Front Door Don't Get Done Get Dom

'I've been battling your consumer rights for years,

'but it seems some companies still aren't getting the message.'

The main aim and goal for big companies is profit,

they don't care about customers.

Day in, day out, thousands of you are still being taken for a ride

and it's always the same old things -

shoddy products, small print and bad customer service.

If they want to be rude to the customers, they're the losers.

Big time.

Some firms are driving you barmy, causing you sleepless nights

and making you feel like you're the one to blame.

But don't despair, because I'm here to take up the fight

and make sure that you don't get done.

When you've got a young family,

nothing is more comforting than knowing they are safe and secure.

So when it comes to buying a brand-spanking-new front door,

many of us don't mind paying top dollar.

But paying big prices does not guarantee good customer service.

And when things go wrong, you might be the one that's left unhinged.

Well, that's exactly how Graeme Eccles feels, anyway.

When he invested in an expensive front door for his home,

he thought he'd bought peace of mind for himself and his young family.

But, sadly, the opposite is true,

as Graeme has encountered a serious problem with his new door.

It all began in October 2011

when Graeme decided it was time to spruce up the family house.

The house was just over ten years old.

We decided to look for a new front door

as the old one was looking dated and a little bit shabby.

So we wanted to buy something which was modern

and had a little bit of technology that we could impress people with.

Graeme began searching the internet

and came across a company called Yale Door,

which is the trading name of a firm called Castlegate 597 Ltd.

Now, I should point out that Yale Door

is a completely separate company from Yale,

the well-known lock maker.

But Castlegate 597 Ltd have a licence to use the Yale Door name

and Graeme was impressed with what he saw on their website.

We found the door that was the style that we wanted.

It was from a company that we believed to be reputable

and, also, they had a keyless-entry lock,

which meant we didn't need a key

and we could just punch in the security code onto the keypad.

The product Yale Door were offering

seemed to provide the perfect combination of style and security

and came with a high-tech Yale lock.

Graeme decided to go ahead and this was no bargain-basement purchase.

The door, with the lock and installation, was £1,600.

Now...we pushed the boat out to spend that money

because it had police accreditation that it was extra secure.

And the technology was, you know, beyond what we expected.

Sadly, just a few days after the door had been installed,

Graeme began to experience some problems.

We noticed that the door was failing to engage and actually lock.

Graeme put this down to teething problems

and got on the phone to Yale Door.

They sent out an engineer who made some minor adjustments

which seemed to remedy the issue.

This seemed to fix the problem for a short period of time.

However, we did notice that the problem was still there.

Yes, the problem soon returned and Graeme was getting concerned

that there may be a serious fault with his expensive new door.

We were having significant problems with the door not locking again.

Graeme complained to Yale Door

and two months ago, they fitted a replacement one.

But, unfortunately, Graeme has also experienced

similar problems with door number two.

I'm still living in a house with a faulty door.

Something that I can't lock.

Something that's unsecure.

The door sometimes works fine

but, when it doesn't, Graeme and his wife

have occasionally had to either stay at home

or use the back door to ensure the house remains secure.

I think it's time I met Graeme to find out what's been going on.

I tell you what, looks quite a nice door, really.

-Hiya. You must be Graeme.

-I am.

-Hello, Graeme.

I couldn't help playing with the buttons on the door.

-It's really good.

-Yeah, it is.

-Any chance of coming in?

-Absolutely.

-Thanks.

-How you doing?

-Very good, thanks.

I tell you what surprises me a bit, you've got quite a new house.

-It's, what, probably ten years old?

-Yep.

Why did you change the front door?

Well, we changed it to have a more modern, funky-looking front door.

The old door was ten years old, it was getting to be a bit dated.

So what's gone wrong with that one?

Well, the problem with this door,

it's not really a problem with the lock,

-it's a problem with the door itself.

-Right.

The door warps when it's hot.

It will stick out a good three quarters of an inch

at the top and at the bottom.

Graeme has taken photographs of the door

which seem to back up what he's saying.

And, after months of trouble with the door,

he's developed his own theories about the cause of the problem.

What do you suspect is wrong with that door yourself?

I don't know. I'm not a door expert,

but if the sun shines on it and there's heat on the door, it warps.

