There are a number of laws such as The Consumer Rights Act 2015, seeking to protect you when the unthinkable happens after buying double glazing. But what do you do when your window company goes into administration or ceases trading altogether, having taken your deposit and you without windows and doors? This recently happened with a Bristol-based home improvement company, also supplying Origin windows and doors.
Peace of mind when buying Origin windows and doors.
First of all, Origin doors and windows suppliers are established and professional businesses. That said, suppliers such as Origin are not contractually obliged to help when one of their dealers ceases trading. The two businesses are separate with a clear manufacturer-installer relationship. The sticky situation of an installer going into liquidation leaves you stranded having paid a deposit you’re unlikely to get returned. Then you have the added headache of trying to complete your project at an extra cost too. Worse still are you feeling let down by your supplier and the brand you chose to buy.
Clarity on buying goods and services is easier to understand in the event of things going wrong. As well as this, there are several Insurance Backed Guarantee schemes available. Insurance Backed Guarantees work to protect the deposit you pay, often necessary when placing an order for new windows and doors. Some businesses ask for up to 50% deposit, others more.
If you’ve previously had experience of a supplier no longer trading you may have found yourself hitting a brick wall with the manufacturer firstly having no legal obligation to help, and not inclined to be helpful.
Instead of stepping away from this issue, Origin chose an unprecedented route. They decided to help those customers having existing orders with this Origin dealer going into liquidation.
How origin helped customers at risk of losing money.
The reputation of Origin and its products is first-class. Few businesses in the home improvement sector offer the 20-year guarantee, service levels and customer care like Origin. They agreed to take on any orders by their dealer. Then they decided to take on the liability of their dealer and honour the work. Even better, they then agreed to carry out the work at the price sold and asked for no further deposits or financial outlay by the homeowners. As a result, customers won’t pay any more than expected or agreed. Finally, Origin themselves arranged installation of the products and will honour the guarantee.
What is even more impressive, is Origin has since adopted this course of action as future company policy. It is their intention to provide support for future buyers of their products. It is worth remembering that Origin chooses their dealer base very carefully, but they have no control over how these independent businesses operate. But what they can now do is mitigate the risk to you the homeowner in the event that one of their dealers ceases trading. And we know other manufacturing businesses in the UK working under the Approved Dealer network business model do not offer a similar level of support and customer care like Origin. We can also tell you that we’ve never heard of, until now, of any issues with Origin products or one of their dealers.
When buying new windows and doors, choose your supplier carefully.
Therefore, while companies like Origin and others operating with a dealer network are under no obligation to help, they’ve decided to be there when the unthinkable happens. We applaud Origin’s move to step in should this rare event happen in the future.
Buying windows and doors from Origin provides you with some great benefits. You don’t just get high quality, expertly crafted windows and doors.
- Doors and windows with a quality 20-year guarantee.
- A full range of bifolding doors, sliding doors, windows, front doors and even garage doors.
- The biggest choice of personalisation options such as colours and hardware options.
- The fastest lead times when you need to complete your project fast.
- Windows and doors from one of the best-known names in the UK.
- A quality dealer-network with support from the manufacturer when needed.
Origin as a business cares about their customer experience. While there is nothing wrong whatsoever in buying new windows from a smaller business, sometimes dealing with a larger and established business could leave you better protected in the future. Origin has the size, resources and processes in place to make the difference should things go wrong with your home improvement project.
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