Conservatories Don't Get Done Get Dom

'I'm Dominic Littlewood and I'm here to champion your consumer rights.'

I don't mind who I speak to. I just want to try and resolve it.

'Any problem, whatever the size,

'I'll help you get the service you deserve...'

That would worry me about the quality of his work, full stop.

'..whether that involves getting your money back...'

My heart just sank because I thought,

"Where are we going to find this extra money?"

'..or taking on your contract problems...'

They stated that it wasn't down to them

and that it was down to another company.

'..I'm here to help.

'And today, I have a couple whose conservatory installer is

'glossing over the cracks but just how bad their build has been...'

What I'm really worried about is if I don't take this down,

it could fall on one of my grandchildren.

'..and one woman's battle to clear her credit rating after her bank

'discovered fraudulent activity on the account...'

I had the bank statement to say that the money had been paid,

but all these companies were saying they hadn't received it.

'..and we hear a harrowing tale about disputes

'when dealing with a deceased person's debts...'

It's actually quite shocking, just how bad some customer service

can be when you've lost someone that you love.

'..and taking on new consumer problems

'to make sure you don't get done.'

Adding a conservatory to your house not only increases its value,

but it gives you an incredibly useful extra room -

somewhere to relax in, read the papers, enjoy the sunshine,

but sometimes, getting it built can be incredibly stressful.

'Dave Thomas from Weston-super-Mare

'knows just how much of a painful process it can be,

'after his dream of a beautiful conservatory was shattered.'

The situation we've been left in at the moment is, we've got

a half-built conservatory,

the plastic from the conservatory and the glass

scattered all over our garden and we're £12,000 out of pocket

and we've got a building we cannot use.

'And this is why Dave has written into me.

'His plans for a conservatory on his house began after his partner

'Karen moved in, which would mean they needed more room.'

We first decided about making the house bigger

because we wanted to have a better dining room

so we could have all our parents, the grandkids, the kids, all in one room.

'Dave and Karen set about looking into conservatory companies

'and getting initial quotes from three of them.

'These ranged from approximately 17 grand down to 14.

'But one local company stood out - Hutton Conservatories.'

We had talked to neighbours and friends

and they've had conservatories built by them in the past.

We had a look round a neighbour's of ours

and it was really well done - everything was finished nice.

'So the couple visited Hutton Conservatories.

'The company was based in a local garden centre

'and Dave and Karen were impressed with what they saw.

'A site visit was arranged with a designer called James.'

I found him very, very good.

Very smooth, he could talk, you know, he told us what we wanted to know.

The conservatory would be built of the best materials

and the best workmanship.

'The couple chose an Edwardian style conservatory - and all for £12,360.

'Dave was amazed at the difference in price.'

We said to 'em, you know, "Why are you so cheap?" and they said,

"Well, we do it in our own factory, we build it ourselves.

"We can do it cheap, we've got our own craftsmen.

"That's why we can keep the price down."

So we thought, "Yeah! We're getting a brilliant conservatory at a nice price as well."

'They signed on the dotted line paying a deposit of £2,472

'and work would start in July 2013. They were told by James

'it would take two months to complete using his sub-contracted builders.'

We were really looking forward to it.

We were making plans on what colours

we were going to paint it, what furniture, what flooring.

'Exciting times indeed and work began but within just weeks of getting

'under way, so did the problems.

'It started with the block work.'

With the walls, the level of the blocks isn't really good.

If you have a look at the level all the way along, they are all over

the place, and the worst thing is the mortar.

And that's coming out really, really easily.

'Understandably, Dave got straight on the phone to James who blamed

'the weak mortar on recent rain.

'His builders returned and replaced some of it.'

Then they came in a couple of weeks later and went to do the floor.

They wanted to lay the base onto our grass - which even me,

with no knowledge about building at all, knew that that was wrong.

So I said, "Look, you can't lay it on the grass, you've got to put some sub-base."

So I phoned up James and explained to him

this was what was happening and I wasn't happy with it.

So they dug the grass up

and they put about two inches of hardcore down -

some stone they still had left over from putting up the walls.

'Next they poured the concrete for the floor

'but when Dave and Karen got back from work...'

We found that the base had been laid but it was way too high.

It was supposed to be laid as a float finish which is very smooth.

