Bradford couple Julie and Kevin Hodgson are hopping mad after paying £3,800 to have the outside of their house weather-proofed.

They signed up for the work with Batley-based Weather-Bloc after a doorstep rep called at their home in School Green.

Mrs Hodgson said: "They came in August last year and coated the walls with primer, put on the top coat and fitted beading round the windows and on the corners of the walls to make them look straight.

"My husband was putting up a brick porch and they said they would come back and do that when he had finished.

"By Christmas they still had not returned and by this time we were ringing them on a daily basis.

"Most of the time I couldn't get hold of anyone and when I did they said someone would be round the following week - but they never turned up.

"This went on until May and in that time rust patches were coming through the weatherproof coating from the beading, which they said was galvanised and wouldn't rust.

"When we finally got through they said they knew all about it, someone had already come round and done a full report and they would be sending someone out.

"Eventually a man came and chipped away round the windows and said water had got through to the beading."

The firm then sent workmen round to coat the porch, saying they would come back the following week to paint it.

The couple say that work has still not been done. Last Friday they say Weather-Bloc sent round a surveyor who said the beading was faulty.

Mr Hodgson said: "It still does not explain how water got through a waterproof coating. They have painted over the rust patches and he said they would keep doing that but if it came back they would have to rip out the beading and replace it.

"I have no doubt they will come back again this winter once the heavy weather gets on to it."

A West Yorkshire Trading Standards spokesman said: "Clearly if the work was done properly using proper materials with reasonable care and skill, then rust should not be appearing.

"The company needs to take whatever steps necessary to ensure matters are rectified and there is no further repetition."

Weather-Bloc contracts manager Alan Humphries said the fault lay with the beading and he confirmed his company was in the middle of legal action with the material's supplier.

"There is nothing wrong with our coating system - that isn't at fault," he said.

"It's the beading which was not fully galvanised. Unfortunately we have used some from the same batch on about six houses.

"We went round in May but we didn't just put some paint over it as the Hodgsons are saying.

"We scraped the coating system off the beading and applied an epoxy resin which is supposed to re-galvanise the metal. We then re-applied the weather coating."

He said there were now only two sections of beading still causing problems and the re-galvanising process would be tried again this weekend.

"We will monitor the situation right through the winter and if the problem reoccurs we will have no alternative but to take the beading out and replace it."

Asked about the delay in work on the porch, Mr Humphries said: "When we first contacted them, the porch wasn't finished and unfortunately since then we have been extremely busy and we should have got back to them - they have been kept waiting and we apologise."

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