REAL Assurance Scheme

Important information regarding deposit, advanced payment insurance and workmanship warranty insurance

The company you're contracting with is a member of the REAL Assurance Scheme.  To give you peace of mind we've arranged a scheme that will protect your money you pay the company up front, just in case they cease to trade before they deliver the goods to you.  Of course this is unlikely to happen, but unfortunately it does from time to time.

The scheme is called the Deposit and advanced payment insurance scheme.
The way it works is explained below

How it works

you will not be asked to pay anything for the insurance cover, either to REAL Assurance Scheme or to the company you're contracting with.  One you've signed the contract the company you've contracted with will register your name and address and the total value of the contract with the Insurance Scheme Administrator (QANW).  You should tell the company that you're happy for them to do this on your behalf.

We guarantee that your details will not be passed to anyone else under any circumstances.  The Insurance Administrator will only keep your details on their system for the length of time the policy is valid for.  After that they will be destroyed.  During that time they will be treated in line with the data protection legislation.
Once the Insurance Scheme Administrator receives your details they will send the policy documents confirming the cover you have in place directly to you.  The policy will be in your name and the agreement will be between you and the insurance company.

What it covers

The Policy will be valid from the date you paid the deposit until the date agreed in the contract for the goods to be delivered to you for installation (so long as the period is 120 days or less).  If the company later tells you it's unable to deliver the goods on the agreed date, through no fault of yours, you should contact the insurance Scheme Administrator and ask for a policy extension. (If by any chance the extension is for longer than 30 days you may be asked to pay a small additional premium which the company should agree to refund.)

What you need to do

Once you receive the policy document, you should keep it safe until you receive the goods ready to be installed.  You should also keep careful records of the deposit and advanced payments you make.  Please note that if you've paid by credit card, the insurance provider will expect your credit card company to refund your money in the event the company ceases to trade before they've delivered the goods to you.  If you find out that the company you have contracted with has ceased to trade you should follow the claims procedure outlined in your policy document.  You should contact the Insurance Scheme administrator on the number overleaf.  where you have a valid claim, the insurer can: either refund you the value of the deposit and any advanced payment; or find you another company that is a member of the REAL Assurance Scheme, to provide you with the equivalent goods up to the limits of the policy.  In this case you would still have to pay the balance of the contract price once the installation is complete.

Workmanship warranty insurance

With your policy document you will be offered the chance to insure the workmanship guarantee the company will give you when the installation is complete.  The insurance will be valid for the same period as the guarantee.  Please note this is not the same as the manufacturer's guarantee(s), but is the guarantee for the installation work itself.  This extra insurance will cost you around £35.  It is entirely up to you to decide whether to take out the insurance or not.  You will only receive one letter from the Insurance Scheme Administrator about this, with your other policy document.  We have approved the letter to be sure that it is not misleading in any way.  If you decide to take out insurance you will need to complete the application form provided.

Our Workmanship Guarantee

Alongside REAL and notwithstanding product warranties, we are also prepared to guarantee our workmanship for 5 years.  We are looking to support our customers in their investment and are here to help in the unlikely event of a problem.

FSA regulation

It's important for you to know that the company you're contracting with is not selling you the insurance cover.  They are not allowed to comment on the insurance cover other than in informing about it and passing you this leaflet.  This is because the company is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to sell or advise in respect of insurance.  The insurer behind the Scheme (GPI) is fully FSA-regulated.
It's also important to know that neither the REAL Assurance Scheme nor the company has received any commission or other inducement for setting up or participating in the Deposit and Advance Payment Insurance Scheme.  The Office of fair Trading, which fully backs the REAL Assurance Scheme, is supportive of the Insurance Scheme which fulfils their goal to ensure that consumers' funds paid in advance are safeguarded.

More information

You can find full details of the Deposit and Advanced Payment Insurance Scheme, the policy, the relevant terms and conditions Frequently Asked Questions and other useful information from the Insurance Scheme Administrator (QANW)'s website: https://real.qanw.co.uk

If you have any questions about the Deposit and Advanced payment Insurance scheme, please call the Insurance Scheme Administrator (QANW) on 01292 268020

Real Assurance Scheme members must comply with the Consumer Code backed by the Office of Fair Trading.  More details about the REAL assurance Scheme can be found on our website: www.realassurance.org.uk

click here to download a printable version of this page on the REAL Assurance Scheme