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Hello all.

 

We came across CAG through Google searches about Everest and their cowboy antics,

as we have suffered pretty badly at their hands over the past 3 years or so

and thought you may be interested in our experience of Everest.

 

They were so bad that we ended up creating a website detailing everything that has happened to us,

but in a nutshell we experienced heavy leaks (one was like someone pouring a cup of water down the inside of the window),

and water pooling near electrical outlets.

 

If that wasn't bad enough, 2 glass roof panels (the inside sheet on each) separately crashed down on us,

narrowly missing me as I leapt out the way.

 

 

Everest refused or were utterly unable to put matters right and

after the second panel collapse we were advised by our lawyer to get a replacement roof fitted for our safety's sake.

 

This (and damaged items in the roof collapses) cost us £8k but

 

 

Everest were unwilling to pay for it, and can not be sued due to the clever way they construct their "company" in Jersey (where we live).

 

 

Even a lawyer we employed couldn't find a way to sue them to recover the costs.

 

 

Needless to say, their support was non-existent throughout and sadly our so-called "Trading Standards" department don't want to know,

claiming their remit is "Weights and Measures" (is this normal in Trading Standards on the UK mainland?).

 

Having tried every avenue possible, we have now resorted to putting a large sign on our house

advertising our website which has much more info

- if you are interested please PM/email me and I can send the link to you. It makes for some pretty damning reading.

 

Thanks for reading, any advice would be most welcome.

 

 

I am off to post some helpful info (I hope) in the computer section as I am a self-employed IT Consultant by trade!

 

Tim Clayton.

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Hi F16, many thanks for the warm welcome.

 

Unfortunately we paid by cheque to "Everest", which I am guessing they then sent to their HQ in Potters Bar

and cashed as Everest UK or whatever their main UK trading name is.

 

 

They don't even have an office here, just a "lockup" so no opportunity to pay by Debit/Credit Card sadly.

 

 

We were fooled into using them because of the name/adverts etc.,

thinking we were getting a superior product and service,

we didn't think lack of office/showroom was an issue.

 

 

How wrong we were on all counts, it has been a truly horrible experience.

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They are FENSA registered. Have you reported this to them ?

I don't understand why you can't sue them.

The construction is not fit for purpose it the glass is falling out of the roof !!!

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Yes I have, but FENSA tell me:

 

"Unfortunately we are unable to assist you as FENSA dealings only with replacement double glazed windows/doors

within the original footprint of the property therefore if it is a Conservatory query

then we would recommend that contact your local trading standards,

Everest is also a member of The Glass and Glazing Federation who may be able to assist you."

 

It turns out that FENSA is a subgroup of the GGF,

I contacted the GGF which led to an "Alan Barnard" at the GGF saying that he would pass my email onto Everest.

But no reply has been forthcoming from Everest and

 

 

when I asked what action he and the GGF would take (Everest are definitely a member), he said:

 

"Tim, we are not going to get drawn into a debate about what action we could take against Everest."

 

Terrific.

So it seems to me that the GGF exist solely for their members and to try to promote them,

rather than any consumer assistance at all.

 

 

Not the impression you get if you visit their site, although reading between the lines even on their front page,

you can start to see the bias appear.

 

 

Too much of:

 

“The GGF exists to promote its members”

 

Rather than:

 

“industry best practice and helps set the highest technical standards in Glass.”

 

Or

 

“Anyone choosing a GGF member company will benefit from the GGF’s strict vetting process of all its members

and its insistence that all members work to the highest technical specifications in compliance with building regulations.

 

 

Homeowners can rest assured that by choosing a GGF Member Company they will get high quality products,

service and workmanship and value for money.”

 

How on earth can they be working to building regulations when glass ceiling panels crash down?

Never mind the "high quality products, service and workmanship and value for money"!

 

With regards to the suing side of things,

they have set themselves up in a lockup and a sign outside that just says "Everest".

No trading name, no Limited Company name, nothing.

 

 

This is quite possibly a local Jersey thing, but they are definitely linked to the UK Everest people

- for example the rent for their premises is paid by Everest UK.

 

It is like the twilight zone, we can't quite believe it is happening in this day and age to be honest.

 

Appreciate all the input F16, thanks for pushing ideas our way.

We have been down an awful lot of blind alleys with these people, but any and all advice is welcome.

 

Thanks,

Tim.

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If WHICH are involved, it might be worth getting in touch with them as well.

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If WHICH are involved, it might be worth getting in touch with them as well.

 

Hi citizenB.

 

I have emailed Which? and hope they will come back to me in some capacity, although I am not a member and would quite understand if they weren't prioritising non-members. They do seem to have decent ethics though so maybe someone there will see the mail. As rebel11 mentions, I will try Twitter and Facebook with them too.

 

Thanks for the help,

Tim.

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Keep us posted on what's happening, it's outrageous they carry out poor work and you potentially have no recourse through the county court.

 

Also Everest carries the Government Endorsed Standards Trust Mark, as registered through the GGF, they have other accreditations, tell Everest to remove them form their website or you will lodge a complaint with the ASA for false advertising as in your case they didn't meet those requirements at all.

 

http://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers.aspx

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I certainly will post updates.

I honestly can't believe that since the sign went up on Monday lunchtime (6 days ago),

Everest have not even been in touch in any capacity.

Their lockup is about 200 yards from us and their 2 vans drive past us every day, so they must have seen it!

 

I was honestly shocked to have no support in Jersey at all,

quirky place though it can sometimes be with this sort of thing.

 

 

The Trading Standards are only, by their own admission, "Weights & Measures", so as their guy said,

if you get a short measure in a pub, they are interested.