'Cue yet another call to James at Hutton Conservatories.'

He said, "It's OK, what we're going to do -

"we're going to get a concrete grinder in and we will grind the floor out."

'The builders returned with said grinder

'but still Dave was unhappy with the finished result.'

Well, you've got the membrane here

and the floor -

there's about a 30 mill difference between there and there.

As it goes up the wall, you can see that it joins up.

So that up there is about 30 mill higher than what it is down here.

'But the floor issues had larger ramifications.

'Dave and Karen had specified in their original design

'that they wanted a smooth transition from their existing

'house into the conservatory, i.e. no step.'

What we had said all along, from the very beginning,

is it had to flow with the house - we couldn't have a step because

we've got little grandchildren and we've also got elderly parents.

And we didn't want a step from one room into the other

because it's a trip hazard.

'As the weeks of work and remedial work went on,

'so did calls back and forward to Hutton Conservatories

'and yet more problems with the workmanship began to surface.'

We've got cracks there of a couple of mill, that you can see.

They're all the way across.

The end wall here that they've put up

and what's happened is,

it isn't really tied into the wall.

And now you've got it where it's falling off.

And what I'm really worried about is if I don't take this down,

it could fall on one of my grandchildren.

'Now coming to the end of October,

'still dissatisfied with the quality of work and still no closer

'to a finished conservatory, Dave called a halt on the entire project.

'He began putting all his concerns in writing and decided to

'bring in an independent surveyor to compile a report.

'It wasn't easy reading for Dave.'

"The foundations to the walls will be susceptible to frost damage and movement.

"The damp-proof membrane

"and damp-proof courses are not installed correctly - this will

"leave the building susceptible to significant damp if not corrected.

"Further investigation is required. I believe that,

"given the information available to me at this time,

"the construction will require partial demolition and rebuilding."

'Ouch!

'Bearing in mind the couple had paid £11,000 to the company

'as the conservatory glass had been delivered to site,

'what followed was yet more weeks of chasing Hutton Conservatories,

'getting them to acknowledge the survey

'and come back with some answers.'

James came up with a plan of remedials but it was a quick fix.

It wouldn't have done the job and it wouldn't have lasted.

So because it was a quick fix we turned it down,

because we wanted the conservatory that we'd paid for.

'I agree and Dave turned down the fix on his surveyor's advice

'and negotiations have got nowhere since.

'Despite the threat of legal action against the company,

'it's nine months on and the conservatory still isn't finished.'

Really, we should be in here now.

We should have our table and everything all ready to go

but at the moment we just can't do anything, you know.

It isn't fit for purpose. We've got floors that slope so badly

we couldn't put any flooring down, we've got walls that are absolutely rubbish.

The workmanship that has been done on it is absolutely rubbish.

It's just terrible.

Dave and Karen seem to be in deadlock with their conservatory company.

At the moment, all they've got to show for their money

is a half-built conservatory blighting their back garden -

not improving it. It was meant to give them a place

where they could bring their families round,

enjoy the extra space

and instead, they've ended up stressed out.

Let's see if Dom can do some de-stressing.

'OK and first things first - who is Hutton Conservatories?

'Well, the company was based in a garden centre

'in Weston-super-Mare but has since closed down.

'Luckily for me, I do have the contact details for James Rowe,

'the former owner of the company and he is now running a new conservatory business.

'I ping him an e-mail, letting him know I'm on the case

'and would love to get this sorted out, once and for all.'

MUSIC OVER SPEECH

We all like to be in control of our lives.

When something unexpected happens - like fire, flood or theft -

sometimes things just seem to fall apart.

'When something happens which affects your financial security,

'it can be devastating on you and your family.

'I get so many of you e-mailing me about fraudulent transactions

'on your bank accounts which has left you in dire straits

'and it's something credit reference agencies come across too.'

A common by-product of identity fraud is a poor credit rating.

It will not only determine

whether a lender gives you

something like a credit card, a loan, a mortgage -

even a mobile phone agreement, but sometimes how much they charge you for that as well.

So it's so important to have a good credit rating.

'And if fraudulent transactions have occurred, you need to act quickly.'

It can take several months to set the record straight,

so the quicker and the sooner we start that, the better.

I've heard from a woman who says her life fell apart

when she fell victim to a fraudster.