It's when the door warps that Graeme seems to have trouble with the lock.

Although sometimes it works fine.

But whatever the cause of the warping,

Graeme is now on his second door

and he's still experiencing problems with it.

-So the door you bought was from a company called Yale Door.

-Yes.

How would you describe the service you've had from Yale Door?

Um, it hasn't been very good.

They haven't been responsive to my calls, my emails, my letters.

Graeme first wrote to Yale Door

to express his concerns in January 2012.

And, over the next few weeks,

he sent several emails and says he received no response.

Towards the end of March, Yale Door then contacted Graeme

with a date when they could fit a replacement door,

but said there would be a delay if he wanted the same glass.

Graeme was unhappy with this

and frustrated by all the toing and froing.

And although the company say they then offered a solution,

he decided to turn to his credit card company for advice

under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

I gave my credit card the ultimatum to say

could we please get the door repaired

or replaced to a satisfactory level

over the next seven days,

otherwise we want to seek getting a refund.

Graeme's credit card company contacted Yale Door,

who said it had always been their intention to replace the door.

And, true to their word,

the company installed front door number two a few weeks later.

But, frustratingly for Graeme,

the replacement door soon developed the exact same problem.

We're experiencing the same problems with the second door.

When the sun shines, the door warps.

When the door warps, you can't engage the locks

and you can't lock the door securely.

Yale Door sent an engineer from the firm who had installed the door

and he said it was bowed.

That was just over a fortnight ago.

And to be fair to Yale Door, they are still investigating.

But after months of going back and forth,

Graeme has lost faith in the company and the door

and he just wants his money back.

Awkward one.

Now, let's assume I do get you a result and they say,

"We'll have our door back, you have your money back," what will you do?

As long as I can get a product that works, that's the main thing.

I've asked Graeme to send me details

of all the correspondence he's had with Yale Door,

as well as copies of his original paperwork,

all of which I'll need to take on this case.

Have you ever asked yourself the question,

why do we have front doors on our house?

I think the answer would probably be to keep the kids in,

to keep the warmth in and to keep burglars out.

But, sadly, Graeme's lost confidence in his door's ability

to perform some of these functions.

So who are Yale Door?

Which, by the way, shouldn't be confused

with any similar-sounding companies.

Well, they're the trading name of a company called Castlegate 597 Ltd.

And they sell doors made from composite materials.

They say they have a long list of customers

who have given them four out of five stars for their product and service.

But, before I speak to them,

I want to talk to the company who installed both of Graeme's doors

and have recently carried out a report on door number two.

Oh, hi there, good afternoon.

I wondered if I could speak to somebody

who might be in a position to answer a few questions for me?

The company I'm ringing carry out

a lot of installation work for Yale Door.

And their recent report suggests that Graeme's door slab is bowed.

So here's a question.

What is a door slab?

The chap I'm speaking to would rather we didn't use his voice,

but he explains that a slab

is basically the door itself without the frame.

If these doors are having issues, what would you say the problem is?

Is it the material that's expanding, contracting too much?

That's what my layman's sort of finger of blame would point at.

He explains that doors can expand and contract,

but they will have a built-in tolerance to allow for this.

But, from the photos,

the movement on Graeme's door does seem quite pronounced.

Is there a problem with perhaps direct sunlight on it?

Our chap can't really answer that.

And, anyway, it's only a theory.

But he does say that they've recommended that Yale Door

replace the bowed slab.

Bye-bye.

It's now months since this dispute began

and I'm keen to get on to Yale Door and hear their side of things.

Oh, hi there. Good afternoon.

I'm speaking to a sales manager who doesn't want his voice used.

And I bring him up to speed with Graeme's situation.

I'm keen to know their view on a recent survey on the door

which was carried out by the firm who installed the door

and says that it was bowed.

There's been a report done on this second door.

It says, "Yale Door slab is bowed from top to bottom,

"causing top of door to protrude by approximately 5mm

"at the top of the door.

"Centre latch is adjusted fully out for door to latch.

"Top latch is fully adjusted in and still top cannot be pulled in."

The survey does state that, although the door is bowed,

the bowing is within Yale Door tolerances.

However, the report was carried out on a cool day

and Graeme has said the problem is worse when it's warm and sunny.