 

 

But they can't (or won't) deal with this sort of thing.

And since Everest here don't have a proper trading name of any kind,

you can't go to the Petty Debts Court

(I guess the equivalent of the County Court?

 

 

It deals with all issues under £10k) because you can't find a name to sue them under!

 

Not only do Everest need sorting out here, but for my money, so do Trading Standards and/or business licensing etc.

It doesn't seem right that a "business" should be able to trade this way and avoid the courts through a dodgy set up.

 

Unfortunately for them, I won't be giving up any time soon.

 

Tim.

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Hi Tim

 

I think you've started the ball rolling, get the local press involved, national press, write to Watchdog, hit their Twitter, Facebook accounts with feedback.

 

Hi rebel11,

We were top story on our local ITV station on Wednesday evening (they saw the sign as they were driving past our house and dropped in to find out more, within 48 hours they featured us, very impressed with them). We also made another online newspaper, but our only major print newspaper failed to act despite taking photos and doing an interview - we suspect they have advertising revenue with them, they have a reputation for doing this sadly.

 

Good advice on the Twitter/Facebook side of things (I am a luddite when it comes to those two and never really use them) but I did set up a Facebook page and did get some likes etc. I will definitely pursue those two.

 

I have emailed Watchdog, Which? and the Double Glazing Ombudsman that the Guardian article mentioned, but no response from any of them as yet. I know Watchdog covered Everest cowboy work a couple of years ago, so seems they would be ripe for a return, especially with the danger to health/life involved here.

 

I will also try the national press too, see if anyone wants to run something on this.

 

Again, thanks very much for all your advice and support, it is much appreciated. It can feel a lonely struggle fighting these people at times.

 

Tim.

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Tim,

Are the fitters employees of Everest, or Sub contractors ?

Who "measured" up the job ?

 

Glad to see "Your shakin' the tree" to see what falls out ..... Keep going :wink:

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Well it's REALLY murky to be honest, the lockup is unmanned during the day, so no office staff of any kind.

They seem to have a group of 5 or so "Sales Consultants", one of whom was the bloke who sold us the conservatory in the first place.

 

 

Then they have 3 blokes in 2 vans, who are the fitters (or should I say bodgers).

The sign outside their lockup is the Everest sign, but as I mentioned, no company name listed of any kind.

The sign just says "Everest" in their blue font, then some spiel below it, "Homes Improved" etc.

 

Mark Heslop was the guy who measured up and sold it

- he is listed in one of their local ads as one of the Sales Consultants.

 

 

He seems to be well-known (not in a good way) locally the more this has come out and the more conservatory people I speak to.

 

 

He may well be known in the north of England, as his accent is Lancashire/Yorkshire area

but I imagine he has been resident in Jersey quite some time.

 

 

He is also the one who brought round the contract for us to sign

- the contract with just the word "Everest" as the company name, a company that doesn't exist here.

 

Maybe he is the one we should be trying to sue, but he didn't fit the conservatory, the "Everest" people did.

 

Thanks again f16.

 

Tim.

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Well the sign we put up seems to have woken Everest up.

Obviously they didn't contact us (that would have been to obvious) but their lawyer did.

 

He seemed pretty sleazy though, leaving phone messages initially with just his name,

not his law firm nor did he mention Everest, so I put his calls down as a PPI salesman or crank to be honest!

 

However via an Alan Barnard at the GGF (another bunch of cowboys quite honestly, no desire to take action against one of their members - "Tim,

we are not going to get drawn into a debate about what action we could take against Everest."

- seems the GGF and FENSA exist to serve their members only in promoting them etc.),

he recommended we get in touch with this Michael Lane lawyer.

 

 

I stated that in the interests of keeping a copy of all that is said, we would not be willing to phone,

but that he was more than welcome to get Mr Lane to email or write to us.

 

We have emailed back and forth a few times, during which time I think they have now realised that they don't have a leg to stand on

- it has been quite pitiful to see his attempts at shooting us down.

 

We think they are on the verge of settling the debt

(obviously no excess compensation for the 3 year nightmare and emails/phone calls and all the documenting,

waiting in for them when they didn't turn up etc. etc.)

but they want us to sign some sort of NDA.

 

I asked him to send it to us first so that we could read it, and that's where we are right now.

We won't sign anything that prejudices us, for sure.

 

We also ran into a couple who saw the sign outside our house - they successfully sued Everest in the local high court.

 

 

She is a legal secretary and has offered her advice and experience,

so if we do end up gong to court, we should be able to do well thanks to her assistance.

 

 

Isn't it great to meet people who are willing to help, who have been there and got the t-shirt.

They have the company name we need to sue too so we can go to court with that!

Something good can always come out of a bad thing :).

 

So, although we are not there yet, everything is looking hopeful,

but we aren't taking our foot off their throat until they have paid in full with no strings attached.

The main message is: activism works.

 

I will report back once we have a resolution of one sort or another, maybe it will help others.

Edited by timcclayton
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  • 3 months later...
We have been asked by Everest to remove all content on this thread - is there a way to do this please?

 

 

You will need to give the full reasons for your request and we will consider them before making a decision.

 

We do not normally remove threads.

 

You can e-mail me at

 

[email protected] (no spaces)

 

Thanks

 

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Apologies for being so secretive, but we are only allowed to say that "the dispute has been resolved".

 

We had quite a few very nice glasses of bubbly last night!

 

Thanks again to all of you for all the assistance and interest :)

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Great, glad you got a result.

I would hope this will encourage others who have a had a similar problem.

The fact that they have settled and you are happy would go somewhere to help their reputation?

so don't see why they would want to hide that fact.

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