I’m sure there are many companies in this industry which carry out their installations to the letter of the law. And I’m sure that most compliant companies also get rather irritated and annoyed by other companies who don’t abide by the same rules they do. So, what do you do if you see a rival company steal your genuine business for less money and is non-compliant?
Me, @NigelGrantUpvc, @eco_sash, @StJohnsWindows, @Edenwindows and @f3nsa were talking on Twitter earlier on in the day about this subject. We were all rather annoyed about the lack of policing and punishment in this industry to deal with the cowboys and totally unprofessional companies flouting the laws of our land.
We once reported a company for not carrying out an installation properly. Without rambling on about the details, we reported this other company to one of the biggest bodies in our industry – which had very little effect. It seemed that they just didn’t want to know about the case and were generally very lethargic in all aspects of dealing in the case, which in the end never got resolved and we just left it.
There doesn’t seem to be any body in this industry which either a) has the resources to be able to clamp down on these dreadful companies or b) just simply cannot be bothered dealing with the cowboys. I think that this is a mixture of both.
And if so, this simply isn’t good enough. We have bodies like FENSA, CERTASS and the GGF, some of the biggest organizations in our industry who have the money and the manpower who could really set up a non-compliance claims department who could investigate claims by other companies or consumers about companies illegally cutting corners and not doing things right. Yet they don’t, not really.
We need more teeth in this industry that are capable of handing out proper punishments and fines. To clarify here, I’m not saying we need another industry body. We already have way too many in the first place. But what we do need is a bit of collaboration, perhaps between the 3 bodies I mentioned above, to really get together to create a joint partnership which really tackles the non-compliant companies. Law abiding businesses should be able to protect their interests by being confident to report a dodgy company, knowing that something will actually happen and the report won’t just get filed away and left to be forgotten about.
Just because a company is registered with one of the the self certification comapanies and lets face it they only exist to make money, doesnt mean they are a decent company, many companies have all the badges and are still crooks. Being amember of Fensa or Certass or DGCOS etc etc doesnt make the company legitimate . Having an NVQ in installations doesnt make you a decent fitter its all badges . Any firm is only as good as its last installation No matter what legisalation you have some will flout the law and get away with it. They will… Read more »
I am a member of the DGCOS and this is exactley what they are trying to do, in an earlier post you said it was a bad thing that there campaign was about leaving the cowboys out in the cold, if a company like DGCOS become as well know as fensa i believe that if you are a member you would have more chance of getting a job over a non member, the problem is Fensa are so well known but it seems over the years they have let themselves slip in regards to who can join, when i heard… Read more »
The point here is though Anthony, with companies as big as FENSA or the GGF, they are already big enough to get their heads together and think of something effective. With most of the industry FENSA registered, they are already going to have the attention of most companies. In respect to the DGCOS, they have alienated a very large proportion of the industry so aren’t the best company to start cleaning up the industry, especially at the rates they charge.
Thanks for your comment!
I agree with the charges being to high but with fensa My director reported a window company for fitting a window with side openers below the minimum width for fire escape three times and they did nothing (didnt even reply) which makes me beg the question why would they care now! All I want to do is be part of a company that wants to make a real difference, beleive me i am keeping a close eye on the DGCOS and i am always on the look out for new ideas but how are they alienating a large part of… Read more »
Anthony – did you see their behavior on the GlassTalk forum a couple of years ago when they first started. Practically arguing with all forum participants straight away, their website literature all but says that windows companies NOT registered with them are cowboys, leaving comments on blogs like this one that are total over reactions and not posting measured responses, that ‘Letter To The Editor’ to the Fenestration News website in a totally unprovoked attack on the TGO. Should I go on? The GGF and FENSA both have the right people and monies to spend to create a department with… Read more »
I agree with the idea that it would be great to have a proper industry police force that stops the cowboys. However, FENSA, CERTAS and GGF were never established to do this nor do they have the authority to do it. They are all Membership bodies who act only for their members. They aren’t an industry Police Force. It’s always the same old problem. The industry wants…. but the industry doesn’t want to pay for it. The industry wants……. but the industry doesn’t want to join anything, get involved, or do anything or pay for anything. They just want it… Read more »
from what we have seen DGCOS let most join irrespective of previous trading history.
Mikes arguments are right on the ball no one will pay for national standards body which ploices the industry, it would probably end being jobs for the boys with nonses jobsworths doing the policing bit like the HSE really
the police doesnt stop all crime and the HSE doesnt stop all accidents so it will still go on !!
Certass dont need teeth they just need to write there own manuals :-)
http://www.the-glazine.com/WeeklyFolders/glazine08may2012/it_came_to_our_attention_recently.html
DGCOS
yawn yawn yawn
i just wonder how they will pay back there montainous borrowing