12
APRIL 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Arbitration becomes law for installers
Providing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – or arbitration - became UK
law from 1st October 2015 for all businesses that sell to consumers.
For the glazing sector this
means that where an installer has exhausted its complaints procedure and the
matter remains in dispute, it
is legally compelled to give
the consumer the contact
details of an approved
glazing sector ADR service
to progress the complaint to
arbitration.
One solution is to opt in to
FENSA’s arrangement with The
Glazing Arbitration Scheme
(TGAS), which is an approved
glazing sector Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) service. These
services to FENSA certified installers started from 1st January 2016.
This is part of the new FENSA
‘package’ and registration with
TGAS is free. Other providers are
available.
Under TGAS any decision on
matters relating to Building Regulations compliance will not form
part of any arbitration.
TGAS charges consumers £100
to take a complaint to arbitration.
This is to encourage only justified
complaints and avoid any frivolous or vexatious complaints and
protect installers from unjustified
costs and administration time.
The costs for an installer to go
through the arbitration process starts at £395 (ex VAT) per
complaint. Where an installation
company has opted in to be a
member of TGAS, then they are
to proceed to arbitration when a
consumer takes their complaint to
TGAS after at least 56 days have
elapsed since the complaint was
raised with FENSA and there is
still an unresolved dispute.
As part of the rules of TGAS
arbitration the company and the
consumer will be bound by the
arbitration decision.
The use of ADR arbitration
services costs far less and takes
less time to resolve than going
through the courts.
If a window installer decides not
opt in to TGAS, they must alternatively comply with their legal
obligation to give the consumer
the contact details of an alternative approved glazing sector ADR
service when there is an unresolved complaint, and at that time
they must inform the consumer
TuffX’s Graham Price said: “We have three
Tamglass furnaces because they are the
best on the market for toughening glass.
The quality they give is excellent, which is
exactly what we want for our customers.”
The new furnace gives TuffX a great deal
of flexibility. It can toughen glass with
thicknesses of 4mm – 19mm, but perhaps
most eye-catching is the size of the sheets it
can handle - up to 4.2m x 2.4m.
Graham commented: “Investment in a
new furnace gives us the infrastructure to
produce processed glass for an even wider
variety of complex commercial applications,
giving us greater scope to supply developing markets.”
TuffX has a policy of continuous investment in its business to allow it to constantl y
A website that will provide clear
information for both consumers
and installers, www.tgas.org.uk, is
currently under construction.
FENSA installers can email
[email protected] for further
information or to sign up.
POWER UP WHEREVER
YOU ARE
TuffX buys
third glass
toughening
furnace
Specialist toughened glass
manufacturer TuffX has just
had a third glass toughening furnace installed. Part
of a planned investment of
£1.2 million in 2015-16, the
Tamglass (Glaston) Furnace
FT 500 means the company
now has a weekly glass production capacity of 25,000m2 of 4mm
toughened conservatory roof glass
and is one of a select few manufacturers with three furnaces.
whether or not they are prepared
to use that ADR service.
“Free registration with TGAS
provides FENSA installers with the
fastest way to comply with these
new consumer laws,” commented
Chris Mayne, FENSA managing
director. “Though we do not predict that our installers will have
to make heavy use of this service
– the new law does state that
these arrangements have to be in
place.”
TGAS is operated independently
by a Trading Standards Institute
Certified ADR body, the Centre
for Effective Dispute Resolution
(CEDR), that has worked with the
Glass & Glazing Federation for
several years on the well-established GGF Arbitration Scheme.
meet and exceed its customers’ expectations
and the furnace is part of a wider programme of investment scheduled to take
place this year.
Elsewhere in the business, a new factory
extension, which will take manufacturing
space from 55,000 square feet to 80,000
square feet, is due to be completed in August, helping to meet growing demand for
TuffX’s glass products.
TuffX’s range of specialist toughened glass
makes it popular for both high profile large
scale complex commercial contracts and
smaller fabricators and installers looking to
add value to their portfolio. The company
also adds value via product innovation, for
example the new product Ambi-Solid glass
that bridges the gap between tile effect
conservatory roofs and solar reflective glass
roofs.
www.tuffxglass.co.uk
Outdoor equipment manufacturer
Briggs & Stratton
has launched its new
power product line-up
featuring four new generators.
The Sprint range contains three of the four new
models. All feature a Briggs
& Stratton OHV engine with
recoil start and an automatic low-oil shut down feature
to protect the engine.
The Sprint 1200 has a 79cc
engine with 900 running
watts that will run for 14
hours at a quarter load.
Compact and lightweight, it
has one power socket with
a circuit breaker and a fuel
capacity of 4.9 litres.
The Sprint 2200A has a
196cc engine and 1700
running watts that provide
power for 11 hours at a
quarter load. For increased
power,
the Sprint 3200A has 2500
running watts that provides
7 hours output.
Both the 2200A and the
3200A have an Automatic
Voltage Regulator to deliver
the correct level of power,
as well as a Power Surge
alternator to limit voltage
for sensitive equipment.
They have two power
sockets with individual
circuit breakers, along with
transportation kits.
The fourth addition to
the generator range is the
P3000i PowerSmart. It is
an ultra quiet, computer
controlled generator that
provides 10 hours runtime (on a quarter load)
from 2600 running
watts. The engine is a
Briggs & Stratton 171cc
4-stroke OHV with a 5.6
litre fuel tank capacity.
The P3000i provides clean
sine wave power ideal for
recharging as well as powering sensitive equipment.
The products are
available through Henton
& Chattell’s 1,500+
nationwide dealers. For
more information, visit
www.hcuk.co