'Helen Taylor is a single mum of two from Huddersfield.

'She works six days a week as a registered nurse and prides

'herself on strict budgeting and ensuring all bills are paid on time.

'So when in January 2012 she received a phone call from her bank,

'Santander, questioning several transactions on her account,

'she was rightly concerned.'

When I did speak to somebody from the fraud team,

I realised it wasn't a scam and they were actually saying that

somebody was trying to take money from my account.

'The bank told Helen they would close her account for a week

'while the fraud team investigated and she would only be able to

'access her money by going to a local branch with some ID.'

I had to constantly go down to the main branch, which took about half

an hour, pay for parking, go into the branch -

that took another three quarters of an hour

while they contacted the fraud team

to make sure they could open the account for me to take any money out.

So it was very, very frustrating.

'Six weeks went by and eventually Helen went into the branch and

'insisted they open a new account for her,

'which they did there and then.'

He actually transferred the direct debits over whilst I was sat there.

So I was happy that they'd all been transferred over properly.

'Satisfied that everything was finally in order, Helen made

'one final check before leaving the bank.'

I asked for a bank statement and the bank statement had all

the bill payments and direct debits on them, so I was OK, then.

I was feeling elated when I left the bank,

due to the fact that I was hoping that this was the end of it.

I realised I may never find out what happened to the original account,

but that didn't matter.

It was onwards and upwards now.

'Helen hoped everything would go back to how it was before

'but unfortunately it wasn't quite that straightforward.'

The first letter came about a month later from my mortgage company,

saying, "Why haven't you paid your mortgage payment for March?"

I received other letters in the coming weeks - all in all, there were

nine bill payments and direct debits that hadn't been paid on that day.

'She got straight on the phone to Santander,

'who told her there had been a computer error.'

I had the bank statement to say that the money had been paid,

but all these companies were saying they hadn't received it.

So I had no way of proving it.

I had to actually go through each one individually

and get a letter from Santander saying it was their fault.

'And while the debt collection letters started to pile up,

'so too did her complaints to the bank.'

They offered some compensation, as in phone calls

and time wasted, but unfortunately, until they investigated it,

they wouldn't tell me what had happened to the funds.

'And after four months of confusion and stress, Helen finally got some

'answers and discovered as the direct debits

'came out of her old account,

'they were wrongly put in a holding account.'

Santander wrote to me saying that they took full

responsibility for what had happened.

And they also said that it had been a technical error

and they were liable for everything that had happened.

'Unfortunately the damage was already done

'and Helen's credit rating

'was shot to pieces.

'This would potentially ruin her chances at everything

'from switching mortgages to swapping her phone contract.

'She took a complaint against Santander to the financial

'ombudsman service who ruled that the bank had to rectify her

'credit rating - something she's still waiting for to this day.'

I feel this situation has been extremely unfair

because I was the victim of fraud two and odd years ago

and I'm still suffering for it now.

'In March 2013, Helen had wanted to change her mortgage to one

'with a better rate but was declined due to her damaged credit rating.

'Following the FOS complaint, Santander did pay

'Helen £495 in compensation and another £100

'for failing to rectify her credit rating within 30 days -

'something Helen has now managed to sort out herself.

'Her story is one Experian has come across before

'but there is support out there.'

We actually run a free service to help victims of fraud sort out

the problems that fraud creates on their credit reports,

so we have a team of dedicated people

that will go through people's credit reports,

identify the information that doesn't belong to them

and then set about the process of contacting the relevant lenders

and getting the information changed.

'And you can contact companies yourself to dispute

'the information they've recorded against you on your credit rating.'

It can be worth contacting the lenders involved and asking

if they will change the information.

If they disagree, then you can still add a note to your report

to explain those circumstances and any future lender will see that

and take it into account.

'I contacted Santander about Helen's case

'and it again admits it "overly delayed paying a number of her standing orders"

'and that "Santander apologised for this error".

'But also crucially to this case,

'Santander also updated Helen's credit file

'so there should be no adverse impact on her credit rating.'

One fraudulent transaction, yet years of heartache for Helen.

Let's just hope she gets her life back on track soon.

'I've been called in to help out

'Dave and Karen from Weston-super-Mare.

'They've ended up with a half-built conservatory on their back

'lawn after the build went wrong from the off.'

