Update (or lack of) on 24 April 2003
" Follow up: It now 24th April,2003 and still no response from the Company No date yet given to commence the work" Dave Ashley

update on 6 May 2003
"I have now been contacted by the firm to say they may be able to start 12th or 19th May but cannot confirm yet". Dave Ashley

update on 27 May 2003
"Workmen attended 19th May dug out old drive and in doing damaged neighbours drive.Hard core did not arrive had to return 20th May to complete this part of the work.Could not give date for next stage to be done.Have been contacted today 27th to say that they hope to do second stage starting lunchtime on Thursday 29/05/2003.The firm have now decided they cannot accept next stage payment by debit card although previous payments I have made by card.They are still not prepared to tell me when the full job will be completed,This firm is a nightmare to deal with" Dave

update on 9 June 2003
"Hurrah!!Today Monday 9th June 2003 they attended for the last time to seal the drive It was laid 29/05/03 when true to form the ready mix lorry arrived and the workman were not on site but it was sorted the same day.Finished product is good workman are good but the customer care is non existant seven months to complete a job I don't think so" Dave Ashley

TO THE EDITOR - 12 June 03
"The company has been on the phone claiming that they never got a right of reply to my complaint" Dave Ashley

Editor Comment:
same Copy of Right of Reply email sent in March now re-issued and also copied to Mr Ashley

Could Mr Burrows please contact me on my e-mail adress as it looks as if I am going to have to take similar action against this company
Terry Akehurst ... 18 January 2004
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Could Mr Burrows and Mr Akehurst please contact me on my e-mail address as I too am intending to take T&C to court to get my money back. I signed my contract in Aug 2002, the driveway is still not completed. To say that the work completed to date is poor would be a compliment.
Pamela L Campbell ... 11 June 2004
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Town & Country Installations are a total disgrace and we would advise ANYONRE thinking of using them just to leave before it is too late.
Read Details ...
Mr N J Anderson & Mrs B S Anderson ... 20 June 2004
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Having just read the judgement which was granted in favour of Mr Burrows, I am delighted that he got justice at last. Please could he confirm whether Town & Country Installations have actually paid him now? The way in which they are often failing to answer the phone during office hours makes me wonder whether they are about to go bust again.
Mrs B S Anderson ... 20 June 2004
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I am currently in dispute with this company regarding the flexible agreement. I may have to pursue a similar course of action as Mr. Colin Burrows. Any person who has had similar problems is invited to contact me on this e mail address. Martyn Jones ... 20 June 2004
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Please contact consumers with similar issues on
the Sounding Board

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This is without doubt the worse company i have ever had to deal with. They quoted me 4-6 weeks to lay a 6 meter by 6 meter drive and build a garden wall. Almost 6 months later the job is still not finished. On several occasions they have made significant mistakes in the build stage. On several occasion they have failed to abide to the terms we had agreed at the sales stage...this is despite the written terms both sides had agreed. The first wall they built had to be knocked down...it was declared unsafe. the second wall has been built but to the wrong dimensions...it now means that our new Iron Railings no longer fit.Customer service is non existent. Phone calls and letters largely remain unanswered. We are now at the stage of pursuing this firm via the courts... Ms MO (MD)considers her firm to have "good customer service". How wrong she is. Jerome Williams ... 21 June 2004
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My neighbours and I are looking at T & C as a potential contractor to lay our driveways and a small portion of private road. Is there more than one complaint against them or is this the only one? I'm inherently nervous about dealing with a company in a very competitive market that provides such apparently lamentable customer service.
David Thacker ... 24 June 2003

Editor's Note: This is the only story we have on record, so it may very well be a one off.
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With reference to the last entry, two points I can add to assist, firstly do not sign the for the discount for a flexible date for installation that is where I went wrong and secondly all the workman state that where ever they go customers complain to them about the admin side of the firm. Final word, the finished product appears to be good several neighbours have commented on its appearance. Dave Ashley... 26 June 2003
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Mr Colin Burrows:
This is certainly not a one off. I am currently taking this company to court over poor quality work that they did for me and I know of at least one other case as their solicitors sent details of my contract to another of their customers who is in dispute with Town and Country Installations Ltd.

You should also contact their home Trading Standards (Wrexham Trading Standards) who have told me that they have receieved a number of complaints about this company.

The work that they did for me was poor quality. The driveway looks awful, with white patches and uneven colouring where not enough release agent was removed. The sealer is peeling off in places and a 'circular' planter feature is shaped like a squashed 50 pence piece. It is also cracking less than a year after it was installed.

Their customer service was non-existant. Several times they promised to do things to address the poor quality of the work they had done to date, but they never did anything. Instead their workmen arrived unannouced on several occasions to do further work, some times when we were not in, and once after I had told them not to come.

After the job was finished they were totally unresponsive to my complaints about its poor quality, until I took them to court.

Their work is also overpriced, as their price was higher than any quote I had received since to have the work redone. You should be able to find a better price fom another installer, who will probably do a better job as well. Town and Country Installations also initially tried to get me to pay almost twice the price they eventually offered as a 'promotional offer'. Do not fall for this, the price should be approximately £70 per square metre, or less for larger installations.

I would not do business with this company and would not recommend them to anyone.

You may also be interested to know that the brochure they sent me as 'their latest brochure' was in fact the brochure of another company, Town and Country Driveways plc which went into administratioon shortly before Town and Country Installations was formed. The brochure makes a number of false claims when related to Town and Country Installations Ltd. (not least of which is that they are a plc, which they are not). None of the pictures in the brochure can be of installations by Town and Country Installations Ltd. as this company was not formed when the brochure was produced. Indeecd I have seen some of the pictures in the brochure, and used by Town and Country Installations Ltd. in their press advertising, on other companies web sites.

You may also like to know that a number of other companies in the patterned concrete business are registered at the same address as Town and Country Installations Ltd.

These are Border Paving Ltd., Town and Country Driveways Ltd., (also created after, and not to be confused with Town and Country Driveways plc, which was the company that has gone into administration -whose brochures Town and Country Installations have been using), Carrisbrook Driveways Ltd., and Carrisbrook Drives and Patios Ltd.

The last two companies, which have been registered at the Town and Country Installations Ltd. address, should not be confused with another company, Carrisbrook Ltd., which trades as Carrisbrook Drives and Patios, which is completely unrelated to Town and Country Installations Ltd. or any of the other companies registered at the Malt Kiln House address.

I understand that the owners of Carrisbrook Ltd. will be taking legal action to stop these similar names being used and creating confusion with their own business - about which I know of no complaints. I would advise that anyone contemplating having a driveway installed check the company name and registered address before they do so.
Colin Burrows... Milton Keynes...24 July 2003
update on 3 December 2003:
click here for details of court judgement


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Having our drive installed by Town & Country is the worst decision we have ever made. We have eight problems with the drive all with photographic evidence, but still they refuse to do anything about it. We have had Trading Standards involved and it seems our only alternative now is to take them to Court. We totally agree with Mr Burrows the quality of work is very poor and the customer service non-existant. Our drive looks a mess with white patches all over and the colour has peeled off in numerous areas. The problems we have had with this Company are far too many to list and I can only say if anybody was to come and look at our drive they would certainately not use this Company.
Mrs Heather Mooney ... 28 August 2003
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HELP NEEDED..... has anyone out there had a driveway installed by Town & Country Installations within the past 2 years in the colour "steel blue"????????
If so, please email me at corkstuart@hotmail.com Many thanks in advance. Stuart Mark Cork .. 23 September 2003
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