A RETIRED Largs man has hit out after shelling out £3,500 for a faulty front door - which could now cost another £3,000 to fix.

Stephen Martin, 68, says Everest have refused to honour the ten year guarantee that came with the purchase and accused them of hiding behind red tape to dodge their liability.

Everest Limited went into administration on 8 June but was rebranded as Everest 2020 and the new firm took over all existing orders.

But Stephen, of Glen Avenue, has been left raging after they refused to honour the guarantees given out by the old company - leaving him potentially thousands of pounds out of pocket.

He said: "They've told me any from the company previously known as Everest Limited are null and void.

"So Everest 2020 have acquired the assets and customers and order books but not any of the liabilities.

"They have now told me that customers of Everest have to look to their credit or debit card provider or submit a claim to the administrator to address any issues caused by faulty installation.

"The considerable damage was only discovered when I decided to have some loose tiles relaid. The area of damage is still exposed."

Stephen says he wants to warn other News readers who have had long term guarantees from the company before 8 June that they could face the same issue.

He added: "They may have rescued the company and taken over the assets and order books, but what is he point if they if they are absolving themselves of responsibilities to loyal customers who bought their product in good faith because it had a long term guarantee?

"It is not a reasonable way for a company to behave."

The administrators have sent Stephen a claim form but he said that Everest's refusal to send out a professional assessor means that he is going to have to get his own architect to assess the damage.

He said: "It looks like I will have to get a local fitter to help fix the problem. I've been told this could all cost in the region of £3,000 while the the door cost £3,500.

"The door itself is sound but it is the fittings that are an absolute disaster.

"I will get my architect to do a report and then send it to the administrators with a claim form filled out, but I'm not holding my breath. You are better off going to a reliable local tradesman than the big companies."

The issue surfaced in September when a couple of tiles became loose on Stephen's floor. Further investigation revealed wet rot has set during to water seeping in from outside.

Stephen added: "The worry is that, even if I replace the flooring, the same problem is going to happen again if the door is faulty.

"Why can't Everest send an assessor round and check if it is a faulty installation and repair the area of the floor and make it wind and water tight?

"The guarantee isn't worth the piece of paper it is written on if they can't honour it."

A company spokesperson said: “Everest 2020 Limited is a new company that was formed after Everest Limited went into administration on 8th June, acquiring some of the business interests from the administrators. As a newly formed entity, we have committed to honouring the delivery and installation of any orders that were outstanding and, in doing so, we have been able to save over 1,000 jobs.

"While we are unable to cover historic guarantees such as the claim raised by Mr Martin, there are still several options open to past Everest Limited customers, including Insurance Backed Guarantees underwritten by the glazing industry, and further details on these can be found at www.everest.co.uk/warranty."