This was sent to www.fenestration-news.com earlier on today:
Dear Ian,
I read with some bemusement that TGO is now proclaiming itself as the ‘official’ industry ombudsman. How exactly does membership of the BIOA make TGO the ‘official’ ombudsman for the industry? It does not.
TGO is a watered down version of DGCOS with limited consumer and installer protection and which gives awards that are not binding on the consumer. This service could cost its members thousands of pounds in inspection and dispute resolution fees. I wonder if TGO is planning to make this clear to the industry?
Last year I wrote in the introduction to David Herman’s Consumer Protection Report that DGCOS welcomed all improvements to consumer protection and anything that could enhance the reputation of the industry. I still do. But while I welcome the TGO, I think it would improve greatly if it had all the ‘frills’ it proudly boasts of leaving out. ‘No frills’ in an emotive term, usually used negatively, but in this case the frills include the all-important substance. If protection isn’t there when you need it, it is no protection at all. The results do the industry no favours.
Protection must be more than a badge. The industry has got lots of badges from which to choose, which is exactly why DGCOS was established to offer fully comprehensive no-compromise protection with unlimited cover. It is a comprehensive safety net that has proven to work. We have a growing bank of positive case studies which illustrate just how comprehensive, efficient and effective our offer is.
TGO, which is effectively The GGF’s and Fensa’s ombudsman, will be judged on its track record in protecting consumers and hopefully it has not simply been created as a defensive mechanism to combat the success of DGCOS.
Yours Sincerely
Tony Pickup
Founder of the Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (www.dgcos.org.uk)
Wow. Talk about sour grapes! Now I don’t know if the TGO can actually call themselves the official Ombudsman for the scheme, I am checking, but even if they can’t, this is a totally unnecessary statement!
I have had an email from the TGO since I wrote the paragraph above stating that they have been been accepted in the BIOA (British and Irish Ombudsman Association) which is something the DGCOS has been turned down for…twice apparently!
As far as I’m aware, the TGO has had a better pick-up (pun intended) then the DGCOS has had. I’ve not seen a single company round where I live which has the DGCOS plastered all over their vans. Yet, I have already seen a couple with the TGO accreditation on their vehicles. Small example I know but what I believe is indicative. I think the DGCOS still remain under 300 members.
The simple fact here is that there was absolutely no need for this letter to be written in the first place. It looks, and probably is, just sour grapes. With the word and tone of the letter they appear just to be bitter at the fact that the TGO has been accepted into the BIOA and they have been denied twice (by all accounts).
The owners of the DGCOS should read a book called ‘How To Win Friends And Influence People’.
You really have to laugh at all this. The Industry is already fighting a reputation that is not being enhanced by the likes of Evrest after their recent appearance on the BBC. We have so many so called “accreditaion” bodies that regulate our industry. FENSA, TGO, DGCOS, GGF, CERTASS, Contruction Line, Fair Trades, Safe Contractor, NFG, Trust Mark. All these are in some way associated with the double glazing and window industry. Is it any wonder that our reputation is not as good as it should be – the consumer has no idea what scheme is the right scheme to… Read more »
and that voice shouldn’t be Tony Pickup :)
Tony, for gods sake just leave it. i’m getting fed up of your digs and niggles.
Who cares?
Why can’t you just get on with it like everyone else in this industry, instead of writing silly letters to magazines that just make you sound bitter?
Maybe if your phone operatives spoke to potential customers with a bit of respect you would have more customers and wouldn’t be worried about your new competition.
If trading standards would take a fee to regulate companies in all industries then locally they would be able to close down companies that do not comply to regulations.
Why do we keep letting so called non profit making bodies take millions out of the industry and not police companies that do not comply?
I think the book “How to win friends and influence people” was out of stock so they went to Blockbusters and rented “How to lose friends and alienate people”!
I would like to see the introduction of a union for Double Glazing installers, the consumers have lots of options when they feel an installation goes wrong. We are the ones who struggle to survive when customers demand “compensation”!
I missed the original stuff on the renegade conservatory guy site and glasstalk about phoenix companies etc etc on the DGCOS but I love “balance” and just wish those with positive stuff to say about DGCOS would speak up??? Whilst I take the above comments on board it would be good to hear the counter arguments!
DGB how about you ask people on a separate post to explain exactly why they have issues with the DGCOS? then perhaps (for balance) you could make the results available to Mr PIckup? Leave the post up and visible for a month and get some real feedback? I have to admit I’m still mildly confused as to what issues everyone seems to have with them aside from that god-awful myglasswebsite.
I may do just that Nick. Got some other posts coming up over the next few days on totally different issues, but will quickly come back to this!
We are members of dgcos, i can really not see why all the bad press, they are no worse than any other scheme that we have been members of, to be honest we are also members of fensa and i believe we get more from dgcos than fensa and i feel we were more forced into joining fensa and now they dont like the competition. I would register all my jobs through dgos and bmtrada but do not feel consumers are really aware of the name and it may be a disadvantage in business
Thanks for your comment Glen. It is much appreciated. I think one of the reasons why most are against DGCOS is how they go about their business. Everyone I have spoken to says how pushy and aggressive they are. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to sign up with anyone who rings me on a daily basis nagging and nagging me down the phone. That’s not the way to conduct yourself in this industry. Also, they are a profit based organisation, whereas the TGO are not, which is always going to sit easier with installers in this time of financial hardship. On… Read more »
we are a member of the DGCOS and i have nothing but good things to say about them, the best thing is that they properly inspect companies before they are allowed to join which for me is a great selling point, the fact that there are only 300 members means that they only let companies on who will not try to rip off there customers and are properly vetted, the reason why there are only 300 members is because only 300 met there requirements. I am finding it difficult to understand why there is so much negativity towards the DGCOS… Read more »
“every little helps” is our saying. I want £10,000 in royalties because you used it
DGCOS have been around for a while now, so many of the companies they apparently vetted for, amongst other things, financial security have gone bust. Surely if they provide the protection and service they claim, they must have come to the rescue of many members customers. There must be may good news stories they can tell us about, so DGCOS why not use this platform to let the industry know just how valuable the protection you provide is to your customers? Let us have half a dozen verifiable examples where you have been the proverbial knight in shining armour.
Andy, as you`ve not ventured on Twitter yet. You may not have heard about http://www.myglass.org.uk/news/welcome-myglassorguk . It`s run by the dgcos, with lots of reviews etc on the “glass advisor” section. Not sure who wrote them though ;-) was it a employee?? They also have a “horror story” part where they put down every non member company,they can think of.