Well, I think the job that has been done so far is awful.

As far as I'm concerned, it needs to come down and to start again.

'An independent surveyor also agreed that the workmanship

'was not up to standard.'

"Further investigation is required to confirm

"the construction of the floor and the composition of the mortar.

"I believe that, given the information available to me at this time,

"the construction will require

"partial demolition and rebuilding."

'Our couple's contract is with Hutton Conservatories

'but that company isn't trading any longer.

'But the man who did own and run it, James Rowe,

'is willing to honour Dave's contract

'as he's still in the conservatory business.'

James has been in touch with the office trying to get hold of me.

He's told my team he wants to get this sorted out once and for all,

which is great news for all of us.

He's even offered to send round an independent structural surveyor

to write up a report and said that if it turns out

his guys have done something wrong, he'll get it sorted.

This is heading in the right direction.

'But I know from Dave's experiences that James also offered to do

'the same for him - as he didn't agree with Dave's surveyor's findings.'

If the faults are right, it would have meant that James' building work

isn't up to standard and how we were promised that it would have been.

'Dave got in his independent surveyor to compile an initial

'assessment report without letting James know this was his plan.

'So did he go about this in the right way?

'Giles Wilson from the trade association,

'the Glass and Glazing Federation can tell us.'

If a homeowner is not happy with the installation

of their conservatory and they want to

get an independent expert to come and do a survey, that's a good idea.

However, before you do that, talk to your installation company,

because if you pay for an expert to come to undertake a survey,

if the installer is not prepared to accept their findings,

you'd be wasting your time and your money.

It should be agreed, before that survey is undertaken

who should be paying that bill,

with the outcome resulting in who should pay the overall

costs of that survey.

'That does make good sense

'but Dave was just trying to get a handle on the situation

'due to communication breakdowns with Hutton Conservatories.'

If a consumer is not happy with the installation,

and they're not happy with the way they're being dealt with

by the installer, I would suggest they talk to the

local council and ask for a building control inspector to go to site.

They will often be able to verify that everything is OK

or there is a problem.

'OK, so even though conservatories are not subject to certain building

'regulations, the inspectors should know best practice when they see it.

'But unfortunately, this advice comes a little late for Dave,

'so if James does get another independent report done,

'will that actually help in Dave's case?'

If a consumer and an installation company are in a dispute situation

and both parties get independent experts to look at the job,

this could be beneficial -

however, you could get differing or conflicting advice.

Usually this results in going to court where a judge will

look at both parties and come to some sort of solution.

'OK, right from the off,

'Dave and James should have ideally decided on one independent expert -

'the findings of which both parties would have to agree to.

'That obviously hasn't happened in our case, so I've asked Dave

'and his surveyor Steve Matthews, to get back together

'and cross their T's and dot their I's.'

Just on my way to see Mr Thomas to discuss the main concerns

of the report I've recently done on his conservatory.

'As we know from his original report, Steve suggested partial

'demolition of the conservatory.

'James Rowe disputes that this is needed.'

Hi, Steve. How are you doing? Come on in.

'They head to the conservatory

'and start with one of the problems highlighted in the report.'

If we start with the floor first.

Yeah, I've got some real concerns about the floor.

If you look at the levels, the end there,

-it's on with the bed joint on the block work.

-Yeah.

It runs down this way and you're 25, 30 mill lower

-than the block work.

-Yeah.

The whole floor is running towards the house.

When you come up this end, if you have a look, it's cracking.

Now this is a ground-bearing slab.

-This should be on compacted hardcore.

-Yeah.

And it should be a solid base.

-There's no way it should be cracking like that.

-Yeah.

So the only way you can resolve these problems is by lifting it out

-and re-laying it at the right level.

-Yeah.

It's been compounded with the damp-proof membrane.

If you come over and have a look,

where the damp-proof membrane comes up,

it should be tucked under the damp-proof course here

to give you a physical barrier against any damp penetration.

At the moment, with this cut back, you can have damp just coming

straight into your floor.

'OK, so that's the floor that could need redoing.

'Now what about the walls?'

-This wall down here.

-Yeah.

Well, I would think that's supposed to be tied in,

but at the moment, since we've had the heavy winds, that is loose.

That one - well, that's dangerous, now.

