“We bought an orangery from lytham windows and a front door. We had problem after problem, I will list the issues after, I have photographs of all the issues also.
They started well and we felt comfortable going with them and felt we could trust them. Do not believe anything you are told, get things in writing as they will deny they have said things. They do not like putting things in writing we discovered. I sent numerous emails after trying to speak to people with no reply, which made us even more frustrated. The only reply we got was a threatening email from the director, asking for payment within 6 days, then threatening with interest payments, bailiffs and how this could effect us in the future financially. Apparently he said we would never be happy and it was clear we had no intention of paying. At this time we hadn't even been given an invoice and had a large black mark in a large glass panel (internal) which we were told needed replacing, we were also waiting on a new roof vent (the 3rd one as others were faulty). Disgusting way to treat a customer.
You are told it will be fully managed , it is not! you have to oversee everything as they do not do what is needed or previously discussed and agreed and then wipe there hands and say not there problem, literally hold there hands up and walk away from you.
Our orangery was supposed to be finished in July it wasn't completed until the end of oct.
The issue are listed below.
- 3 front doors - 2 were damaged so they replaced, so we have door number 3 in place, they did not want to replace the door which cost over £2000 which had big chips out of it and scratches , but did so as we pushed for it. The second door was fitted and had damage, the paint was still wet on it as they had tried to cover it up but as it was a dent it was still visible.
- The incorrect roof fitted we ordered a vented roof due to the heat concern, the roof was fitted with no vents, when this was pointed out they stated we didn't order one with vents. We did, it was on the drawings, I even followed up at time of planning to confirm this and from the word go at the showroom we said we wanted vents. We had to pay for one of these to be fitted, they did pay for the other (wanted it finished, fed up of arguing).
- Doors, large patio doors wouldn't shut, I mean I really struggled, was told you just needed to slam them shut, was given a demo of this, still found it difficult, was told this is just the way they are. Turns out they had damaged the metal bar, and after this was fixed the doors glided shut, but again we had to push for this and was told they were fine, they would have left them, if I hadn't seen the metal that had bent.
- Glass roof panel when first fitted had black marks told these would just wipe off, 2 months later when they finally came to clean, they discovered they were internal marks.
- roof vents - one of these leaked on to brand new flooring they came to repair quickly (the orangery wasn't finished at this time), was told it hadn't been sealed. Later a few weeks the other vent leaked, again told this hadn't been sealed.
- Roof vent motors, we had 3 of these fitted as they did not know what the problem was, when they opened the weight of the glass would cause them to slam shut, the first time meaning rain water came in. We were told originally they only opened a tiny amount and this is how it was, after the "expert" vent person came from Lytham windows he said no they open wider and up to 40cm high, however after numerous visits it appears Lytham windows did not know how to install roof vents and had missed locking nuts off which caused them to collapse, this was found by the manufacturer who came to fix the issue.
- We had numerous scratches covered with there magic pens (we had black frames) but they couldn't be bothered to open the window so half the white marks were still visible.
- Radiators - we discussed these before plastering and were told that extra reinforcement would be put in place for these (as they were heavy). I know this as the person I discussed with had the same radiators in his own house. This was not done and when the plumber came to fit he could not do it. Lytham windows said it's not our problem. I then had to have the fresh plasterwork cut and reinforcement put in behind, Lytham windows were no help.
We had that many issues I could list more, I have been upset in tears through there lack of management and appalling customer service, at no time did lytham windows apologise for any of this, we spent over £70,000 with them. We were made to feel that it was our fault and despite paying in full, due to threats from them, there are still small outstanding issues that I dare not ask to be repaired. Damage to the roof vent from the it slamming shut, many cracks in plaster, loose handles, holes filled with silicone which should never have been made in frames as they wired them incorrectly.”
