24
SEPTEMBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
FEEDBACK BRINGS A PERFECT SCORE
More than 85% of
Network VEKA member companies were
recently judged to
have completed
perfect installations
and provided flawless
service by the toughest of critics: their
customers.
and Marketing Director,
Colin Torley, “is that, for
Network VEKA members,
they’re nothing out of
the ordinary! Companies
whose customer satisfaction scores don’t meet our
required standard are first
offered assistance to address the issue but, if the
situation continues, are no
longer permitted to remain
as members.
“Network VEKA’s priority has always been to
provide the products and
service that customers
deserve and expect when
making such significant
investments. When we
started nearly 20 years
ago, our industry was
in a state of disrepute,
largely due to unscrupu-
In total, 74 companies
returned unbeatable 100%
ratings. The lowest figure
for the month was 96.6%,
delivering an average
across all companies of
97.5% – a typically high
result for the Network, far
outscoring the industry
‘norm’ of just 83%.
“What’s even more
impressive about these
figures,” comments The
VEKA UK Group’s Sales
Financial
Restructuring As
Growth Continues
Double glazing
boss sentenced
for tax fraud
VBH, the Stuttgart based
hardware distributor, has undergone financial restructuring. The company announced
the developments at the
AGM at the end of July.
The manager of a double
glazing showroom who failed
to declare his earnings or
pay Income Tax or National
Insurance Contributions,
defrauding taxpayers of
around £111,000 has
been sentenced to 12
months imprisonment,
suspended for two years.
New private investors have been
welcomed on board and are injecting €26m into the group, with
the main contribution provided
by Ascalon, a private investment
company owned by Victor Trenev,
investing €20m.
VBH has been growing in
strength in the UK and for the last
five years has shown profit growth
each year.
Managing Director of VBH Peter
Rowlands comments:
“The hardware market in Continental Europe has been tough
going in the last couple of years,
especially since the political
tensions with Russia have been
directly hitting exporters such as
VBH. Most of the main European
manufacturers and suppliers have
been forced to make adjustments
in their operations to reflect the
reality of reduced market and VBH
in Germany is no exception.
“However, VBH is well placed to
take advantage of market restruc-
turing and the new financing
structure in Germany will ensure
that cash is available to invest in
new logistic solutions and customer facing technologies.
“In the UK we are market leaders
in branded hardware and expect
profits to continue to grow. We
are confident that we have the
right tools in place to continue to
consolidate our share of the UK
hardware market and our industry
leading customer service and large
product portfolio means that our
customers will always have excellent choice and service to keep
them coming back.”
For more information visit
www.vbhgb.com
Officers from HM Revenue
and Customs (HMRC) discovered that Anthony Jenkins,
60, was paid £514,000 in
commission over a six year
period on the sales generated by the Exeter branch of
a national window company.
However, he had failed to
complete Self Assessment
returns.
Jenkins admitted to investigators
that he would have gone on committing the fraud if officers hadn’t
caught up with him.
Colin Spinks, Assistant Director,
Criminal Investigation, HMRC,
said:
lous traders whose only
motivation was profit. We
were determined to never
be tarred with that brush,
and that premise remains
true to this day.”
For customers to access
Network VEKA’s trademark, ten-year, insurance-backed guarantees,
they must first complete a
customer satisfaction questionnaire that is submitted
directly to the organisation’s HQ.
Colin continues:
“The organisation is all
about giving customers the
best. We invest in keeping
our members ahead of the
game, providing training, advice on building
legislation, and – with the
Network VEKA Academy
– subsidised opportunities
for fitters to gain industry
qualifications and further
their careers.
“Customers get the end
benefit of all this support but, of course, there
are great advantages for
members’ businesses too.
Professional marketing
with the weight of the
Network VEKA name, and
our commitment to only
using the finest systems
from The VEKA UK Group
– they’re all qualities that
put a business ‘on the
map’, instilling customer
confidence and peace of
mind before a quote has
even been drawn up.”
For more information visit
www.networkveka.co.uk
‘if you don’t pay what you
should, we will investigate’
“Tax fraudsters such as Jenkins
think they have an upper-hand
over those who pay what is due.
He stole from public finances and
would have continued his fraud
had HMRC not stopped him. Our
message is clear – if you don’t
pay what you should, we will
investigate. Anyone with information about this type of crime can
contact the Tax Fraud Hotline on
0800 788 887.”
Jenkins pleaded not guilty at
Exeter Magistrates’ Court in December 2014, but changed his plea
to guilty in April 2015 and was
sentenced last month.
Jenkins was also fined £20,000,
which must be paid within three
months, and ordered to pay court
costs of £1,000.
Jenkins has already repaid
£98,618 of the tax debt to HMRC
and was ordered to pay the balance of £12,428 at a rate of £500
a week.