That's just going to fall off.

That should have metal ties running into the bed joints here

and into the wall here to tie the masonry back in.

But that needs taking down pretty quickly.

-I mean, if that hit a pet or a child it could seriously hurt them.

-Yes.

So that's unsafe now.

'It's obvious since Steve's initial report,

'things have continued to get worse,

'so having reviewed the site for a second time...'

Unfortunately, Dave, looking at the defects you've got

with the floor failing like it is with the cracking,

the levels being wrong,

the lack of cement powder in the mortar in the walls

mean they're unstable and the fact that a damp-proof membrane

has been cut short and is not continuous,

the only way you're going to resolve this is by

taking the floor out and the walls down and rebuilding them.

'To me, Steve's report sounds pretty conclusive.

'But it's crucial now for us to get a second opinion.'

It's now two weeks since James Rowe told me that he

was going to appoint an independent surveyor to look at

Dave's half-built conservatory and so far,

no dates in the diary,

so I've sent him a little e-mail reminder about his promise to do so.

Don't forget, we already have Dave's independent surveyor's report,

but I suppose one more wouldn't do any harm.

Come on, James. What are you playing at?

'But if those two surveys don't marry up,

'this whole dispute could end up in court.

'Fortunately, there are other ways to resolve ongoing problems with

'clients and companies.

'So I've come to meet Suzanne Lowe, a professional mediator.'

Give me an idea about the sort of problems that you mediate for.

Well, they could be anything

from huge company disputes

between shareholders, directors,

partnership disputes, inheritance claims, building disputes.

By the sound of it, you could go through the alphabet here,

-couldn't you?

-Yeah. If it's got a pulse, we can mediate it.

Why is your mediation service going to be a viable option to,

let's say, going to court?

Well, it's much more economically viable to use mediation rather than

actually going to court.

And it takes a lot less time.

You mentioned cost but who pays for it?

The parties pay. They split the cost, the mediation fee, between them.

'Initially, this does sound better than going to court,

'but as we know, disputes can sometimes be hard work

'to put to rest.'

What happens if one or both of the parties don't agree

with your decision?

Well, you don't make a decision as a mediator.

You're a neutral, independent third party.

The mediator will shuttle between two rooms

where the mediator then has private discussions with them.

And doesn't take any information from one room to the other

without authority.

So that the mediator can drill down and find out what really is important

for them to achieve and what they'd be able to live with moving forward.

-As you said there, you're not making decisions?

-Definitely not.

You're certainly making suggestions?

You can come up with innovative ideas and say,

"Have you thought of this?"

But that's as far as you can go.

And once everybody's agreed, is anything legally drawn up?

If there are lawyers present, you'll get them to draw up a consent order.

'Mediation can be legally binding but if you still cannot agree

'an outcome and do end up in court, the very fact that you have

'shown willing and undergone mediation can help your case.'

Got any advice for people out there?

Don't litigate, mediate.

Suzanne, thanks ever so much. And let's go. Right.

'All interesting knowledge

'and talking about mediation, it's time I did some of my own.

'E-mails have been going backwards and forwards to James Rowe,

'formerly of Hutton Conservatories.

'And I've managed to arrange a good time to talk.'

Oh, hi, James, thanks for calling me back.

I wonder if you can sort of give me an idea of the situation with David Thomas, what's happening?

'We have a quick catch-up on events so far

'but when it comes to recognising the results of the independent report,

'conducted by Dave's surveyor, things get interesting.

'He tells me he doesn't know whether Steve was truly independent.

'What?'

If you're not 100% happy with his surveyor and whether he's

totally unbiased and unconnected, the only answer is to get

an independent surveyor around there ASAP.

'It seems this has been a sticking point from the off, James thinks

'this report wasn't truly independent, it's another part

'of the dispute that has been happening between James and Dave.

'Dave has rejected the idea of Steve the surveyor not being

'independent from the start.'

James has come up with the idea that Steve and I are friends

and that the report that Steve has done isn't independent

but that is total rubbish.

Steve and I have never met before.

I got Steve off of the internet.

I went on Google, and I just put in surveyors in Weston-super-Mare.

Steve's name popped up, I've never met the man before, you know,

until the day he came round and done the report.

