Man Wins Payout After Six Year Legal Battle Over Defective Conservatory
A Bolton man has finally agreed an out of court settlement after a six-year legal dispute over a defective conservatory.
Mark Bonner purchased a conservatory from the Homeshield Group, who offered him finance to fund the purchase. Unfortunately the conservatory was not constructed satisfactorily, leading to years of problems for Mr Bonner.
He said: “We bought the conservatory in November 2002 and it was completed in December 2003. The problems started in late December.
“We got an expert in to assess the workmanship and he uncovered a lot of problems. I complained to the company and they sent people round several times to try and rectify it but they didn’t do it properly. By February 2003 Homeshield wouldn’t return to site to remedy the problems saying they were existing faults. We then contacted the Quality Assurance Association, which Homeshield are a member of, but that didn’t help things progress.”
Mr Bonner then used his home insurance policy to contact Stephensons Solicitors LLP for advice on the building dispute.
Liam Waine, partner and head of Stephensons’ Consumer team, acted for Mr Bonner. He said: “When we investigated this case it was clear the conservatory had not been built to an adequate standard or with reasonable care and skill.
“The deal was financed by a regulated Consumer Credit Agreement from Clydesdale Financial Services and it was important that Mr Bonner was not liable to start paying for something which was not of satisfactory quality.
“On closer inspection of the credit agreement, we found that there also seemed to be significant breaches of the Consumer Credit Act as it did not include what are known as ‘prescribed terms’ which are an essential part of any credit agreement. We were therefore able to argue that the agreement was irredeemably unenforceable.”
After the discrepancies in the credit agreement were discovered, the Homeshield Group then agreed to settle out of court, compensating Mr Bonner with a £10,000 settlement for the defective conservatory. In addition, his liability to pay off the amount stated in the credit agreement was removed.
Liam added: “Consumers have the right to expect certain standards from the goods they buy. This is a very positive result for Mr Bonner and this case illustrates that people who have purchased defective goods using credit should speak to a solicitor and have their agreement checked out. If it fails to contain the prescribed terms, then it may not be enforceable at all.”
Mr Bonner said: “I’m so relieved this is all over after six years. We’ve kept the conservatory but we’ve had to make alterations to make it sound enough to use and we can finally move on.”
If you find yourself in a dispute over faulty goods and are not satisfied with the seller’s response, don’t give up. Stephensons’ consumer lawyers have unrivalled experience in fighting for consumers’ rights. Visit www.stephensons.co.uk to find out more.