THE CHIEF Executive of a well-known Bradford company has apologised personally to an exasperated 80-year-old customer over a bizarre 17-month door debacle.

Safestyle UK, based at Eldon Place, off Manningham Lane, pledged to ensure cases like this one are not repeated in the future.

It comes after John Coates said he felt "absolutely disgusted" after being made to wait almost a year and a half for a new door.

The pensioner has been asking for his door to be replaced since May last year, but it has proved to be a harder task than he anticipated.

Mr Coates – who lives alone in Bramley – asked Safestyle to replace his door when the finish began to peel off in 2021.

The door was still within its 10-year warranty.

Since then, he says four fitters have attended but have been unable to resolve the issue, due to problems with sizing and even – Mr Coates claims – due to losing one of the replacement doors.

There are no safety issues and the door functions as expected, Mr Coates added, but he is still frustrated at the lack of progress.

“Safestyle has messed around and given so many excuses,” said Mr Coates.

“I don’t know why it’s taking this long to replace a door.

“All they’ve got to do is send someone over to measure the door frame and get a replacement – then it’s sorted.

“When I contacted them in May last year, they said the earliest they could replace it was August – which is a long time to wait to get a door replaced.

“The first door they brought was the wrong size, so I had to wait three months for another one – which was also the wrong size.

“The third door, again, wouldn’t fit the door frame, and the one after that they said they lost in their factory.”

Mr Coates has also criticised Safestyle for what he sees as poor communication.

“They refuse to speak to anybody on the phone – everything is done by email,” he claims.

“They keep cancelling appointments and say they’ll get back to you, but they never do.”

The Telegraph & Argus requested a comment from Safestyle UK, which revealed that its Chief Executive Officer Mike Gallacher had contacted Mr Coates to apologise.

A Safestyle UK spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry about the service Mr Coates has received in relation to an issue with the exterior finish on a door we fitted in 2015.

“We have made a number of mistakes in replacing this door. Mr Coates’ doors remain under our 10-year warranty which is there to provide our customers with peace of mind.

“Safestyle’s Chief Executive Officer has been in contact with Mr Coates to apologise personally and we are scheduled to rectify the issue in the coming days.

“The company is taking steps to ensure cases like this one are not repeated in the future.”