'You know, this type of argument in a dispute gets us nowhere,

'time to use what I learnt about mediation.'

I think what's important here, that we, and you seem to be agreeing

to this, if in independent surveyor goes round there

and tells you that X, Y and Z needs doing, you're happy to put

your hands up, take it on the chin, and get that done to his satisfaction?

'James Rowe tells me this whole thing has dragged on too long

'and the last thing he wants is me on his case!'

You're keen, I'm keen and when you say getting me on your case

is not ideal, it might actually be a blessing in disguise.

Cos sometimes it just takes a third party to say,

"Hang on a second, guys, let's all bash our heads together,

"sort it out," and we all walk away happy.

'James agrees with the sentiment and he assures me

'that he's now got an independent surveyor of his own - great.

'Let's get the ball rolling, then.'

Could you try and organise this surveyor for this coming Monday?

'James says he'll try his hardest.'

Brilliant, OK, looks like we're going to get somewhere with this.

And everybody should come out of it all smiling, let's put it that way.

'As long as we get that surveyor to visit Dave's site.'

Thanks very much. Bye-bye.

At this point, it sounds to me like he wants the same outcome as David.

He wants to put this to bed ASAP.

After all, no-one likes these sort of things hanging over them,

and sometimes all it takes is somebody like me to sort things out,

just somebody to sit down, be unbiased and say, "Hang on a second,

"David, you're being unreasonable.

"James, you're being unreasonable,

"there's the answer, are we going to agree?"

We all shake hands, end of problem.

'It's a traumatic time when a loved one dies

'and I've been contacted by plenty of people telling me that dealing

'with a deceased relative's bills and debts is causing unwanted stress

'at a time when you should be allowed to grieve.

'Paul Ilett from Essex is one man who has experienced this first-hand.

'His battle with a utility company highlights just what lengths we

'sometimes have to go to, to get good customer service when

'we need it most.

'Sadly, Paul's father Brian died of a heart attack in May 2012.'

He'd literally just celebrated his 71st birthday,

just days before he died and his health seemed very good.

It was completely unexpected.

'Brian's heart attack had been caused by an undiagnosed

'aneurism in his leg that had travelled to his heart.

'His death was a big blow for everyone who knew him.'

I'm one of seven children, so we're a big family.

There's nieces, nephews, grandchildren,

and Dad was very much at the heart of that really.

Dad was a real character, he was very funny, he was very clever

but he also held very strong opinions on certain things.

So, an example being he really didn't like solicitors. Never used them.

If he could do anything himself, he would.

'Like preparing a will, but due to his unexpected passing...'

Dad didn't have a will.

I think he was...he still thought he had a good few years ahead of him.

We all met at Dad's bungalow, all seven of us,

and we talked through what we thought should happen.

We were just all very practical in wanting to get it sorted

as quickly as possible.

'The family agreed that Paul

'and his brother Yann would be appointed as executors

'of Brian's estate, but as Brian had left no will, they did hire

'a solicitor to advise them on probate,

'the distribution of his estate.'

Our plan, as a family, was to sell Dad's house

as quickly as we possibly could.

'The solicitor also suggested their legal fee would drop

'significantly if they also handled the administration.'

In order to handle Dad's estate, Yann and I had to become administrators.

We had to get letters of administration which had

to be approved by court.

I gave all of Dad's utility companies and banks my details,

I explained to them that he had died and that his house was now empty.

Some of them said they were happy to liaise with me even though

I didn't have letters of administration at that point.

Others were quite clear that until I had those, they would have to

continue writing to Dad's address even though his house was empty.

'Paul had no choice but to accept this, but generally

'he was pleasantly surprised by the majority of companies' responses.'

I was astonished how good the customer service was.

I just was passed straight through to a special department,

they were very sympathetic, incredibly helpful and I was really

taken aback at how good customer service can be when you're bereaved.

'All of the banks and utility companies acknowledged to Paul

'that outstanding debts would be settled once Brian's estate,

chiefly his property, was sold. Then the family could clear the debts

'and distribute the remaining funds amongst the seven of them.

'Things were going to plan.'

Sadly, I think it was only a couple of months after Dad died

that this sort of gold-plated service from some of the

companies started to disappear.

The energy company in particular within a couple of months had

started sending far more demands which obviously were going to

an empty property.

