Raw Deal: Weatherseal see the way clear to giving Andrew his windows

TO prepare for the arrival of his new baby, Andrew Cameron decided to renovate his spare bedroom.

The windows had seen better days. There was a hole in one of the frames and, with winter just around the corner, it seemed a good idea to have them replaced with double glazing.

Last August, Andrew, from Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway, contacted home improvements specialists Weatherseal and hoped to have three new windows installed within weeks at a cost of £3,215.

But Andrew’s baby daughter Jessica is now eight months old – and still the windows haven’t been done.

“I went with Weatherseal as the finance they offered was very flexible and at the time I didn’t have the amount in full to pay for an order as my wife was on maternity leave,” he said.

“But the most important reason was that they promised installation within a month.”

However, a few weeks later, area sales manager Andrew, 34, received a letter saying Weatherseal was applying for planning permission for the job, and the process could take up to three months.

“I contacted them and said I didn’t need planning permission as I had the house pre-assessed when the other windows went in and the council had agreed, as they weren’t visible from the street, that there was no need for permission.”

Then followed several months of to-ing and fro-ing with Weatherseal and some frustrating attempts to get an answer about what was happening with his windows.

Andrew said one of the company’s customer care team eventually told him the order had been cancelled.

“The guy said they would not be able to do the windows and the order was ‘dead’.”

In March, Andrew discovered Weatherseal had applied for planning permission for the windows.

The company also got back in touch to say the order should never have been cancelled, that the windows had been manufactured in October and that Andrew was locked into a legal contract.

In frustration Andrew contacted Raw Deal. We got in touch with Weatherseal on his behalf.

As a result, the company wrote to Andrew agreeing to install the three windows for £2000 – almost 40% less than originally quoted – and a date is being arranged for the work to be completed in the next few weeks.

“My heating bill had gone up by £40 a month over the winter to heat my daughter’s room because the windows weren’t good,” Andrew said.

“I really want to thank Raw Deal for bringing this saga to a conclusion and also saving me a significant amount of money.”