Portland Conservatories

I worked for Portland conservatories 13 years ago and they were an excellent company, the quality was outstanding, they were owned by homeform group then (same as moben, sharps etc) but then sold to an American company and it went downhill from there, they went into administration and unfortunately a buyer was not found so the original Portland (specialists in hardwood conservatories) no longer existed. Amdega (their biggest rival at the time) set up a 'portland conservatories' which is the shoddy stuff that you've been sold, I think that this has now also gone bust though! Just wanted to clear their name a bit as the Portland that I worked for always rectified any problems and were a good reputable company.

Surprised that they lasted this long shows that you cant fool all of the people all of the time

Disaster is all I can say! I thought Portland had gone bust but here they are again. I had to have a new floor the same year as they hadnt put enough joists in (one of the workmen had apparently siphoned off the timber!) and by the second year the paint was peeling and the wood beginning to rot. The windows were double glazed but by year two most of the glass had condensation between the layers - the seals had already gone. I could go on about the labour and service etc but I just want to forget the who horrible incident.

PORTLAND/AMDEGA ARE RUBBISH. I have a letter that states that Portland Conservatories are not as good a standard as Amdega, and Amdega are bad. They cannot guarantee that the pait when applied to wood will be the same as the one you ordered. The tollerances of the "packing pieces" on their work is between 13mm and 20mm but they will use large packing as it "does not impact structural integrity. They tried to overcharge me which took 6 weeks to resolve, the project coordinator blamed the finance dept. They delivered the orangery and when the fitter came he stopped after 1/2 day as some items had not been shipped. The main brackets had not even been manufactured. They failed to pay there sub-contractors so they walk off site. They sold me a durabase system which they changed to full footings without informing me. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE. If I could give them zero I would. STAY WELL CLEAR. I HAVE MAIL TAPED CONVERSATIONS AND PHOTO's TO PROVE THIS.

Portland hiked the contracted price by nearly 20% and offered cancellation which I accepted. Getting my deposit back was pretty drawn out but eventually a Statutory Demand did the trick.

amdega take your deposit then they deliver your sub standard wood in the shape of a conservatory then they send a sub standard builder to do the work for half the money you have paid them so realisticly the builder will cut corners to try and make a bit of money then you as the customer is left to pay your final 10% but you have so many concerns with what has been built they dont give a monkey about it and i will give anyone a 1000 pound if you can get them to fix all your problems the way they look at it its only 10% try ringing them they are so rude they dont care i really mean the 1000 pound they are living on a very old reputation they are so not up to date with customer is the no1 priority and the management there are useless they need to understand that the share holders own amdega not them

Portland are part of Amdega, so be VERY VERY careful before dealing with these people. I made the fatal mistake of buying and Amdega (or Portland same thing) conservatory and it was the biggest mistake of my life!

Go to Amdega reviews at:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-188879.html

Make up your own mind.

I have to say the back up service of Portland Conservatories is atrocious.

The wood is started to rot.

The polycarbonate roof and plastic inserts are coming apart and letting in damp and algae growth has started.

Despite numberous calls no response from Portland Conservatories to rectify bad installation and poor products. I cannot get anyone to supply parts.

All in all a good service from Portland Conservatories. Everything done over the phone, no hassle with pushy salesman. Price very reasonable, especially as its timber.

Really pleased with Portland Conservatories. I ordered a Trade Supply Orangery and a friend of mine went on to order a conservatory, once he saw how well made my Orangery was....

www.portlandconservatories.co.uk ..

I dealt twice with there Trade Manager, very fair and honest service. Had a factory tour..And saved literally tens of thousands of pounds! Great timber..paint finish.. glazing etc..