At White Metal, we take pride in all our products and the service we give. Our promise is, “What we do, we do well!”
For ease of understanding, we have broken down the guarantee on our products into two sections, which we call our:
- Supply Quality Guarantee, which mainly covers (but is not limited to) the initial supply of our products and our
- General Product Guarantee, which is primarily applicable to the longer-term use and enjoyment of our products.
Supply Quality Guarantee
On receipt of your delivery, you must inspect all items, ensuring that you have received all the goods and they are not damaged.
Any damages or shortages must be notified to us, in writing, within three working days of us dispatching your order. Unfortunately, as the couriers take the signature of goods received in good condition as binding, no claims will be entertained for goods signed for in good condition or signed as “unchecked”, etc. So please, stop, check and sign for as damaged if there are any initial concerns.
If you have any queries or concerns with your delivery, please do not hesitate to contact us in the first instance. Please be assured we do our utmost to ensure a successful outcome for all queries.
If the goods are not of satisfactory quality within the meaning of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, or there is defective workmanship, White Metal will, at our expense and our option, repair or replace the goods or defective parts, provided that, if we request, the goods or faulty parts can be collected. Please see the Our Liability section below for more details.
Please do not schedule or start any installation work until after receiving your order and checking all goods for any defects or missing parts. This will enable you to resolve any technical questions or order specific additional fittings if needed.
Product type-specific notes:
Glass:
The acceptable tolerance in glass panel sizes and the acceptable visual standards are governed by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) industry standards. (https://www.whitemetal.co.uk/acceptable-glass-tolerances-standards/)
More details on this are available here.
Please note that blemishes’ obtrusiveness is judged by looking through the panel of glass (not at it) in natural daylight (rather than direct lighting), all from a distance of 3 metres.
Paint or powder-coated finishes:
As this is a commercial finish, it is typical for these finishes to have an orange peel appearance, speckles, bubbles, craters, pinholes and processing marks that occur during manufacturing. These are not considered defects or covered under the guarantee unless they are visible from three metres.
Anodised Finishes:
It is typical for anodised finishes to have colour variation and dye and processing marks that occur during manufacturing. These are not considered defects or covered under this guarantee.
General Product Guarantee
Our general product guarantee must be read in conjunction with our Supply Quality Guarantee, as it forms a substantial part of our general product guarantee and is only in a separate section for ease of understanding.
All our systems are designed to give you many years of use in your property, and we are confident that when correctly installed and maintained, our systems will far our last any guarantee we could give!
However, for your peace of mind, we offer the original purchaser the following guarantees for the period stated from the initial delivery date:
Metalwork on systems – a 5-year guarantee, covering:
- poor workmanship
- the structural integrity of our components
- mechanical failure of stainless steel or aluminium components.
- Grades of materials supplied meet or exceed the grades specified on our invoice.
The glass part of systems – A 2-year guarantee, covering:
- Laminated glass – material edge separation or obstruction of vision from delaminating.
- A certificate of conformity can be supplied to confirm the Kitemark standard the glass has been manufactured to; each panel is individually Kitemarked.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this guarantee, and as determined by White Metal in its sole discretion, products supplied by White Metal must have been:
- stored according to our instructions and industry best practices, whether they have been issued verbally, in writing, or our marketing material.
- Installed strictly following our installation instructions and procedures and general industry good practice.
- Installed using the appropriate fixings.
- Only used in the correct and intended manner it was designed for and never subjected to any usage outside these parameters.
- Visually inspected every three months for:
- damage
- loose fixings/ground anchors
- reduction in performance
- Maintained in accordance with White Metals’ recommended procedure of regularly washing the profiles with warm soapy water. Do not try to clean the products with solutions containing bleach, acids or abrasive cleaners.
Please note maintenance records, cleaning and inspections but be kept and available for review. This is not because we are the balustrade police, but because failure to consistently carry out these three tasks is the main reason for ongoing problems in balustrades, not just on our products but industry-wide. Simple records being kept act as a reminder to make sure these critical tasks don’t keep getting overlooked or put off!
What’s Not Covered?
As with all warranties and guarantees, some situations are not covered. These typically are:
- any systems or products that have been modified, repaired or altered without White Metals written approval.
- damages attributable to improper installation,
- broken glass (see our article on why glass may break)
- incorrectly installed or the omission of damp proof membranes and drainage,
- inadequate maintenance,
- improper product use,
- normal weathering,
- highly corrosive environments,
- coatings on movable or handled hardware
- damages caused by:
- fire or temperatures over 60 Degrees,
- accident,
- flood,
- acts of God,
- vandalism,
- fair wear and tear,
- wilful damage,
- negligence
- building settlement or structure failures,
- or other occurrences beyond White Metal’s control.
- Given the multitude of legislations, we cannot accept liability for the compliance of our products to local building regulations. Therefore, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is always the customer’s responsibility to observe the existing legal regulations, and advice should be sought from your local planning office.
- Please be aware that none of the metalwork products that we offer are maintenance-free, and White Metal cannot guarantee the durability of the surface finish. Just like a car, cleaning is required to maintain the quality of the product. How often will depend on the environment in which the product is installed.
- White Metal accepts no liability for any corrosion, discolouration, or pitting on products supplied to you as a result of any of the following:
- failure by you to regularly and professionally maintain the stainless steel supplied with an appropriate stainless steel cleaner to prevent the build-up of any harmful residue;
- Failure by you to use the correct stainless steel product or finish that is appropriate to your environment. On request, our technical team can advise you on which stainless steel category and finish is suitable for you; or
- contamination caused by you installing our stainless steel products in proximity to any carbon steel.
- Any other reason providing the grade of stainless supplied is as specified on our invoice.
- White Metal makes no representation, guarantee, express or implied as to the performance of its products in a gale, tropical storm or hurricane.
Our Liability
White Metals’ liability under this guarantee is limited to repair, replacement or refund as determined by White Metal’s sole discretion and does not include carriage, removal or installation of replacements. White Metal will decide whether to repair, replace or refund at its sole discretion. Replacement parts provided will be the closest equivalent product available. The guarantee will not be extended by supplying replacement parts.
All defective parts must be returned to White Metal. White Metal reserves the right to charge for replacement parts through a deposit until the faulty parts are received. White Metal will reimburse the deposit payment in the event of receipt of the defective part, and inspection determines the guarantee is valid.
Claims Procedure
You must contact us as soon as the defect is first noticed (but within three days for goods damaged on delivery) so we can determine the problem and the most appropriate solution for you.
We will usually require a complete description of the defect, photographs or the defective part, the invoice number and the date product was supplied.
General Provisions
THERE ARE NO OTHER GUARANTEES EXCEPT, AS STATED HEREIN, WHITE METAL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE, LOSS OR INJURY TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY. THIS GUARANTEE DOES NOT CONFER ANY RIGHTS OTHER THAN THOSE EXPRESSLY SET OUT ABOVE AND DOES NOT COVER ANY CLAIMS FOR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGE. THIS GUARANTEE IS OFFERED AS AN EXTRA BENEFIT AND DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR STATUTORY RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER.
In Conclusion
As we have said, at White Metal, we take pride in all our products and the service we give. Our promise is, “What we do, we do well!”
All our systems are designed to give many years of use in your property, and we are confident that when correctly installed and maintained, our systems will far our last any guarantee we could give!
We will always do our utmost to help, and ensuring ongoing customer satisfaction is a top priority and an essential ingredient that drives our continuing product and system development.