'This is despite the company knowing the family's situation.

'And these final demands were only being collected

'when Paul's sister had time to visit the empty property.'

My sister was at the house

when a visit was made by someone from the energy company who said

they wanted to come in and fit a special meter into the house.

We were very concerned that this would devalue the property

to some degree, and we weren't going to agree it.

'But the energy company was also threatening court action that

'would allow them to enter the property and fit the meter anyway!

'The family decided to not wait for probate.'

In the end I think I paid them about £300,

£350 to clear Dad's outstanding bills with them.

It was bit of a scramble to get the money together but we did manage it.

I think I was bit cross, if I'm honest, that I needed to do it all.

They knew Dad had passed away,

they knew we were going to clear his debts through the sale of the

house, they had my contact details, it just seemed very unnecessary.

'And stressful, at a time when that's the last thing you need.'

Once we'd cleared the outstanding bill with the utility company,

I genuinely thought that would be the end of it.

Unfortunately, within a few months, we started getting new bills

from them which were quite significant.

They were estimating the energy usage of Dad's house and

sending through bills for hundreds of pounds, knowing the house was empty.

Even when we phoned them up, they again said, "We can't do

"anything about this, it's a computer system, it just happens,

"we can't stop it."

'So, what is the point in having bereavement teams

'who are there to deal specifically with situations just like Paul's,

'if their computer systems carry on regardless?'

In all, I probably spoke to about six different people at this

company over a period of days.

They all told me they couldn't do anything about it,

it was an automatic system, they couldn't switch it off.

I then spoke to someone on the last day of these conversations

and he just switched it off and apparently he could have

done it all along.

I was so stunned that we had several months of really

stressful problems with this company and actually

they could have switched off these final demands all along.

'In the end, Paul managed to complete probate

'on his father's estate

'and all the debts attached were cleared.

'But the way he had been dealt with left a bitter taste in his mouth.'

I think it's quite shocking that you have some companies

and organisations that deliver such amazing, high standard of customer

service during a bereavement and others that do the exact opposite.

It's actually quite shocking just how bad some customer service can be

when you've lost someone that you love.

'And I agree - you need all the support you can get

'during bereavement.

'So, here is some advice on how to deal with what is already

'a stressful situation.

'Start off by going through the deceased's papers

and financial statements.

'Make a comprehensive list of everything that is owned and owed.

'Check whether there is any insurance to pay off the debts.

'The deceased could have had a life insurance policy that could

'potentially clear the outstanding balances.

'And finally, dealing with unpaid debts

'attached to an estate is complicated,

'so get a specialist involved

'if you feel you do need the help.

'Having been through the process

'himself, Paul's got some advice.'

If you're dealing with the estate of a loved one, I think it's really

important that you, as a family, agree from the outset what's going to happen.

It saves so much time and stress,

if just as a family you're united

and you agree this is how we're going to handle this.

'Dave and Karen's battle to get the build finished on their

'12 grand conservatory seems to be moving the right direction.

'James Rowe, who used to run the now closed business,

'Hutton Conservatories, is honouring his contract with the couple

'and has promised me to get in an independent surveyor of his own.'

And he's totally independent from both sides as far as

you're concerned? You're not connected in any way at all to this surveyor?

'This is all positive but what isn't, is that over the last nine months,

'James refused to recognise Dave's own independent surveyor's findings.'

If James wanted to get his own surveyor in, we have no problems

whatsoever with that.

'But the independent surveyor hasn't materialised for nine months.

'Hopefully now they will.'

I'm about to meet Dave and Karen to have a little chat about

this whole scenario. Now, there's two sides to this coin

as far as I'm concerned.

Firstly, they certainly haven't received anything like what

they've paid for. That goes for service and quality.

On the other side of the coin, I think they could have done things a lot better themselves.

'Despite this case not being fully resolved yet, I still want to have

'a catch-up to discuss the rights and wrongs of the past nine months.

'Initially, did they do the right thing choosing which company

'they bought from?'

Now, I like the fact that you used recommendations,

because that is worth its weight in gold.

But...were all the people you spoke to happy with the conservatory

that they bought from Hutton's?

-Yeah. But...

-They were.

-..what we didn't know was Hutton had changed

ownership and we had bought off of a new Hutton.

-Trading under the same name that used to be there?

