Early in 2001 we decided to renew and extend our drive to cover
the entire front of our property in order that we could park both
our vehicles off road and to reduce maintenance.
We had various quotes from block pavers and then responded to
an advert in the Ford Magazine for Town and Country Driveways.
We were sent a brochure and impressed by its claims, pictures
and assurances we then arranged for a salesman to visit.
He surveyed our property and convinced me that we were better
off with the T&C drive due to the longevity and lack of maintenance.
He then quoted me £7500.00 to do the job which was some
way over our budget of about £5000.00.
Some weeks later someone from their sales department rang me and
offered a discount if we were flexible on delivery times. We agreed
a price of £5750.00. I paid a deposit on 25/05/01 of £1150.00.
It was then 13/07/01 before they bothered to send a surveyor to
my house who having relieved me of a further £1725.00 then
handed me a contract. On the 19th of July I received a letter
telling me that having parted with £2875.00 they would start
the job sometime within 10 weeks, despite the surveyor assuring
me that having handed over the cheques my new drive would not
be far off.
After much chasing, many phone calls and lots of unanswered e-mails
they finally came and started the job in early October 2001 whilst
we were away on holiday. I was concerned when I returned to find
that they had laid the hardcore ready for the concrete but had
forgotten to connect the down pipe to any kind of drain!
Eventually in November a team arrived to lay the concrete. I went
to work and left them to it. I was appalled to return home later
to find that had poured wet concrete all over the road in front
of my drive and also in the verge opposite. I rang to complain
about the mess and the person I spoke to, someone called Peter
Robinson was very rude and practically accused me of lying. Eventually
they agreed to ask the finishing team to clear up the mess.
Unfortunately this revealed that the team who had laid the concrete
had managed to lay it some four inches above the road meaning
we had to drive up a step. Both the surveyor and the salesman
had persuaded me to have a border round the drive and the surveyor
suggested filling the border with pea beach pebbles. The finishing
team however only ordered enough for one part of the border and
refused to buy me any more. When I sent pictures of the 'step'
to their MD he eventually agreed to make it good with some tarmac
(which is now sinking nicely). I had to source the pebbles myself
in the end.
It was the following spring that most of the faults (cracking
and fading etc) started to manifest themselves and we alerted
the company straight away. It took months for them to come and
sort them out, again after lots of letters, phone calls, e-mails
many of which went completely ignored without acknowledgement.
Their after sales service is at best lamentable they behave as
if they cannot understand why you might be complaining. It seems
that from the office staff right up to management level they couldn't
give a toss!
Anyway, they finally rectified it on September 2002 and in May
2003 you've guessed it all the faults came back only this time
far worse. We had a huge crack that stretched the width of the
drive which you could get your fingers in. We had several other
long and deep cracks, the colour had faded badly particularly
in the driveway entrance and in some areas the sealant had started
to lift revealing bare concrete, we also found one edge to be
crumbling away and most of the rest of the edges very weak.
After many heated telephone calls their MD actually came to our
house in August 2003 and saw for himself the state of our driveway.
He assured us our troubles were over and that he would see to
it that we would soon be ok. I asked for his comments regarding
the awful service we had received but after he left we never heard
from him again. In September a team finally turned up one Friday
to start the work, I have not seen them since. I was not happy
with the way they had proposed to rectify the faults as previous
similar attempts had failed. Then in October, again after many
heated telephone calls they sent out a surveyor who said we would
be sorted by spring 2004. We rang in March 2004 to ask when and
were told April. We are still waiting. The surveyor has left Town
and Country.
They are very quick to point out that they do not guarantee against
cracks, yet their web site states that their methods of construction
prevent cracking. Our decision to use this company was largely
due to their brochure, its claims, those on the web site and those
of the salesman. None of whom mentions cracking as a characteristic
of the drive. Their latest brochure repeatedly refers to them
as a 'National PLC'. I have since discovered that this is not
true. Fraudulent misrepresentation?
Although they have said in writing that they will come and finish
the job they now refuse to tell me when. When I spoke to the rather
curt installations manager at the end of April she told me I would
have to wait for them to come to Kent with other jobs and in spite
of all the grief they have given me I could not possibly expect
them to come to Kent just to sort out my drive!
A big part of me is not sure I trust them to sort it out to my
satisfaction and I am now considering going to court to recover
my money and to get compensation for all the stress they have
caused me not to mention the cost of removing their work in readiness
for a new drive.
I have now spoken to several other of their customers who are
in the same boat as me and wish they had not ever dealt with them!
Other Town and Country complaints: Link
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