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[KY Cygni]

On 18/12/2022 at 13:56, wesdon1 said:

Hi Steve. It really saddens me reading this. I think maybe if you asked the high court for them to send those high court enforcement bailiffs who have basically cate' blanche to turn up at any business and clean them out, if they won't pay the debts ? Harsh, I know, but there comes a point when you can't wait any longer and continue allowing these people to cause you any more distress and hardship! You paid a substantial sum of money to that business in good faith, so you are well withing your legal and indeed moral rights to expect to receive the services and/or goods you were paying for! I sincerely hope you get your monies back and the nightmare can end for you asap!

Clear Skies.

Wes.

Hi Wes 

Bailiffs have been to the workshop address and there was no sign of activity. They also went to the address I found for Gareth Thomas a mile away which turned out not to be our guy. I ended up having a phone call with this chap to explain and he was really good about it. 

I'm too long in the tooth to get distressed about it, I do feel for other people that may be more affected by this.

I fully believe he will surface and be held to account.

[KY Cygni]

I just had a read through the HOUK threads to get a rough idea how many are out of pocket and the deposits paid.  This may not be 100% accurate as some are from old posts and info may not have been updated.

1. Myself £1,450
2. SDN £?
3. Steve Lintott £3,500
4. tdinneen £1,900
5. Ben Whittle £?
6. Mount Longlevens £3,100
7. CarerSterennow £?
8. Andrew G48 £?

If we assume a rough average deposit of £1,500 for the missing figures then we get to £15,950. 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by KY Cygni
mistake

[wesdon1]

1 hour ago, KY Cygni said:

Hi Wes 

Bailiffs have been to the workshop address and there was no sign of activity. They also went to the address I found for Gareth Thomas a mile away which turned out not to be our guy. I ended up having a phone call with this chap to explain and he was really good about it. 

I'm too long in the tooth to get distressed about it, I do feel for other people that may be more affected by this.

I fully believe he will surface and be held to account.

Hi again sir. Yes I understand, maybe the business owner has fleeced a lot of people and now he's doing what a lot of them do, hiding away hoping everything will just go away? He will definitely be held to account at some point, they mostly always are, it's just such a shame that people have to suffer in the meantime. I would suggest you put it down to experience, and have a great Christmas with family n friends, and in the new year, hopefully it will be resolved. 

best Wishes and merry Christmas

Wes.

[AndrewG48]

In response to KY Cygni, my deposit was £1520

I have had no communication with Gareth Thomas at all, my initial contact was with Nathan who left the business. I have written requesting a refund but have not had any reply. I refuse to be distressed about it and, with the help of my two sons have built our own observatory which was a great experience.

Like Steve I am sure Gareth will surface and be held to account

[carastro]

....and these are just the people we know about.

Carole 

[malc-c]

2 hours ago, carastro said:

....and these are just the people we know about.

Carole 

Yeah...  who knows how many people outside this thread have been stung as well

[Stuart1971]

I really admire you guys who have lost so much money and are still in such good spirits, if it was me I would not rest  until I had some sort of payback, and am pretty sure one way or another I would have found  the guy by now…..

I had  a quote of them at the start of lockdown for an obsy, and I was so close to going for it, wow, am I glad I built my own instead….

[teoria_del_big_bang]

14 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

I really admire you guys who have lost so much money and are still in such good spirits, if it was me I would not rest  until I had some sort of payback, and am pretty sure one way or another I would have found  the guy by now…..

Very much how I guess I would be in the same situation.
I also admire the spirit in which this is being taken, and I do think that is the best way to handle this as it would be us two suffering the most because we would let it get to us rather than getting on with life.
I really do hope eventually all the customers involved get some form of  compensation, although that may not be easy, most of all I hope at least they can really put all the upset behind them and get on enjoying their great hobby 🙂 

Steve

[Stuart1971]

6 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Very much how I guess I would be in the same situation.
I also admire the spirit in which this is being taken, and I do think that is the best way to handle this as it would be us two suffering the most because we would let it get to us rather than getting on with life.
I really do hope eventually all the customers involved get some form of  compensation, although that may not be easy, most of all I hope at least they can really put all the upset behind them and get on enjoying their great hobby 🙂 

Steve

Between us we would have got it sorted…..👍🏻

[AndrewG48]

Hello all. I made contact with the company that hosts houk website and advised them of the situation. They have taken the site down pending any contact with Gareth

[malc-c]

1 hour ago, AndrewG48 said:

Hello all. I made contact with the company that hosts houk website and advised them of the situation. They have taken the site down pending any contact with Gareth

Well that will at least prevent any new deposits being taken.  I wonder if the hosing company has an address for Graham (assuming he's the owner of the domain) which could be passed on to the courts or their representatives 

Well done Andrew

[carastro]

On 09/01/2023 at 14:44, AndrewG48 said:

Hello all. I made contact with the company that hosts houk website and advised them of the situation. They have taken the site down pending any contact with Gareth

Well done Andrew.   To be honest I am not a victim of this, but I do hate to see other people caught up in this sort of situation.

Carole 

[kirkster501]

Has anyone had any dealings at all with the guys at HOUK recently????  I am moving home and  I want my superb HOUK observatory to be taken down and moved five miles and re-erected after I have built the base.  Such a shame if they are now done since the quality of Nathan and Gareth's work is superb.  Their website is no longer live.

Looks like I will be moving it myself [somehow].

Edited March 7 by kirkster501

[malc-c]

As can be seen from the posts above getting hold of anyone connected with the company had proved difficult, and to prevent more people being conned out of their deposits the website was shut down by the hosting company, presumably to prevent more people being conned out of their deposits.

I would guess that the construction is very modular, with frames screwed or bolted together, so it shouldn't be too difficult to dismantle and move.

[kirkster501]

^^^^Yes, looks like this will have to be the way forward.  I agree, they erected the large sections on site.  Only the roof was built in situ.

They were superb craftsman, I will say that for them.  It is shame they went under.  But more of a concern they ripped people off and I am sorry for those folks that were.

 

Edited April 13 by kirkster501