Better to Ask Forgiveness?

You might have thought that you would need planning permission to add a conservatory to your house, and until October 1st 2008 you would have been absolutely right. Since then, however, planning regulations have been altered so that you no longer need to secure planning permission before building a conservatory.

The new rules are subject to some limitations, however. You’ll still need to check with your local planning authority before adding a conservatory to a listed building or one in a conservation area. What’s more, there are a few rules concerning the size and construction of the conservatory.

You may need to seek planning permission if your planned conservatory will be taller than the tallest part of your house. It also cannot be built on the front face of a house which faces a highway without permission.

A single storey conservatory must be less than 4 metres deep and 4 metres tall to be built without requiring permission. A two storey conservatory should extend no further than 3 metres from the rear of the house

The conservatory must also not take up more than half of the area of land around the original house. One thing to be careful of is that if your house has been extended since it was built (or since 1948 , if it was built before then), then this refers to the house as it was originally built. Be sure to check the records for your house to make sure it hasn’t been extended recently, you don’t want to get caught out.

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The great thing about conservatories is how flexible they are. They have many of the advantages of garage conversions or extensions, and they also let a lot of light into your house whether in summer or winter.

Conservatories make great spaces in which to a host party or barbecue, to watch the birds in the garden, or just relax and put your feet up.

With a few well chosen plants and other decorations they could even become an indoor extension of your garden.

The new planning rules make it quicker, easier and cheaper to plan and build a conservatory, and with the summer on its way there has never been a better time to get an instant online quote from WindowQuoter.co.uk.

Dealing with Tradesmen - Know your rights!

Dealing with Tradesmen - know your rights...
We examine new regulations brought in to protect consumers from unfair, misleading or aggressive sales tactics and look at how you can protect yourself from rogue traders

Last month saw the biggest change to consumer protection law for the past 40 years. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) came into effect on 28 May 2008 and are intended to stop traders from using unfair commercial practices towards consumers.

The regulations ban 31 specified unfair trade practices, as well as making it illegal to mislead customers or use aggressive sales tactics that may have a negative effect on a customer's decision.
There are numerous guides available on the internet explaining what the regulations mean for businesses, but here we look at the sort of practices you should be aware of and what you should do if you think you've been treated unfairly.

What do the new regulations cover?
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) apply to all business-to-consumer transactions, and cover all sectors, from supermarkets and travel agents to plumbers and builders. They also cover business-to-business transactions that are closely linked with consumers, for example, a builders' merchant supplying materials to a builder. The CPRs cover the entire transaction process, including all conduct before, during and after a contract is made.

The CPRs are intended to protect customers as much as possible, so are very comprehensive. Firstly, the regulations start with a general ban on conduct that is below the standard a customer can reasonably expect. Secondly, the regulations ban all misleading practices, like false or deceptive messages, or leaving out important information. Thirdly, businesses are not allowed to use aggressive sales techniques that use harassment, coercion or undue influence.

The regulations outline in detail 31 specific practices that are strictly forbidden and we look at these below to help you, as a buyer, 'beware'.

Check Endorsements
The first section of prohibited practices relates to falsely claiming accreditation. When hiring tradesmen it is always a good idea to ask them whether they abide by a specific code of conduct or hold any accreditations, such as Corgi Registered status. However, in the same way that you could claim on your CV that you speak nine languages and hold a first class honours degree from the University of Cambridge when this isn't in fact the case, it is easy for traders to make grand claims that aren't actually true. The new regulations forbid such behaviour.

Specifically, a trader is prohibited from falsely claiming to abide by a code of conduct, or stating that their code of conduct had been approved by an official body when in fact it has not. Traders would also be breaking the regulations if they claim to be TrustMark registered or say that their product or service has been endorsed or approved by an official body, without having obtained the necessary approval. This means that, for example, if the man you've hired to transform your garden claims to be a Chartered Landscape Architect and it turns out he's not, he would be breaching the regulations and should be reported to an appropriate body, such as the Office of Fair Trading.

