10 year garentees and supliers going bust?

[Gazman16]

Hi guys

What are my garentee responsibilitys to my customers if my supplier has gone bust?
As a door and window company I give the usual 10 year garentee.

In this case a wood grain PVC door panel is cracking around the moldings but the company I got the panel from has gone bust so I cant get the replacement panel for free.
In this case as he is a good repeating customer Im going to bite the bullet and pay for a new panel myself but what if it was something really expensive like a conservatory where there was a problem with the products or manufacturing (discoloring etc).

What would you do if say your glass supplier went bust (they seem to be closing down all the time) then suddenly every unit you ever fitted broke down due to poor manufacturing? Would it be down to you to replace them all at your own cost leaving you with no option but to close your business?

 

[kbdiy]

If the client's contract was with you to supply and fit responsibility lies with you regardless. You chose the supplier so have to carry the can as in effect you have guaranteed their product. If they were in business then obviously you would try and back that off but if they've gone bust I don't see there's much you can do. Not saying it's fair but that's how it is.

 

[big-all]

you supply you are responsible thats what your markup is for
if you want to limit your liability you can put a clause in your txc that you will gtee for 3 years and after that the must rely on the manufacturer supplying the replacement for you to fix but you must state this prominently so they understand

you could also get them to buy the products direct but then you have no control over the quality or a markup to cover returns although iff they are properly fitted your contract ends there as they supplied

 

[rjm2k]

you could also get them to buy the products direct but then you have no control over the quality or a markup to cover returns although iff they are properly fitted your contract ends there as they supplied

trouble with that is many manufacturers won't deal with the public direct

isn't there business insurance for this kind of thing?

 

[God]

Offer insurance backed guarentee

 

[Gazman16]

Thanks guys sounds pretty much what I was expecting.

Might have to look into putting that 3 year thing into my contracts.
I try to use local suppliers as its easy to chase things up if there is ever a problem but in the last 2-3 years two of my glass suppliers have gone bust and 2 window suppliers. All the company's had been running for more than 10 years .

I just better hope that no big problems ever crop up with the goods I have fitted, and maybe advise customers that taking out the IBG's is a good idea just in case.

 

[crank39]

But the IBG only comes into play when you yourself have gone bust and there is physically no one else for the customer to claim from.

The insurer won't process any claim if the installer is still trading, why should they.

As an aside, im astonished that a rosewood door panel won't last 2 years, even the ones we've replaced have started to bow, buckle, warp and crack around the mouldings, its shocking and my supplier who uses Rocal panels has now said they won't guarantee any panel that goes into a south facing elevation even though Rocal now supply panels with a reflective outer skin

 

[Gazman16]

As a one man band if something really big like my examples above happened I would have no choice but to shut down the business and restart, TBH I think if something like all glass units breaking down prematurity happened to just about any company they would probably have to do it.

The situation on these door panels gets quite confusing. I actually did 2 identical doors for 2 flats side by side a few months apart for the same owner.
They are both cracking in the corners (nothing major you have to look close but its unsightly) When I fitted the 1st one I got doors and panels from my manufacturer but on the second one I sourced the panel separately from Eurocell. (both panels actually made by Vista panels and have a 10 year garentee).
The one I got from Eurocell has been replaced free of charge but as I don't have the invoice for the other one I'm having no luck, Vista panels seem to be ignoring my emails about it

Its a real shame about my suppliers shutting down, They were great local company's that went out of their way to do a good job, I'm now getting my windows from about 100 miles away and although its a bit cheaper they are a pain in the ass for communications and delivery's