive says, might be worth asking the MD to visit you for a face to face meeting if he does not look for compromise.

A lot of folk are very good at being rude on the phone but it's a different matter when dealing with someone in person - they pick up the none verbal cues.

Likewise I am a great believer in the written word rather than a phone conversation (unless recorded) putting your side in writing with a compromise solution might be useful later on.

[jims-terrano]

Well I’m going to let it roll for a while longer and see what they do next. The order form says balance due on completion which to me means when it’s fitted. The MD may of been blowing hot air. What I do know is that they are not getting another penny out of me until the door is fitted to our reasonable satisfaction. I doubt any court would expect a customer to pay the remaining balance if the job hasn’t been completed. Unfortunately the deposit is too large to just let it go or chances are I would of just walked away and let them try to go to the expense of taking me to court.
I think they are a shoddy company with poor business practices and if they cause any more problems like demanding payment without completion then everything will go paper based and then I’ll look for legal support and blow them out of the water. Certainly whatever happens google review or trust pilot will be poor. Even report them to any trusted trader type schemes.

[macabethiel]

Out of interest how did you find the firm in question?

I had you down as a thorough due diligence bloke before parting with dosh?

That said we can all fall for good patter when we are need driven.

[solarman216]

Originally Posted by macabethiel

Out of interest how did you find the firm in question?

I had you down as a thorough due diligence bloke before parting with dosh?

That said we can all fall for good patter when we are need driven.

Me thought that too, Rick

[jims-terrano]

I looked into one company and then my wife had recommendations for another company. Company I looked at seemed slack as a saleswomans quote was a hand written price on a business card. Didn’t even say what the price was so they were terrible.
So second company came to give a price for a composite door with two glass windows at one side. It is supposed to have a strengthening mullion between door frame and the windows as that is the weakness on our current door. Also they are framing up and strengthening above the door because it is a void between the wall plate and top of the frame so not fixed causing the movement.
The salesman seemed very down to earth and knew what he was talking about.

Just going to let it ride for the moment and see what they do next. At the moment I have too much else going on and the doctor has just increased my dose of meds so going to concentrate on getting the funeral over next week.

[solarman216]

Cannot believe you are paying over £1500.00 for a door and side light, Rick

[macabethiel]

Originally Posted by solarman216

Cannot believe you are paying over £1500.00 for a door and side light, Rick

With the reinforcement mentioned not surprised its expensive lets hope its a good job in the end. Some of the German makes can be very pricey but they are good.