Luckily, these days it's easy to check up on a trader's claims. At www.trustmark.org.uk you can not only search for approved traders in your area, but you can also search for a specific trader. Similarly, many professional bodies like the Landscape Institute and the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers hold searchable member directories on their websites, making it easy to find an approved trader in your area.

Accuracy of Information
The second section of the CPRs refers to the validity of product information, including the price. Firstly, if there are limitations on a product or service that a trader is offering, such as a specified timeframe or a limited number, this must be stated by the trader upfront. This means that if you spot an ad in the paper for £1,000 off a new conservatory, sign up to have the work done and then the company tells you that the special offer has ended, if the limited time period was not stated in the advert, the company will have broken the CPRs, and you have grounds on which to sue them. On the other hand, traders are banned from stating a product or service is only available for a certain period, but then continuing to offer the product or service after the time period has ended.

Traders are also banned from offering a product at a certain price and then either refusing to show the item to customers, refusing to take orders for the product or showing them a faulty version of the item in order to encourage them to purchase an alternative, more expensive item.

Also within this section of the CPRs, traders are forbidden from using scare tactics to make customers think their personal security will be at risk without purchasing a certain product or service. The regulations also ban traders from making false claims that a product will have health benefits. Finally in this section, businesses must not put customers off claiming on an insurance policy by requiring them to fill in excessive and unnecessary paperwork or by ignoring correspondence from the customer, forcing the customer to expend unnecessary effort.

False Advertising
The new regulations also cover promotional activities. The next time you're flicking through a magazine, watch out for pages bearing the small print “Promotional Material” or “This is an Advertisement”. These adverts are known as advertorials and are designed in such a way that you might mistake them for unbiased, factual articles, when in fact they have been paid for and written by the company that they are about. Although this approach is covered in the CPRs, the regulations do not go so far as to ban this practice, and instead simply state that companies must make it clear that the piece is an advert, so keep an eye out for this.

Another trick to watch out for is when a company launches a product that is similar to a product made by a particular, well-established manufacturer and then promotes it in such a way as to mislead you into thinking it is made by the more popular company. This practice is banned by the CPRs.

In addition, traders are prohibited from deceiving customers by lying about market conditions, giving the impression they have entered into a contract when they haven't, or falsely creating the impression that they are not acting for purposes related to their business, most commonly by pretending to be a consumer. This means that if you are planning on getting your house rewired and you ask your potential electrician for testimonials from previous customers, then someone else in the company pretends to be a past customer, this would break the CPRs. The best way to avoid this is by asking friends and family to recommend reliable traders.

Can't say no? Don't be 'guilt tripped'
The CPRs don't just apply to the way a product or service is marketed; they cover conduct during the sale, as well as any aftersales service. For those of you who struggle to say no to salesmen, the new regulations ban traders from both creating the impression that you cannot leave their premises without making a purchase, and from staying on your property with the intention of forcing a sale. This means that if a double-glazing salesman comes to your door and you tell him you're not interested, but then he knocks on your door again, this would breach the regulations, and should be reported to an appropriate body, such as the Trading Standards Institute. Similarly, traders must not pester a customer by telephone, fax, email, or any form of remote media.

Companies are also forbidden from forcing a sale by 'guilt-tripping' consumers, for example, by insinuating or stating that if the consumer does not buy the service or product on offer, the tradesman could lose his job. They must also not force a sale by giving a customer something they didn't ask for and then demanding payment. For example, if you went to work one day and came home to find someone had re-laid your driveway without you having asked them to do so, the perpetrators would be breaking the new rules, and would have no grounds on which to demand payment from you.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations have been introduced to tell businesses how they should be treating their customers but as you can see, it is a good idea to have some understanding of the rules because they are there to protect you too!

*Taken from our last monthly newsletter to over 250,000 home owners. To receive our free newsletter, click here. You can unsubscribe at any time.

