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I have received the second part of the Quality Counts story from my contact:

Still nothing heard from installer.

Sent photos of screw and tears to frame makers in Leeds. on 4/3/11. On 7/3/11 rang installers and was told they were waiting for one piece of glass and this was holding things up.. When the snags were mentioned I was informed quality control in Leeds was first class…..I informed them the front windows were still not finished despite being fitted on 18/2/11..Was told fitter would come. He didn’t.


At this stage , the windows on the front of house had not been trimmed and still had protective tape on them .


8,9, 10, 11, 14, 15, …. heard nothing from installer.


16/3/11..I rang showroom said I wasn’t very happy, quite politely.


Owner came to site on 17/3/11 .Said he thought windows were completed….Also said he could repair all the tears with wax.


He arranged for two fitters to complete the front of property. They arrived at 2, left at 4. Window heads were still not dressed. Steel and bricks still showing. but they said they would glue the end caps on the cills that previous fitter had not done. Rang showroom, and was told they would be back within an hour. They never showed up. The removal of the manufacturer’s tape revealed many more faults.


I was promised a new frame to replace the one with screw protruding. I was told the screw was done by a sacked ex employee and only the frames, not the sashes are checked for quality control, allegedly, although their literature makes claims of very stringent quality control. Also promised was a new sash to replace one with a 3/8 inch wide repair to a poor mitre and many blemishes, plus another sash replacing one which had patches of touch up where the fitter tried to disguise the foam he’d left on . Plus three new seals to replace torn ones. Builder is to come back and clean the mortar from paths and under windows. A real mess.


Who in their right mind would fit a bottom window firs? And then damage it with debris from the window above the next day and slap touch up on the marks. The builders using the toilet left excrement on the seat.


The two fitters who came on 16/3/11 removed the two boxes of broken glass that had been left in front of the house for 4 weeks. They also put brown silicone over the clear silicone used by the previous fitter. Because none of the windows were trimmed internally, no curtains or blinds could be refitted for 7 days.


20/3/11. Correction. Bedroom end caps not glued. They told me they had ‘foamed’ above 2 windows (2500 wide) to fix them. I now have my doubts.


On 23/3/11. I was told the piece of glass that was delaying the fitting of the doors had arrived and they would fit them tomorrow. This phone call was received at 1.40. I informed them that this notice was too short, as an appointment with the profile manufacturers technical advisor was arranged for 10 am that morning . I also had a medical appointment later. At 7pm. the installers director called at the property. He said a ‘tooling fault’ at Leeds was the cause of foil damage. Also a sacked worker had committed acts of vandalism. I pointed to the exposed brickwork over the 2 front windows.He said this was correct practice, as the bricks need to breathe………