Jump to content

JustInterested

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    79
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

61 Excellent
  1. Oh yes, they'll "help" alright. But they'll also charge through the nose for it. I've just got to hope that my parents can find the paperwork and that it's less than ten years ago the installation was carried out.
  2. It's only affecting one window of the two they installed but the other window is half the width of the one with problems so it isn't having to bear the same load. As I said though there are other houses around with the exact same problem purely because the installers have not installed the necessary lintel. The plastic windows just aren't up to the job structurally of acting as a lintel.
  3. Thanks for the replies and info. @Andy, that's good info i can use and probably quote to Safestyle to hopefully remind them of their obligations regarding lintels when they replace windows. @ Mr.P, it's annoying isn't it that just because somebody sets up a company they and their employees are assumed to be competent. I doubt many of their employees would know a lintel if it hit them on the head! In general though, taking as fact that there is no lintel and one should have been installed by the window people, what do you think should be our first step? Approach Safestyle directly or maybe get my parents' insurers involved? Or something else?
  4. Notwithstanding what's been said above i can assure you that the old wooden framed window acted as the lintel for the outer brickwork (the inner blockwork has it's own concrete lintel) and its removal is the reason for the collapse of the brickwork above the (now structurally inferior) plastic window. Some of the other houses in the vicinity have exactly the same problem - though I don't know who installed those. I'm sure my parents have buildings insurance so we could go that route but surely there is a clear cut case of installer negligence and so shouldn't we in some way be looking for restitution from them? Certainly I'll try to get my parents to dig out the original contract as that will be key but given their age I'm not holding out any hope of actually finding it. As far as building regs etc. goes, i must admit I was thinking of when I installed my own when it was mandatory to have the local council building inspector out to sign the installation off. So FENSA sidesteps that requirement for window installation companies then? I should also add that it may be that Safestyle did the installation in good faith, believing their plastic frame was up to the job of replacing a wooden window frame designed for the job. But i have my doubts.
  5. My old parents who are clueless about all things regarding building works (like most people in general I suppose) had some plastic (uPVC) windows installed some ten years ago now. About six months ago they noticed diagonal cracks appearing in the brickwork above the windows and obvious sagging in the plastic window frame. It turns out the window installers (Safestyle UK) didn't install a lintel when they replaced the sturdy, wooden original windows with their plastic windows. The original wooden window frame acted as the lintel. So, given the time that's passed but knowing it is the fault of the installers for not installing a lintel when the windows were installed, what's their best course of action to get things repaired? Also, a secondary related question, is there any legal requirement for the window installers to apply to the council for the windows to be inspected after installation or, at the very least, to inform the home owners that inspection is required under building regs? Or is this the responsibility of the home owners to arrange?
  6. Yes, but surely they must replace like for like while it's still in warranty? Otherwise, comparing the headset model I have to the model they're offering as a replacement, it'd be equivalent to me buying a car which develops a fault and they offer to replace it with a motorbike! The centre channel is intermittent on one side. This headset is known for dodgy drivers so it'd need a replacement driver which apparently they don't have. Hence the offer of a (substantially inferior and functionally different) replacement headset.
  7. I have a surround-sound headset which has developed a fault and apparently the headset has been out of production for some time so the manufacturer has offered an alternative headset as replacement. I wasn't given the option of repair (their warranty covers replacement or repair). So this is where it gets annoying/silly. The headset is proper surround-sound with a microphone and a high quality desktop volume control. The replacement they suggested is a stereo headset, without microphone and no volume control! They don't make a surround headset any more so can't offer like for like or better - which I believe would be required under UK law. It was bought in Maplins but now I'm dealing with people in China so have no idea where I stand here. I don't want to RMA it and send it off to them (as they are suggesting) only to be told when they have it that they'll replace it but not like for like. I've tried to get them to commit to naming the replacement they will send me having said I would not accept their suggested replacement but they don't seem to want to commit, which is worrying. The headset is just over a year old on a two year warranty. Can anyone suggest what I should do, and should I in fact be dealing with Maplin as the retailer rather than the manufacturer? Thanks for any help.
  8. This is the way it is I'm afraid Coyote00. The headline is that benefits have been capped for another year I think at 1% rise. But really we are also having to handle this year on year increase in the amount we have to pay towards the council tax which is reducing that paltry weekly sum we now get. And the direction is clear, the amount we will have to pay is going to increase each year until we're paying the full council tax with no rise in JSA to account for it!
  9. http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2014/11/04/the-personal-tax-statement-george-osborne-doesnt-want-you-to-see/
  10. Here's an accurate breakdown of the 'welfare. [ATTACH=CONFIG]54144[/ATTACH]'
  11. The point I was trying to make though is that at the moment, because of the deal I made with Sky when I signed up, I pay nothing for my land line and broadband. If there is a mess-up at the switchover time, which I've arranged to be the day my sky contract ends, and it gets delayed Sky will start billing me at their full prices until it's sorted out. I take exception to that and wanted them to completely close my account as It comes to the end of the contract to avoid it. I don't mind that there would be no service until plusnet get their act together. They're saying that to close my contract when it comes to the end of its 12 month term I would have to give 14 day's notice, they would then close it and I'd only then be able to apply to another ISP for a land line and broadband connection. It seems crazy to me that they can lock me into their service in this way.
  12. I'm moving to plusnet from Sky I phoned Sky to see if I needed to give notice and to tell them to stop my services (broadband and land line) on my contract end date. But they claim they can't do this because I'm switching to a new ISP. My concern is that I don't want to be paying for the Sky line rental and broadband until my service gets switched if anything goes wrong with the switchover date. ..I actually wanted them to stop my services completely but they say no can do. I can't quite get my head around not being allowed to come out of my contract and stop the services at the contract's end date. Does this sound normal or are they feeding me a line?
  13. Don't confuse a Universal Credit Claimant Commitment with a JSA Claimant Commitment. The UC CC is only introduced where Universal Credit is operating and that's a tiny amount of the Jobcentres at the moment and a tiny amount of people in those Jobcentres - about 140,000 in total just now. The JSA CC is being imposed on all new claimants and returners from the Work programme but the idea is that eventually all claimants will be on a JSA CC (if they're not in a UC area). The problem is that the DWP wants claimants to believe that the JSA CC is the same, in legal terms, as a UC CC and it most definitely is not. The JSA CC is just an old style Jobseeker's agreement written in a different way and it's important to know that because there have been many cases of advisers trying to enforce conditions, such as 35 hour job searches, on JSA claimants where they can only be imposed legally on UC claimants. It's a deliberate attempt to subvert your rights...don't be fooled by it or them! P.S. There's even doubt as to whether old style JSA claimants (those whose claim has run continuously from March 2013) even have to accept a JSA CC at all, but that's another story.
  14. Yes that's right. And as there's no drawback to using up all the 14 days make sure you do. No doctor's note is required. Anything over 14 days and you have to apply for ESA and you need to leave at least one day between your two 14 day periods. Use it or lose it.
  15. Help to Work guidelines: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/201658/response/517413/attach/html/3/HtW%20guidance%20v1%204%202014%2004%2024.pdf.html
×
×
  • Create New...