The guy I'm talking to says the door should be able to accommodate

different temperatures and it's unlikely to be a production fault.

He says it's extremely unusual to replace a door

and have the same problems.

He's concerned that he's got the same problem

and obviously, there's something wrong there.

Whether it's the doors, his area, the heating, I don't know.

But, obviously, there's an issue.

The sales manager points out that the door

was only surveyed three weeks ago and they're still investigating.

Fair enough. But this has been going on for months now.

And I want to tell Yale Door exactly how Graeme feels.

In a nutshell, he doesn't want the door any more.

And I need to find out what you can do, and us,

to try and come to some sort of resolution for him

which he's going to be happy with.

I don't think that's, you know, that's an ultimatum,

I think that's just how he feels at the moment.

So perhaps if I get you the details over,

you could perhaps let us know

what we can do to try and sort things out

in a way which both you and him might be happy with.

Overall, I think that's been a pretty positive call.

Thanks. Bye-bye.

Seemed very professional.

Said, "If there's a problem, we'll try and sort it out."

My only issue is they've had the problem,

they did try and sort it out once, but it's not sorted out now.

And Graeme I don't think wants another door.

Graeme chose his door for a variety of reasons,

including style, security and technology.

But one of the factors that influenced his decision

was who he bought it from.

You know, we could have got cheaper alternatives, but, um...

we wanted to go for that Yale Door reputation.

Yale Door do use Yale locks,

although both companies are completely separate from each other.

Yale Door point out on their website

that they are using the brand name under licence.

It's common for well-known brands to license the use of their trademark

to selected companies.

And that's got me thinking about the whole issue of brand licensing.

Now, take me, for example.

Obviously, there is only one of me,

but let's just suppose I decide to license out my name

and you decide to hire me.

Now, on the face of things, what you're getting does look like me,

but, underneath it, absolutely nothing at all like me.

I'm a lot funnier.

Now, there's nothing wrong with licensing.

Lots of companies do it,

but what does it actually mean to you, me, the consumer?

You all right there, Tara?

The process of one company licensing its name to another

is known as brand licensing.

And it basically allows a company to put its name

on a greater variety of products.

For example, a fashion house might license out their name

so it can be put on things they don't have the expertise to make.

For example, pens or umbrellas.

This can mean greater choice for us shoppers,

but, according to consumer marketing expert Professor Vince Mitchell,

there are some things to be aware of.

Although these kinds of manufacturing-under-licence cases

are quite unusual for household names,

it can be very misleading and annoying for customers

because licensing means

that even though they think they're buying a certain brand,

that brand may have nothing to do at all

with the production of that particular product.

And here's the thing.

It's not always obvious when brand licensing is going on.

So you may well be buying a product under licence

without even realising it.

If you want to be absolutely sure, the clue

is when a brand that is known for one thing

suddenly appears on a product that it's not known for.

It shouldn't really matter that a product is made under licence

if it meets your expectations and you're happy with it.

If you're not, what can you do, though?

My suggestion for anyone who has a complaint about this

is to complain to the producer of the good,

complain to the brand-name owner,

any consumer group, as well as

the Advertising Standards Authority and the OFT.

Licensing does give us consumers a greater choice of products

from brands we're familiar with.

But if one of those products isn't up to scratch,

you've every right to kick up a fuss.

Back to Graeme's case.

And, since my call to Yale Door,

who trade under the name of Castlegate 597 Ltd,

there has been a development.

Although the door has been inspected by the company who installed it,

Yale Door have contacted Graeme to say

they'd like their chief technician to carry out an inspection.

Graeme said that's fine,

but he'd like a member of our team to be present.

No filming, no cameras, just a member of the team there.

Which he's perfectly entitled to request.

But Yale Door have said they won't agree to inspect the door

with a member of my team present.

And, as Graeme won't agree to the inspection of the door

without us there, we're a bit stuck.

A few days later, there is a further development.

Early one morning, a Yale Door technician

turns up at Graeme's house without having made an appointment.

Having had no warning of the visit, Graeme turned the technician away

and Yale Door then emailed me to say

that they see no reason to permit our involvement.

It seems we've reached a stalemate.

But I have an idea that might get things moving.

