Door locks - do I have a case?
Discussion
Hi folks
Would really appreciate some advice on the following:
June 21st 2021 I was forced to change the front door lock on my home at short notice. The engineer came from Able Group and charged me £165 for the job. It seemed a bit toppy at the time, but I needed it doing urgently so paid without question.
About 3 months ago the lock started to play up. Essentially it would undo all the deadbolt bits of the door, but when it came to the final spring latch it would just spin past it, almost as if it was slipping off the 'cam'.
I changed to a new key and the problem appeared to go away, but it came back a few weeks later, ditto with a third key a few weeks after that.
I've been away on business and got back over the weekend and at this point not even a new key would open the door, so this morning, first thing, I called Able.
They said that the fault might be with the door mechanism itself, but that the lock unit was 6 days out of warranty . I protested the latter comment, and they agreed to send an engineer today to take a look. They told me that the cost would be £130 for the lock, plus more for the door mechanism. I said that I needed the door fixing, but that I objected to paying for a lock. If it was a door fault then I'd happily cough up.
I was advised to e mail the management which I decided to do once the facts were known.
The engineer came this afternoon and basically the door is fine, it's the lock that is faulty. So the lock was replaced. He gave me a piece of paper and went on his way. The company then called me for payment and I informed them that I was in the process of writing to the management, as had been suggested to me. I sent the management a note (pleasant) together with a short video that clearly shows the faulty lock operation.
I respectfully asked for them to make the replacement FOC (I also pointed out that the engineer had written on the form "no fault found with lock, when this was so blatantly untrue)
Anyway, the company is saying no deal, and wants payment cos I am 6 days out of warranty. Am I barking up the wrong tree in thinking this is absolutely unacceptable?
Would really appreciate some advice on the following:
June 21st 2021 I was forced to change the front door lock on my home at short notice. The engineer came from Able Group and charged me £165 for the job. It seemed a bit toppy at the time, but I needed it doing urgently so paid without question.
About 3 months ago the lock started to play up. Essentially it would undo all the deadbolt bits of the door, but when it came to the final spring latch it would just spin past it, almost as if it was slipping off the 'cam'.
I changed to a new key and the problem appeared to go away, but it came back a few weeks later, ditto with a third key a few weeks after that.
I've been away on business and got back over the weekend and at this point not even a new key would open the door, so this morning, first thing, I called Able.
They said that the fault might be with the door mechanism itself, but that the lock unit was 6 days out of warranty . I protested the latter comment, and they agreed to send an engineer today to take a look. They told me that the cost would be £130 for the lock, plus more for the door mechanism. I said that I needed the door fixing, but that I objected to paying for a lock. If it was a door fault then I'd happily cough up.
I was advised to e mail the management which I decided to do once the facts were known.
The engineer came this afternoon and basically the door is fine, it's the lock that is faulty. So the lock was replaced. He gave me a piece of paper and went on his way. The company then called me for payment and I informed them that I was in the process of writing to the management, as had been suggested to me. I sent the management a note (pleasant) together with a short video that clearly shows the faulty lock operation.
I respectfully asked for them to make the replacement FOC (I also pointed out that the engineer had written on the form "no fault found with lock, when this was so blatantly untrue)
Anyway, the company is saying no deal, and wants payment cos I am 6 days out of warranty. Am I barking up the wrong tree in thinking this is absolutely unacceptable?
No ideas for a name said:
I have to ask, was it just the euro cylinder they chnaged for £165?
Yes, the original unit came with the (German made) front door, but keys were lost and I needed an urgent replacement.They told me that the new lock would be vastly superior to the old one…. It wasn’t!
kiethton said:
I would politely decline their request for payment and factually state your reasons for doing so. (you kept the faulty parts, initial invoice and can evidence the replacement keys to try and fix the problem right?)
Given the relatively low balance of probability of winning and the low amount they won't be issuing a small claims action, even then you could always come to an agreement afterwards if they did.
I have kept everything…. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Given the relatively low balance of probability of winning and the low amount they won't be issuing a small claims action, even then you could always come to an agreement afterwards if they did.
Thank you to everyone.
Well, things have progressed this morning! Apparently, according to the company, locks made of steel and brass should be considered 'perishable items', (their words) and so I should pay again (albeit with a bit of a discount)
I have politely refused and invited them to come and collect their product asap.
Interestingly when they fitted the (now broken) lock 12 months ago they told me that the lock represented a significant upgrade on what I had in place already (despite not even having seen the original lock at that point - a CES item that looks very well engineered) . For £165 I was going to get the ultimate in security.
Now that I have their (broken) lock in my hand I have checked out the make and model number on line - as you might have already guessed it's a cheap as chips (£16) item. (Versa AP12A). I feel that they misrepresented their product!
Well, things have progressed this morning! Apparently, according to the company, locks made of steel and brass should be considered 'perishable items', (their words) and so I should pay again (albeit with a bit of a discount)
I have politely refused and invited them to come and collect their product asap.
Interestingly when they fitted the (now broken) lock 12 months ago they told me that the lock represented a significant upgrade on what I had in place already (despite not even having seen the original lock at that point - a CES item that looks very well engineered) . For £165 I was going to get the ultimate in security.
Now that I have their (broken) lock in my hand I have checked out the make and model number on line - as you might have already guessed it's a cheap as chips (£16) item. (Versa AP12A). I feel that they misrepresented their product!
Edited by andymadmak on Tuesday 28th June 13:34
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