Transferring A Guarantee.

[Bigbad]

I bought a house 3 months ago, (I don’t live there yet), which had new widows installed in 2015. There is a 10 year guarantee.
I discovered very early on that the handles were all very loose, so phoned the company that fitted the windows.
They wouldn’t discuss anything with me until I paid £150 to transfer the guarantee to my name.
I just paid someone else to replace the handles.

Now that the cold weather has set in, I find that the 2 panes of double glazed glass in every window are full of condensation, and having now cleaned the windows, they never look clean, as even when the condensation evaporates, the glass still looks misty.

My question is, can a company really charge £150 just to highlight someone else’s name, press delete, and type my name in?

Thanks.

[woofgang]

Depends what the guarantee T's and C's say. You might also check with trading standards or whatever they are called now as you may have a fitness for purpose argument under consumer law.

[Bigbad]

Having now read the paperwork, it does say £150 to transfer.
Although I knew the windows were guaranteed, I didn't get the paperwork until after I bought the house, and it wasn't pointed out to me before, either. I'd guess that's the same for most people.
That to me, makes it a sly, sneaky rip off!

[hc4361]

You will find this interesting - as always it boils down to the company's terms and conditions.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2800534/how-check-guarantees-protect-costly-bills-move.html

[KARL]

You may be facing the consequences of "the system" being geared toward making "business" as easy as possible, regulation is avoided and such as it is is likely to be very light, the consumer is at a disadvantage in many, many ways. It is probably worth your while to speak to someone like Citizens Advice (certain portals are available online) and they in turn may point you toward an ombudsman of some hue. My attitude would be that a guarantee is a guarantee, in your case it is not as if the house has been moved to a different location that needs to be logged and then accessed. But my thoughts are very possibly a form of heresy, at least to "business".

[woofgang]

a bit naughty of the sellers not to tell you.

[hc4361]

The sellers probably didn't know - many people don't read the terms and conditions.

[vulcan42]

Wouldn't getting somebody else to change the handles invalidate the guarantee irrespective of whose name is on it?

[davebro]

Seems like the seals have failed on the glazed panes & they will need replacing (expensive!). If this is covered by the guarantee - it should be - pay the £150 to transfer the guarantee asap & get them to come and fix it. IMHO

[hc4361]

It depends how big the panes are, I suppose. I got three of mine replaced recently and it cost £40 each.

[Bigbad]

Thanks for the link hc4361.

Prior to this, it had been over 10 years since I bought a house, and there certainly seems to be a lot more that falls on the buyer to do, and the solicitor does less.
It would have been good if the solicitor could have scanned the paperwork and spotted this.

I do remember the solicitor on my previous purchase was on top of everything, and extremely efficient. The purchase dragged on a long time, and he even put off his retirement to finish the job!

My DIL’s parents have just moved from city to very rural, so I told her to see if they had been offered a Chancel Sure Policy by their solicitor. They had never heard of it.

[Bigbad]

davebro, I may be more inclined to pay the £150, if I could be sure they would do the work.
I have a suspicion, they will find an excuse why it’s not covered under the guarantee.

[hc4361]

Does the 10 year guarantee include the sealed units? Very often the 10 years is for the frames and the sealed units are guaranteed for only 5. Check the policy again before forking out cash.

[Bigbad]

I will hc.
If it is 5 years for the sealed units, at least I have a few months left.
Thanks for all the answers. Going out now. (To the house!)

[Canary42]

Most guarantees are useless because of stuff hidden in the small print, why else is there need for so much of it, pages and pages of get-out clauses and padding to put you off reading it. Should be illegal to isssue such smoke-screening of fundamentally shoddy goods.