Hi,

I hope this is in the right forum!

I had some double glazing installed six months ago and came downstairs last week to find a load of glass on the windowsill and one of the units in our bay window shattered. Here's a snap:



I had the people come out and have a look and they've sent me a quote for around £130 to get it replaced, but I would have assumed this would be under guarantee as the wording in the contract I signed with the company is as below:

"... WE GUARANTEE TO REPLACE OR REPAIR, FREE OF ALL CHARGES FOR LABOUR AND MATERIALS, ANY PRODUCT, INCLUDING ANY INSULATING GLASS UNIT WHICH DEVELOPS A FAULT (INCLUDING CONDENSATION BETWEEN THE GLASS OF THE UNITS) DUE TO DEFECTIVE MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP AS FOLLOWS:

iii) DOUBLE GLASED UNITS ONLY - FOR A PERIOD OF 5 YEARS FROM DATE OF INSTALLATION."

I spoke to the company this morning who informed me that cracked glazing isn't included under the guarantee because glass just does this from time to time and it isn't their problem.

Am I being un-reasonable in expecting this to be covered under the guarantee? ..under the words "defective materials"? Does glass do this all the time and is it their faullt?

If I'm not being un-reasonable please could someone help me out with the next steps, i.e. FENSA, GGF ?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice anyone can offer!

I would have thought that they were at fault. I guess you have to prove that either the materials or the workmanship was defective. Im not sure how they can argue that this happens from time-to-time, and if so why do they offer a guarantee?
My first step would be to contact them in writing stating that you believe that this is covered by their guarantee and that if they do not fix them, you will contact FENSA to ask for their advice. Keep a record of the letter and when you sent it.
There is a site called How To Complain (type that into google to find it) where you can get help with what to say. Hope this helps!