PHONE: 'If you know the extension number you require, please press zero.'

I'm going to go to Yale,

the company who licensed Castlegate 597 Ltd to use the Yale Door brand.

Now, because they're completely separate companies,

Yale has no responsibility for Castlegate 597's customers.

But I figure there's no harm in giving them a call.

PHONE: 'For the distribution centre, press eight.

'And for all of our directors, please press nine.'

Directors. I like that one. Never heard that one.

-'Wait while I transfer your call.'

-I will wait.

There's no-one to speak to, so I leave a message.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Dominic Littlewood. I'm calling from the BBC.

And, soon after, I'm given a mobile number

for none other than John Ward, the managing director of Yale.

John, good afternoon to you.

It's Dominic Littlewood calling from the BBC.

John doesn't want us to use his voice,

but I soon get him up to speed.

I'll give you a brief synopsis of what the situation is at the moment.

I explain Graeme's ongoing problems

with both the original and replacement doors

and John offers to talk to Yale Door on our behalf

so that they can reach a resolution with Graeme.

John, there lies half the problem

because Mr Eccles doesn't want to deal with Yale Door full stop.

What I was going to suggest, as I'm now talking to Yale

and not Yale Door,

why don't Yale deal with Mr Eccles and us directly?

John reminds me that this is Yale Door's responsibility

and he's keen for them to try and resolve it.

Trouble is, Graeme seems to have lost all faith in Yale Door.

If Yale Door are the people he's got to deal with again,

it's not going to go down particularly well.

I'm going to ask you if you, as Yale, can intervene.

I know I'm chancing my arm here,

but I'm determined to do whatever I can

to help get this situation resolved for Graeme.

If we can deal directly with yourselves,

I'm sure there's probably a better resolution here.

And, eventually, John agrees

that Yale will send someone out to see Graeme.

What a result!

But that's not the only visit Graeme's going to be getting.

Before I spoke to Yale, we arranged for Gary Eckersall

from the Master Locksmiths Association

to take a look at Graeme's door.

And, today, he's arrived to see what's what.

-Mr Eccles?

-Yes.

-I'm Gary from the Locksmiths Association.

-Hi. Nice to meet you.

-Good morning.

Gary is not an expert on doors or their construction,

but, when it comes to locks, he's your man.

Hopefully, he can comment on the alignment of Graeme's door

and how this might be affecting the lock itself.

-That sounded a bit heavy when you opened the door.

-It is, it is.

First thing we need to do

-is check the mechanism with the door in the open position.

-Mm-hm.

-That's working fine.

-Yep.

-DOOR: 'Securely locked.'

-That is working fine.

That indicates to me there's nice free travel in the handle mechanism,

it's locking, double locking.

That tells me the lock is fine

and the problem is in your door alignment.

So we need to now try the door in the closed position. OK?

Right. Push the handle up.

Now right away, I can feel there's a restriction there.

That is really tight.

Now, that is double locked now.

But there's obviously tremendous pressure on that mechanism

-to lock that door.

-Mm-hm.

And that is going to affect the operation of this lock

-in the not-too-distant future.

-Yep.

OK. So that needs to be addressed.

There's problems definitely with your door alignment.

Gary believes the warping of the door is impeding the lock

from working as it should be.

And there's a danger it could break.

We need to check the hinges first, I think.

Um...looking at your hinges there, there's lots of adjustments.

There's plenty of adjustments on your hinges.

For, you know, inward, outward.

Striking plates, plenty of adjustment there.

Having said that, once your door's installed

and it's set by those alignments,

you shouldn't have to be doing it again and again

when it's hot or cold weather. That's crazy.

Gary agrees with Graeme

that the problems he's experiencing are not acceptable.

But will Yale agree when they come to see Graeme?

Now, Yale are a completely separate company

and have no responsibility to Graeme

or any of Castlegate 597's other customers, but despite this,

they have agreed to step in and visit Graeme,

and today is the day they're due,

but there's just one small problem.

This morning, Yale are coming round to actually view the door

and to look at the problem...

And because the door's been so warped

and I've had to be forcing the lock to try and engage it...um...

It's just one of those things - it's now just packed up,

eventually packed up,

but it could have happened in a week's time or in a month's time,

or last week.

