Sunfold Systems suck

Guess what happened? After several emails sorting out the Sunfold installers to come back for the 6th or 7th time to sort out the ever worsening leaks, we finally had a date in the diary. It was several weeks away owing to high demand (!). We even had a generic email telling us there might be delays in reaching us due to the Olympics.

I emailed back asking if there was a cancellation earlier in the month to please let us know but alas, 31st July was the earliest we could get. Of course, the leaks continued right through June & July and the floor has been covered with towels and pans for so long that I've adapted my cooking to use fewer pans.

Yesterday on the drive back from Camp Bestival Rob rang Sunfold Systems to remind them that we had requested the first call out of the day. He wanted to speak to the installers directly to explain the problems and show them the new leaks. He left a message explaining this and his number so that they could confirm, but alas didn't hear back.

This morning he waited for a while and at 9am rang again, and was surprised that the same person who's been dealing with us all this time was clueless about the call out. At 11am he emailed me with the news that all London jobs had been cancelled but they'd forgotten to tell us. Apparently the Olympics would make it too difficult for them to come by van.

What a company: firstly, I drove across London in rush hour last night and the traffic was no worse than usual. If anything it was a little quiet. This morning I cycled to work and again, the traffic was lighter than usual. Lastly - WHY DIDN'T THEY COMMUNICATE THAT TO US?!

As Rob is a contractor he will only get paid for half a day today (he has a 90 minute commute). I am tempted to invoice Sunfold Systems for the lost income/wasting his time (does anyone know the legal viewpoint on this?).

I have never dealt with such a baffling company - their product isn't fit for purpose, and their customer service and after-sales service is laughable.

How appropriate that we bought a bottle of delicious Holy F*ck hot sauce at the weekend. I've been muttering that phrase all morning.

As the Olympics 'traffic' is going to affect London til September I guess this means we'll continue with the leaks for another 6+ weeks, at least...

Tap me up

My beloved tap has finally given up. The centre bit that pulls out like an excited donkey is really stuck, and has become stretched from being yanked. The arm that controls water flow and temperature is getting stiffer by the day. It won't be too long before something explodes and I'll be standing in a fountain of Thames Water's finest.

Fortunately these taps are pretty common now. And for something virtually identical to what we have now you can get away with spending around £50 on sale (taps always seem to be 'on sale'. So do bathrooms). The replacement tap is guaranteed for 15 years. Our current tap limped towards 5 years and we paid £90 for it (down from £160, apparently). I'm sure it's guaranteed for longer but due to various adjustments it had to endure to get fitted I'm pretty sure all guarantees are void.

Not sure if Rob is going to be OK installing it or if we need to get in the professionals. Will report back. In roof leak news, Sunfold are coming back (again) in two weeks time. The rain is rumoured to be letting up next week so at least we can remove the towels and saucepans from the floor. I can't believe it's the middle of July and we've had so few days hanging outside due to the persistent rain! If I hadn't had a week in Croatia recently I'm sure I'd be suffering from seasonal affective disorder.