Considering a Garden Room? Find out what happens when a rogue garden room supplier abandons your build mid-project, leaving you completely in the lurch. Read Angela’s story and our tips for avoiding garden room rogue traders…
How to Avoid Garden Room Rogue Traders
Rogue trader horror stories are, sadly, not just the stuff of stories and TV programmes. Angela from Oxford contacted us in July 2023 when her dream garden office turned into a rogue trader nightmare.
The Horror Story
8 months earlier, Angela had paid a 40% deposit on a garden room with a well-known garden room company (let’s call them Company A). Work was due to start in April 2024 but was delayed to May. By the time July arrived, the project (which was meant to take 2 weeks) still wasn’t finished and Angela and her husband were at their wits end.
“Company A had clearly overpromised and underdelivered. We had completely lost confidence in them. They were so bad and the situation was so stressful I wouldn’t even recommend them to my worst enemy.” – Angela
Angela started Googling other companies to find someone to finish the project, but most refused to take on a project that someone else had started. We hated the idea of a rogue trader sullying our industry, and we were outraged at the thought of someone being taken advantage of, so when Angela got in touch, we offered to take a look.
“The New Garden Room Company were brilliant from the beginning. Even when I told them that Company A might be coming back to finish the job after all, they kindly said “that’s ok, we’re here if you need us”. Which was remarkable and very reassuring.
“It turned out we did need them because despite their promises, Company A still didn’t deliver. The New Garden Room Company gave us a date and schedule of works straight away and I knew I was in safe hands.” – Angela
Picking Up The Pieces
We’d already done a site visit so we knew what we were working with. We were also conscious that Angela had been let down and the delays had caused severe stress to her and her family. As with all our projects, we started by explaining to Angela exactly what would happen and when. We issued a schedule of work with a clear timeline and a breakdown of actions by date and by person, so Angela knew who was coming and what to expect each day.
“The New Garden Room Company had a completely different attitude. Their communication was excellent right from the beginning and that inspired confidence.” – Angela
The Build
Angela’s garden room was a 5.5m x 3.5m workspace to be used as an office for her husband who had been working, uncomfortably, in the dining room. And although the build was around 80% complete, it was unusable as an office. The chasing, waiting and months of uncertainty had caused a huge amount of stress for Angela and her husband and they just wanted the project to be finished.
We installed a rubber roof and finished the rear roof line as well as adjusting the incorrectly-sized batten spacings. We fitted composite cladding and uPVC fascia trims, and installed the guttering, transforming their incomplete building site into a finished garden room. Within a couple of weeks, everything was completed and Angela and her husband could finally relax.
The Result
“You really do get what you pay for. The New Garden Room Company delivered on what they said – everything they told us would happen, happened. The whole team were professional, friendly, efficient and respectful, and they showed so much care and compassion about our situation. They even managed to work around us going away for our Son’s wedding.
As well as excellent communication, the New Garden Room Company has a really good structure. We knew exactly who to talk to if we had any questions, and Lindsay was really good and kept us in the loop with everything.” – Angela
Angela’s advice for avoiding Rogue Garden Room Traders
Angela was particularly unlucky. She had done her research, and even checked out reviews for company A. So her advice is to look out for early red flags such as:
- Red flag #1 – Not being issued with a schedule of works straight away (you shouldn’t have to insist on a schedule of works)
- Red flag #2 – Overpromising – “early on, I had a gut feeling that Company A were being a bit creative with the truth”.
- Red flag #3 – Early delays to the build (without communication or explanation).
- Red flag #4 – Poor communication overall (and hard to get hold of).
- Red flag #5 – Any kind of pressure “the New Garden Company didn’t pressure us at all even when we said we might not need them after all. Their approach was very much ‘do what’s best for you’”.
“When you’ve had a bad experience it’s hard to trust another company. So I want to tell as many people as possible that the New Garden Room Company is amazing. I’ve even spoken to their prospective customers to tell them about my experience, because it’s much more objective coming from real people like me.” – Angela Richards
Our tips for avoiding Rogue Garden Room Traders
- Ask to speak to a previous client (don’t just trust their reviews)
- Ask for a schedule of works straight away
- Don’t stand for delays without explanation or communication – they’re a sign of poor organisation and / or work being subcontracted out.
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