Q1 Why should I use a member of the Property Care Association (PCA), a subsidiary of the British Wood Preserving and Damp-proofing Association (BWPDA)?
A1 The PCA is the largest Association of its kind in Europe. It vets over 22 aspects of a member company's practice and procedures, including technical and financial and, importantly from your point of view, all aspects of health and safety with regard to the consumer.
Q2 Are PCA members better than other contractors?
A2 There are some excellent contractors who are not members of the PCA, there are also many contractors who are simply cowboys. As they undergo no independent assessment, how are you to tell the quality? The fact that they are approved by a manufacturer is not necessarily a stamp of quality, as some manufacturers have no inspection procedures, in others it is purely nominal and only a few actually genuinely examine their contractors. The PCA examines every member, not only before being admitted to membership, but on an on-going basis. All member companies surveyors are required to be qualified to CSRT which is a written examination on all aspects of wood destroying beetles (and insects), wood destroying fungi, the legal implications of treatments, Party Walls Act, Endangered Species Act etc and, of course, health and safety. Specialist structural waterproofing contractors must also be qualified to CSSW and are further financially vetted by the GPI.
Q3 Will my family be affected by the chemicals used?
A3 Unless you are hyper-allergic, no. All member companies' technicians are trained in the safe use, handling and disposal of chemicals, work to approved codes of practice and use the safest chemicals available on the market.
Q4 What if I am not happy with the contractor's work?
A4 The PCA has a mediation service which is available to everybody at a nominal cost. If the dispute cannot be resolved by this method, the PCA can advise on independent consultants who will arbitrate in the matter (though this of course is subject to their fees). The independent consultants who are members of the PCA are used as expert witnesses in Court cases both here and overseas.
Q5 What if the contractor goes out of business?
A5 Most contractors issue 30 year guarantees but on
average 75% of them go out of business within 20 years.
This is much less in the PCA where they are financially
assessed before being admitted into membership. However,
the PCA's sister company, Guarantee Protection Insurance
Ltd (GPI) can offer an insurance certificate to insure
you for a period of 20 years* from the time the work is
carried out.(20 years is the maximum period of insurance
currently allowed by the FSA). If the contractor goes out
of business the GPI will provide another PCA contractor
in his place to rectify any problems under the guarantee,
free of charge.
*structural waterproofing mainly 10 years.
Q6 What is the difference between an insured guarantee and an insurance-backed guarantee?
A6 The GPI offers 20 years* insurance
for a one-off payment. You will receive an insurance
certificate for the full 20 year period. Your
premium will be subject to Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)
at 5% showing that you are buying a recognised insurance.
Insurance-backed guarantees usually have insurance on an
annual basis (though the warranty is for thirty years this
is only from the company and not the insurers), the policy
is in the name of the company issuing the guarantee or
the warranty, and should in any year the insurance not
be paid then you have no redress at all. These
guarantees are easily recognised as they do not charge
IPT, showing clearly that it is not an insurance policy. Some
contractors offer guarantees from an off-shore company
stating that it is free from IPT and free from VAT. The
Customs and Excise rules state that if the insured risk
is in this country then IPT should be paid.
*structural waterproofing mainly 10 years.
REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE NOT PAYING IPT ON AN "INSURANCE" OR AN "INSURED" GUARANTEE THEN IT IS NOT INSURANCE. ONLY IF YOU ARE PAYING IPT AT 5% ON AN INSURANCE IS IT GENUINE INSURANCE.(Channel Isles & Isle of Man excepted)
SEE OUR LEAFLET UNDER LITERATURE: BE INSURE - INSURE for a full comparison of the benefits of insurance compared with "insurance-backed".
Q7 Why GPI instead of a manufacturer's guarantee when a manufacturer will cover the whole 30 years?
A7 First of all the GPI is a genuine
insurance for the full 20 years* (see above). Secondly,
GPI is completely independent and exists only to issue
insurances, it does not manufacture, distribute, train
or formulate. Guarantees are its only business, not an
afterthought. Despite issuing 30 year guarantees, we believe
that no chemical manufacturing company has remained in
the same ownership for 20 years, and many well-known names
no longer exist, e.g. Thomas Ness belonged to the National
Coal Board, now no longer exists, Burmah Solignum no longer
exists, Catomance is no longer in this business, Wykamol,
Stanhope and Nubex have all been liquidated, though the
names have been bought by Lectros. Those guarantees however
that have been managed by the GPI since 1992 are safe from
that period onwards (where the insurance has been taken
out).
*structural waterproofing mainly 10 years.
Q8 What happens if GPI goes into liquidation ?
A8 In answer A7, you saw that GPI is a regulated company. The FSA checks on the finances every 13 weeks, and we have to submit a solvency calculation with every quarter's returns. Currently GPI has over £7m in reserve, it has five-fold the stringent financial solvency requirement, calculations show that if 80% of the members went out of business tomorrow, there are sufficient funds to meet all claims over the next 20 years and should the Financial Services Authority have any doubts at all about on-going solvency they will put GPI into what is called a "run-off situation". In a run-off situation, an insurance company cannot write any other business but must run-off the guarantees that are already in force over the next 20 years. The run-off is called when there are still sufficient funds to meet all their obligations over the next 20 years. It is therefore impossible for anybody who takes out an insurance policy with GPI to lose out because of receivership, bankruptcy or any other financial reason.
GPI is also a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which effectively means that even if a miscalculation has been made, you will receive 100% of the first £2,000 claim and 90% of the balance.
Q9 What happens if I sell my property?
A9 The GPI Insurance is on the property and goes with the property when you sell, giving added value. There is no need to inform us of a change in ownership and there are no transfer fees. Many contractors charge an assignment fee and failure to advise a change of ownership can result in their guarantee being cancelled. Though this won't affect our insurance you should always check on the contractor's requirements, because if he is still in business it is his responsibility to correct faults.