Anger after window company shuts leaving customers with unfulfilled orders

My Ideal Choice had been based at a business park off the A140 near Eye but has since left Picture: GOOGLE (Image: Google)

My Ideal Choice Ltd had been supplying windows, doors, conservatories and other glazing products to homes across East Anglia since 2014.

While some customers praised the company's work, others said recent orders had gone unfulfilled, despite payments being made.

Dave Chaplin, 63, made several orders to install windows and doors at his Ipswich home, and said he had been pleased with its services until his order for a patio awning.

Mr Chaplin said he paid a deposit and instalment, totalling £2,500, but when the installation date of June 12 came and went with no news, he found he could not contact the company.

After another day with no sign of the company, Mr Chaplin checked its details on Companies House, which confirmed his fears.

Records show My Ideal Choice's director David Peck made an application to dissolve the company on May 29 - but that the action was suspended after an objection from a creditor was filed on June 19.

"They were clearly in trouble but hadn't let any of their awaiting customers know," Mr Chaplin said.

He also contacted a supplier, which he said confirmed My Ideal Choice had not placed his order - despite having received his payment two months earlier.

As Mr Chaplin had paid on credit card, he was able to claim the money back - but he has questioned whether other less fortunate customers may have been left out of pocket.

When trading as Ideal Choice Home Improvements the company was in dispute with Stephen Jones over repairs to the roof at his home in Wareham Picture: IAN BURT (Image: Archant 2017)

Sandra Schug, 59, who also lives in Ipswich, said she spent around £10,000 with the company.

Like Mr Chaplin, she was at first pleased with the work, and made several orders including for a porch and replacement windows.

But when problems started to emerge after installation, Mrs Schug also found she could not get through to the company.

"I became suspicious when I could not contact them," she said. "The windows we had replaced were 25 years old but we had never had to have the company back to repair these. It made us realise this wasn't a good deal and maybe not the quality goods we thought we were buying.

"I'm now worried about where we stand with the guarantee and so called insurance policy and also unhappy about the lack of information."

Both Mrs Schug and Mr Chaplin said they were first introduced to the company by a door to door salesman and received many follow-up phone calls for extra sales.

One of its former telephone numbers has been flagged as "nuisance" on a complaints site with 23 comments of complaint.

During this time the company was trading under the name Ideal Choice Home Improvements.

A Norfolk pensioner also complained about the company to the Eastern Daily Press last year after being left with a leaking kitchen ceiling for seven weeks.

Mr Chaplin had his money refunded as he paid on credit card Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

Stephen Jones, from Wereham, said the company never told him they were not returning to fix the job.

At the time, directors for Ideal Choice Home Improvements, which was then based at Rackheath Industrial Estate, claimed they had sent Mr Jones two letters telling him the job was not going ahead anymore.

The company was then owned by a Thai businesswoman, according to Companies House.

However, it changed its name in April 2018, and appointed new directors.

Mr Peck, 40, was appointed in November 2018. His stated address was the same as the company's trading location in Brome, near Eye. The company had been leasing a space in a vehicle sales showroom. However, a member of staff at the showroom confirmed My Ideal Choice had left "relatively recently" with no forwarding address.

The company's most recent financial statement, for 2017, shows it owed creditors more than £500,000.

Two companies in the Suffolk and Norfolk region have confirmed they are still owed money. One said the figure was "in the thousands" and it was planning to take the company to court.

Suffolk Trading Standards said it did not have any live complaints against My Ideal Choice on its record. However, it has records of civil complaint by a Suffolk resident in July 2018.

My Ideal Choice and its directors could not be contacted for comment.

investigations unit logo (Image: Archant)

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