If you find it difficult to understand all the clauses and exclusions in a dishwasher warranty, imagine the six-page document that comes with a new home.
It deals with the seven guarantees offered: down payments, completion, poor workmanship, building defects, construction defects, soil defects and rehousing / storage. Each one having its definitions and its peculiarities. In particular, precise deadlines for denunciation.
Of course, a house is much more complex than a household appliance. The guarantee plan could extend over 50 pages that we would not be so surprised.
This should not, however, justify a convoluted complaints process. The consequences of a poorly constructed house can be far too nightmarish.
“There is a big difference between what is presented online and the reality,” laments the new homeowner who has been fighting for over a year with GCR to have certain things redone. He requested anonymity so as not to harm his chances of success. Based on his experience, he says the claims process is far from straightforward and the warranty covers too little to be reassuring.
“If I buy back, I won’t rely on it,” he concludes.
As I wrote on Thursday, many consumers who fought GCR to honor their warranty have bad memories. And President Daniel Laplante himself admits that the arbitration process is not easy.
Read “Residential construction, the challenge of honoring the warranty”
By creating Garantie de construction residielle (GCR), Quebec knew that it should also subsidize a counter-power, an organization intended to protect the beneficiaries of the guarantee plan.
This is how SOS Residential Guarantee Plan was born, a creation of the Consumers Association for Quality in Construction (ACQC).
“The administrator has a conflict of interest when it comes time to help consumers, because it costs him dearly”, told me its president, Albanie Morin, also a member of the board of the ACQC and a former member of the board of GCR.
If GCR still lacks notoriety after six years, SOS is even less well known. This is a shame, because consumers, who are often new to construction, really need support in their complaints process.
Moreover, no call was received in the wake of the Bel-Habitat scandal, which says a lot …
It must be said that the organization took a long time to obtain funding. “The bug has been around since 2016, but from 2016 to 2019, we had to fight to get money from the RBQ,” says Albanie Morin. It was therefore only at the beginning of 2020, after having made a few hires, that SOS Residential Guarantee Plan became “functional”. Its services are offered free of charge.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Albania Morin
The big problem is to make yourself known. People have to call us to help them.
Albania Morin
For its first three years, it has a budget of around $ 1 million which covers the salaries of four people (including a lawyer) and operations.
Among all the owners who told me about their dealings with GCR, only one knew of the existence of SOS Residential Guarantee Plan and had called upon it.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The explanatory document of SOS Residential Guarantee Plan
GCR has nevertheless undertaken to direct its beneficiaries there, reports Albanie Morin. “Let’s say that … so far, they have [envoient] people who are protected by the old guarantee plans. […] They want to be the primary source of warranty information. ”
In an interview, the president of GCR, Daniel Laplante, announced that he would soon be holding an event during which 600 consumers would be explained how to make a complaint. “I don’t have to do this! “, he added.
Albanie Morin recognizes that GCR is making a lot of efforts to “improve things and reduce complaints”, in particular by noting the most frequent complaints and by discussing these subjects precisely with the contractors. The newsletter explaining the right way to do work has become “a benchmark” in the industry, she adds.
But there are still many projects to be completed, starting with the update of the guarantee plan. Let us hope that the measures taken to improve consumer protection are commensurate with the consequences of botched work.
Read “New home warranty, it will take more than tinkering” Read “Residential construction warranty, difficult beginnings” Visit the SOS website Residential warranty plan Visit the GCR website