-Yes.

-So you weren't actually dealing with the same company, were you?

-No.

'That is interesting

'and as we already know, Hutton Conservatories is no more.

'But the couple bought into more than just the brand.'

How has James reacted to all this?

-Um...he hasn't really.

-Nothing at all. I wish he would.

I wish we could get it sorted. But...just...nothing.

We've tried contacting him on numerous occasions.

I think I've sent the best part of 100 e-mails to James.

'It doesn't smack of good customer service. But I also have bigger fish

'to fry as customers should also be looking out for themselves.'

I've had a look at the whole situation here now.

I hope you're not going to be offended by this,

but I think you've both been very daft.

Yeah, we've been fairly naive, I would say.

-This conservatory finished should be £12,300.

-Yeah.

How much money have you paid him so far?

Nearly 11,500. Well, the reason we paid is we went by how

the contract said.

You've paid him 11.5 grand. There's £800 left.

Why should he be bothered? Why should he bother coming back

for £800?

No. Yeah. We...I understand that now.

-Did you put any money at all down on a credit card?

-No.

Right...let me tell you something...

if you'd paid anything more than £100 on a credit card,

doesn't matter how you pay the balance, the full amount

would have been protected under the Consumer Credit Act.

He wouldn't accept a credit card.

OK, so he wouldn't take a credit card. If you'd financed the money,

again you're covered by the CCA, the Consumer Credit Act.

You would have had protection.

I didn't know that.

On top of that, this contract that you said you signed, it's obviously

weighed in favour of Hutton Conservatories and James Rowe.

Because you've ended up paying nearly all the money and what have

-you got at the moment? A dwarf wonky wall!

-Yeah, that's it.

You always make sure that staged payments are in your favour,

there's more work happening than what you're paying out for.

I'm going to keep trying and keep battling and see what I can do

for you. I'll keep you informed. Let's hope next time we meet,

-I've got good news for you.

-Yeah.

'I'm sorry if I was a little hard on Dave and Karen but it's

'important that we as consumers use every bit of protection available

'to us, and if you don't, situations just like this one can

'and do regularly occur.'

-Well, we know we made mistakes.

-And I think it's definitely opened

our eyes to what mistakes we've made. Dom's definitely the one,

I think, to get things sorted.

'Well, let's hope so.

'I travel back from the West Country and just under a week later,

'I get a message that James Rowe is trying to get hold of me.'

Oh, hi, James.

'He brings me up to speed from his end of things.

'He hasn't managed to get

'an independent surveyor to visit Dave's yet,

'but he has had his own surveyor look over Dave's original report.

'And potentially they're in agreement. Great. That means

'we could be getting somewhere.'

I've looked at the report, same as your guy has, it doesn't sound like

any of it's up to scratch. I think what you're saying

is definitely one of the options - completely raze it to the ground,

in fact, below the ground because the foundations might need redoing and redo it.

'This all sounds promising

'but if our two surveyors do agree a plan forward...'

They don't want the same builder redoing any work around their house.

'James reassures me that the subcontracted builders

'he used for Dave's build will never work for him again.'

It certainly sounds like we're starting to get somewhere now,

James, doesn't it? Bye-bye.

James Rowe's called me back and he seems...actually he seems

quite decent. He said, "Look, the work that's been done wasn't great,

"I realise that, that builder's never going to work for me again."

OK.

'James' and Dave's surveyors are going to confer and finally come up

'with a plan of works to put right what has obviously gone so wrong.

'It may have taken nine months but we've got there.

'And I'm going to pass on the good news to Dave and Karen.'

We're really, really pleased about it.

Yeah, make plans to get it finished and decorated and everything now.

Yeah.

Dom has acted as a mediator for it. Without it, we wouldn't have got

anywhere. Dom gets in, he really gets in and once he's got it in his teeth,

he won't let go. He's like a dog with a bone.

SHE LAUGHS

THEY LAUGH

'Hmm...I think that was a compliment, Dave.

'We asked James Rowe to comment on some of the issues raised

'and he told us...

'..when his contractors met with Mr Thomas's surveyor, they...

It's a big weight off of our shoulders.

'No worries, guys, it's what I'm here for.

'Just invite me around for Pimm's once the conservatory is up

'and we'll call it quits.'