It's just happened now.

Unbelievable.

The door handle should be in this position

and I should be able to lock the door by lifting the handle up,

but because the door is warped, I need to apply pressure

to the handle and to the door, to force the lock into place.

As I've just done that, the handle has just completely broken,

and now I have no locking mechanism whatsoever.

With Yale due any moment, the timing of this is almost funny,

but Graeme's certainly not laughing.

The problem to me now is that I can't leave the house today

because my wife won't be able to get in.

Well, at least Yale will be able to see exactly what he's been

going through, and, right on cue, they arrive.

Can I come and get you from the back, because...? Thank you.

The MD of Yale has come along in person,

together with a colleague, to see Graeme.

They've asked us not to film. Fair enough.

Over the course of the meeting, they listen to what Graeme

has to say, and he shows them the door and the recently-broken lock.

The men aren't door experts, so they can't comment on the warping

and alignment problems. They can, however, see the problem

with the lock, and they agree to replace it the very same day.

Graeme feels positive.

The representatives from Yale have just left

and they can quite clearly see that the lock has been broken

and is no longer working.

The cause of that, it's probably due to the overuse

and the forcing of the lock.

Things do seem to be taking a turn for the better for Graeme

and his family, although there are still no definite answers

on what's wrong with the door.

It says to me that there's something moving -

whether it is a problem with the door, warping,

but regardless, my confidence in the product just isn't there.

The nice chaps from Yale have gone away to consider what they've

seen and heard, and I'm really hoping they're going to be

able to help resolve the matter for Graeme, because, let's face it,

living with a front door you have no confidence in is no fun at all.

As if to prove the point, three days after Yale's visit,

Graeme films some footage of the door on a sunny day.

So, it's Friday, 23rd November,

and we've got a freakishly sunny day,

and, guess what -

the door has started to warp again, and I've had difficulty locking it.

So is there finally an end in sight for Graeme

with his front door troubles?

Well, there have been some developments,

so I'm heading back to see Graeme, to tell him where we're at.

-Graeme. How you doing?

-Hi.

-You all right?

-Yeah. How did you get on?

I'll tell you if I can come in. That's OK?

Yeah, absolutely. Come in.

-DOOR:

-'Securely locked.'

'First off, I want to tell him how I got on when I contacted

'Castlegate 597 Ltd, the company Graeme knew as Yale Door.'

Things didn't go that well for me either.

Yale Door stopped communicating with me,

but I found a way to get past that,

and the way I did that is I contacted Yale direct.

Mm-hm.

Now, as we've already established,

Yale are a separate company from Yale Door.

They may have licensed them to use the Yale Door brand,

but they have no responsibility to Yale Door's customers.

However, in this case, they have agreed to step in

and see if there is anything they could do

to help resolve the situation. Good on them.

Yale came down, the MD did. As you said, he's polite.

He had a look at it, realised there was a problem,

sorted that problem out the same day.

He's come back, and he's told us that you can now have a full refund.

That's from Yale, not from Yale Door.

Well, that's...

-I mean, that's great news. Absolutely fantastic.

-Yeah.

You know, just to hear that is...

It's really, really good news,

and hopefully I can go and now buy

-a front door that's going to do a job.

-Yeah.

Yale's refund is a gesture of goodwill

and covers the door itself, which was £923,

and, of course, the lock, which they have already replaced.

It's a great result, and hopefully means Graeme can move on.

Your problem's gone now. You can wash your hands of it.

Cheque is in the post, otherwise I'd have it with me now.

We've got confirmation it's on its way,

so the second we get that, we'll forward it on to you and that's it.

-Thank you very much.

-It's only there for a little while longer,

and that's it. Do you want me to order you a skip for that door?

-Yeah, please.

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much for that. It's been...

It's been a horrible 12 months, and that's all I wanted when I...

when the first door went wrong.

We contacted Yale Door, who said...

At the time of recording, Graeme hadn't chosen a new door

but hopes to soon.

We also contacted Yale, who said...

On the subject of brand licensing,

they said that, given the importance of their brand

and the quality of their products,

that when entering into licensing agreements...

Well, there you have it - one semi-satisfied customer.

Semi because...well, Yale came up trumps. Yale Door...

I'd rather not say.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd