GARAGE owners have been warned after a rogue trading father and son selling doors in Chelmsford were stung by BBC Watchdog.
Paul and Graham Kelly, who ran a series of Essex firms that went bust, appeared on the primetime show after its researchers received floods of complaints from Chelmsford residents.
The show highlighted how the duo’s firms - Essati, Vecelli and Roman Garage Doors - sold dangerous products, which were prone to quickly breaking, before they wriggled out of warranty agreements.
Each time pressure mounted on the family for refunds or repairs, the pair would fold before opening a business under a new name at their Drakes Lane Industrial Estate base in Boreham, the BBC claimed.
In a climactic showdown with presenter Matthew Allwright, son Graham denied foul play, but admitted there are still Chelmsford customers out there whose doors have “safety issues”.
He refused refunds, but told the broadcaster repairs will be carried out for those residents with complaints.
When producers set up a secret CCTV honey trap in a Chelmsford home, Roman workers were caught fitting a garage door after admitting to their boss it was “cut on the wonk” – skewed in other words.
Garage door experts examining the installation from a secret room labelled the workmanship, costing £1,100, dangerous while voicing concerns about structural integrity.
The electronic remote control garage malfunctioned just moments after the workmen disappeared.
Things went from bad to worse for the Kellys when a worker was caught telling a BBC mole the garage door will be unlikely to last a year – incidentally the same timespan as the warranty’s lifespan.
But when they offered an additional nine-year warranty via Chelmsford based PK Warranties, the show revealed it was owned by Paul Kelly, Graham’s father.
Residents with faulty garages appeared on the show saying their warranty claims were turned down.
They explained PK cancelled the deal because the installation companies were bust, exempting them from repairs or refunds.
Christine McCassey, of Chelmsford, said on the show: “I bought one for about £1,000.
My daughter Lucy was walking under it and it fell down and hit her on the head.
“I just thought ‘oh my word, how can that happen so soon to something that is just fitted?’”
The Weekly News has contacted Graham Kelly for comment.
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