How to…..deal with a home improvement salesman

How to…..deal with a home improvement salesman

The door-to-door home improvement salesman is a magnet for bad press – the Office of Fair Trading cites some of the most common complaints about door-to-door selling as: being pressured to have work done which you don’t really need, being overcharged, losing your deposit to rogue traders and work being left unfinished as traders go out of business.

However not all home improvement salesmen are bad guys – most of them are just trying to earn a living! So instead of slamming the door in their faces or hanging up the phone, here are five easy ways to deal with a home improvement salesman and an explanation of your rights as a consumer.

1 – Take the pressure off
Never be pressured into getting home improvements which you don’t need, just because the salesman is standing there on the doorstep. A salesman putting too much pressure on you to make a decision is a bad sign – the company may only be in the area for a few days touting for business, which could void any guarantees and make it difficult to track them down if things go wrong. A genuine home improvement salesman will give you time to make your decision – by law, if the salesman’s visit is unsolicited (i.e. you did not invite him round for an appointment), you are entitled to seven days’ thinking time. During this seven day period you can consider the offer, get quotes from other builders to compare deals or even change your mind completely.

2 – Be patient
Never sign the contract on the initial consultation – even if you are tempted by special offers which have to be signed for that day. Take the seven-day thinking period to read over the contract, even if you do not think you need to – make sure you read all the clauses and the small print. Once you have signed the contract, you have limited cancellation rights – contracts are legally binding and you cannot back out of them just because you have changed your mind. Most importantly, never sign the contract just because you want to get rid of the salesman – it’s far better to listen to half an hour of sales patter than to enter into a contract for thousands of pounds which you can’t get out of later.

3 – Your right to cancel
In certain cases, where a salesman has visited your home uninvited and you have signed a contract, you can get out of it if you act fast. However this is a risk – a contract is legally binding and there are criteria in place to stop you breaking your end of the bargain. You are only protected if the salesman called at your house totally unexpectedly and you signed the contract on that first visit in your own home. Secondly, the goods or services which you have bought must amount to over £35. If both of these criteria stand, then you have seven days to back out of the contract under The Consumer Protection Regulations 1987 (commonly known as the Doorstep Selling Regulations).

You must cancel your contract in writing to the trader and the cancellation takes effect at the time of posting. It is a legal requirement for traders to inform customers of their cancellation rights – those who fail to do this cannot enforce the agreement. Note that responding to a telephone call asking you for a consultation, an advert in the local paper or a leaflet through the door for home improvements all count as inviting a salesman into your home, and automatically void the cancellation criteria.


4 – Make a short-list
Comparing more than one contractor is perhaps the most important part of home improvements. Even if you still decide to go for the salesman who called at the door, it’s still vital to get quotes from three or four other companies. Get as much literature from the door-to-door salesman as you can and then ask friends or neighbours if they have heard of the company or know any examples of their work. Also ask your friends if they know of any other builders whom you may have missed off your list. Always look for contractors who are members of a local trade association and who have premises in the area, and drive past it if you can – anyone can put an address onto a business card which is not really a builder’s yard at all. Beware of cards which have only a telephone number and no address and of cold callers whose business details you cannot find in the local directories or online.

5 – Preference Services
Door-to-door and telephone sales are still viable ways to get good deals on home improvements – most salesman are working for local building firms and offer the same quality services at competitive rates. However if cold calling just gets on your nerves and you know you will never use those sellers, there are preference services in place which, if you enrol, makes it illegal for unsolicited callers to contact you. www.tpsonline.org.uk is the official website of the Telephone Preference Service, where consumers can register online to exempt both landline and mobile numbers from sales calls. Most local councils will provide homes with signs and stickers for the front door which bars sellers from knocking. Preference services make it illegal for any company or sole trader to contact you unsolicited.

At the end of the day
There are three main consumer rights connected to home improvements. Regardless of where you buy, you have a right that the work be completed with reasonable skill and care, within a reasonable time frame and be provided at a reasonable cost.

Visit www.homeimprovementquotes.co.uk for more information.