As a result of Veron’s expert advice, New Zealand’s Commerce Commission have been successful in pressing charges against the misrepresentation of an external wall cladding panel system

With a shortage of housing stock, rising construction costs and the need to meet recently amended fire regulations, the New Zealand construction industry is often exposed to new untested products and systems from abroad.  Unfortunately, not all of these products are suitable for our specific New Zealand climate conditions leading to failure and extensive repairs required.

As featured on One News in May 2018, Global Fibre8 Limited (GF8) supplied such a sub-standard cladding panel system to the market, promoting it as being “resistant to fire, moisture, earthquakes, termites, cyclone and harsh weather”.  For at least two new-build home owners who purchased and installed the KT3 system on their new homes, cracks started appearing in the cladding shortly after it was installed.  This was the beginning of many issues with the product itself and frustrations in dealing with GF8 to get these issues resolved.

Veron were engaged by one of the affected families to carry out an investigation to identify key defects with the K3T cladding panels.  Our experienced building surveyors’ independent advice assisted our client with their successful legal recourse.

This year, New Zealand’s consumer “watchdog”, the Commerce Commission, has filed eight representative charges against GF8 and its sole shareholder under the Fair Trading Act, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.