CONSUMER COMMENT/COMPLAINT
TOWN & COUNTRY INSTALLATIONS
DATE: 3 December 2003
CONSUMER: Colin Burrows
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Update to my entry dated 24th
July 2003.
I have now received judgement in my favour
in my case against Town and Country Installations Ltd., requiring them
to repay all the money I paid to them for my driveway, plus my costs.
With regard to the Town and Country Driveways plc brochure,
being used by Town and Country Installations Ltd. as their own. The
judge states that I understandably believed that Town and Country Installations
Ltd. 'was in fact a Company with a very different profile to Town and
Country Installations Ltd., which was a company newly formed to take
over the business of another liquidated Company'. He further states
that 'This misbelief was understandably fostered by the untrue, indeed
dishonest, suggestions and inferences which Town and Country Installations
Ltd. literature gave'.
In the end the judge accepted that the driveway was not laid with reasonable
skill and care, as the installed sub-base was not deep enough or compacted
properly, so that the driveway has now developed cracks (three at time
of writing).
The judge concluded that Town and Country Installations Ltd. was in
breach of the implied terms under the Supply of Goods and Services Act
1982, and therefore gave judgement in my favour.
One aspect the judge mentioned may be of use to other customers fighting
Town and Country Installations Ltd. in Court, if Town and Country are
attempting to use their Customer Satisfaction Form to prove that the
installation had been accepted by the customer and was therefore satisfactory.
On this subject the judge stated that 'The suggestion that the Claimant
signed a Satisfaction Certificate, that the excavation and base were
satisfactory, in my judgement, is without merit'. He further states
'the Claimant was relying on the expertise of Town and Country Installations
Ltd. as professed experts in concrete driveways, and how they expected
a signature from an untrained customer to relieve them of liability
for mis- or non-performance escapes me entirely'.
The expert witness appointed in the case was Mr. John Linley, Technical
Manager of Pattern Imprinted Concrete Services Ltd. He was nominated
by Town and Country Installations Ltd. - and somewhat surprisingly accepted
by the judge, despite the fact that his company is a major supplier
to Town and Country. (In this connection, it is interesting to note
that at one poit Town and Country offered to have no expert evidence,
on the grounds of disproportionate cost, when it appeared Mr. Linley
might not be appointed, but then immediately back tracked when he was
actually appointed, and again insisted on expert evidence to be provided
by Mr. Linley).
With regard to Mr. Linley's evidence the judge said in his judgement
that he has a number of disquiets about Mr. Linley's evidence: firstly,
that the length of time that this case has taken to be disposed of was
in large measure due to the delay caused by the expert's report; secondly,
that Mr. Linley expressed an opinion on the excavation and preparation
without taking core samples to ascertain the depth of concrete or the
base below, an omission the judge says he finds surprising as he would
have expected Mr. Linley to find out basic facts upon which to base
an opinion before expressing an opinion on the adequacy of the base;
and thirdly, given that Mr. Linley wrote to the Court to say that he
has no expertise in concrete technology or the 'engineering related
aspects of the matter' (and that his comments on such matters were 'of
a personal nature and not backed by technical qualification or accreditation'),
the judge states that he does not know why Mr. Linley was prepared to
accept instructions or express opinions on issues of which he had no
expertise, and that he was ignoring Mr. Linley's evidence.
I can supply a copy of my judgement on request as evidence, or to
assist anyone else who is,or is contemplating taking this company, or
any of the associated companies, such as Town and Country Driveways
Ltd., to court.
Colin Burrows ... 3 December 2003
