A dad whose wife is suffering from a terminal illness has been battling for FOUR YEARS to get their conservatory fixed.
When Stephen Stafford's wife Jen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, they realised they would need to turn the living room of their home in Great Park, Newcastle, into her bedroom. The couple, who are parents to Paige, 12, and Cohen, five, decided to get a conservatory built so they could use the extra space as a living room.
Stephen, 37, and Jen, 38, spent £22,023.10 to have a conservatory built by local home improvement company Pennine. Stephen claims they were mis-sold by the Benton -based company and have had nothing but issues with the structure for the last four years.
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Stephen, who works as an investigator for Durham Constabulary, said : "We had no choice but to go for something like this to make sure Jen had somewhere to have as a bedroom, a place she could call her own, as her disease progresses. It's absolutely devastating. These last four years have gone from being stressful to being horrendous."
The dad-of-two said that, before signing up for the build, he explained to Pennine about Jen's condition and highlighted his concerns about the conservatory being too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. He said Pennine gave him a demonstration and reassured him that that wouldn't be the case.
However, after the conservatory was built in May 2018, Stephen said his fears turned into reality. He said the conservatory was too uncomfortable for Jen, who is currently in hospital, to sit in as it was either too hot or too cold.
Stephen claims he complained to Pennine and they offered to fit a solid roof for another £15,000, which they could not afford. He said they offered him a second option of replacing the glass in the roof with a higher quality glass for another £3,883. Stephen said he felt he had no other choice but to replace the glass in March 2020.
He said: "At that point I felt that we had no other option. We were completely priced out of any prospect of getting a different roof put on. We were trapped as Jen couldn't use it. It wasn't suitable so, in the end, we had to try and do something to reduce the heat coming in so we went with it. We have seen no change whatsoever, it's made no difference."
Stephen said that since the conservatory was completed, he has had nothing but issues with the work, some of which has still not been fixed. He said other issues which he has faced include:
The builders didn't turn up on the first day and it took a week for the company to get a team to build his conservatory.
Nine of the windows were scratched when he first had the conservatory built and they needed to be replaced.
A worker turned up to fix their skirting boards but he left his equipment at another job. He cut the skirting board by hand and there were gaps in the corners.
When the glass in the roof was replaced, the guttering was damaged and two of the panes of glass were scratched. The sealing was smeared, the trim around the windows was cracking and peeling away from the structure and there were cracks appearing on some of the plaster.
On two occasions workers have turned up to replace the two panes of glass in the roof but the glass was the incorrect colour.
Stephen, who is currently visiting Jen in hospital four times a week, said : "We're going through a difficult time as it is. I'm sick of it. The last thing I need is continuing to have to phone and email people to resolve issues with a project they provided for a lot of money."
Stephen said one of the reasons they chose Pennine was because they offered a 20-year guarantee. He said that four years on the conservatory has still not been completed.
Stephen claims he has been left without communication for months at a time and has had to chase the manager and the company countless times over the years. He said that he has spoken to four different managers, three of which have told him they would sort out the issues but have then left the company, leaving him to explain everything again to the next manager.
He said: "We have had no less than four managers out to the address to go through the issues. All of them have said the same things. they they are going to make sure that this was a priority. They all just end up leaving the company one after another."
Stephen was sent an email from one of the previous managers which said that Pennine would install a heater/cooler system as a goodwill gesture. He claims he is now being told by the company that that offer doesn't apply anymore.
Stephen says he is now being offered £1,000 to fit his own heater/cooler system, which he has not accepted. He said that he has been quoted more than £2,000 for the system and the £1,000 will not cover the cost.
Stephen is expecting workers to return to fix the remaining issues on Wednesday. However nothing has been agreed in relation to the heater / cooler system as he hasn't accepted the offer.
He said: "The conservatory is just not suitable for our needs. We relied on them to provide us with something they told us would be fit for purpose. The quality of the work they did when they replaced the glass was horrible.
"To go through all of this, for the length of time that we have, it's unforgivable. I honestly don't know how they are still trading. They are prioritising new business rather than working with existing customers and it shouldn't be allowed to happen."
Jen worked as a laboratory analyst before being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in September 2017. He disease has now progressed to the point where she is unable to leave her bed.
The mum-of-two said: "I absolutely hate the build. We were promised a dream and left with a nightmare. The way we have been treated by Pennine Home 'Improvements' is disgusting. I've lost count of how many people Stephen has dealt with to get the issues resolved. If I could have it demolished and start again I would, and it wouldn’t be with Pennine.
"We have had enough to deal with over these past five years, this should have been something to look forward to. I take the blame for all of this. If I wasn't ill we wouldn't have needed the work doing. I feel like all the stress of this has increased the speed of the disease. I am completely bedbound now."
A Pennine spokesperson said: "Mr Stafford has had market-leading glass installed in their conservatory that reflects 83% of solar heat. This means that the conservatory would be cooler in the day time; however, 27% of that heat still enters the conservatory. At night time, the glass would reflect heat produced internally from a heat source like a wood burner making the conservatory warmer in winter months.
"However, at the height of summer, as temperatures can reach extreme hights, it should be noted that the conservatory still has normal glass surrounding the frame which will allow in solar heat and the conservatory will still require ventilating as any normal room would.
"As Mr Stafford remains unhappy with the product (although there are no failings with the product), and in appreciation of his personal circumstances, we have offered Mr Stafford £1,000 towards the cost of a heater or cooler system in which we will deduct from the remaining balance from his account that is outstanding from the installation of the new glass. This offer has been rejected.
"Pennine has experienced many challenges that have delayed us in attending to Mr Stafford’s reported issues with other parts of the product, in which we have apologised for and thanked him for his continued patience whilst we organised the repairs under the 20-year guarantee.
"Pennine’s reputation is built on delivering the best possible products and customer service, and we have been working hard behind the scenes to minimise any disruption to the service we deliver. However, we are still experiencing effects from the COVID-19 pandemic which brought several unforeseen challenges, such as, a large number of delays to appointments due to the lockdown, supply chain issues from our suppliers, reduction in resource/recruitment difficulties, to name but a few.
"Nevertheless, we can be confident now that these have been overcome and customers have seen a marked improvement in the service they receive from us – Mr Stafford included."
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