Manchester chief officer Tom Burke said: "The M.E.N. investigation is one of the best things that could have happened in helping bring Miller to task. I congratulate you on your work."
We revealed how hundreds of people across Britain had forked out thousands of pounds for kitchens with units which had to be held together with sticky tape and doors which melted when the oven was turned on.
They told us how they were treated appallingly by the firm's "customer services" with many left distraught as they tried in vain to get what they had paid for.
The M.E.N. investigated Miller and discovered he had built himself a luxury lifestyle. The 38-year-old lived in a plush, detached house in Ramsbottom and drove a top-of-the-range BMW.
On the surface he appeared every inch the successful businessman but we discovered a dark past.
Violent Miller is no stranger to the courts. He was jailed for six months in 1998 for punching an environmental health worker in the face. She had gone to ask him about a minor pollution complaint near Birtle Kitchens, the company he then managed.
While in prison, in May 1999, he was fined £300 after being convicted of hurling a fire extinguisher through the sunroof of a female journalist's car.
When the M.E.N. first confronted Miller about his business he told us there was nothing wrong with his kitchens and came up with a series of excuses for why people had encountered problems.
But following publication we were swamped with calls from unhappy customers.
We passed our information to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The OFT served Miller with documents warning him he could face court action but he ignored the threat.
The DTI closed down two of his businesses, Craftsman Kitchens and Craftsman Kitchen Manufacturing "in the public interest" in 2002.
But the MEN then revealed that he set up Maple Industries, a new kitchen business.
Again we passed on our information to the authorities. The OFT issued a `Stop Now' order telling Miller he must stop selling shoddy kitchens but he continued and in a bid to escape bad publicity set up yet another new company, this time called Kitchen Warehouse.
In January this year we published an appeal to the OFT demanding that they take action and passed a dossier on Miller to Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
Finally, the man who brought misery to hundreds was hauled before the courts and yesterday jailed for nine months.
Tweet
Comments
Login or Register to comment
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I didn't know about Vance Miller, I purchased a kitchen which was finally delivered 15/9/05 except it still isn't all there, parts are broken, parts missing. When the promised repleacements didn't arrive...after 3 hrs of phone calls at my expense, I visited twice in the hope of getting a complete kitchen but I have been met with abuse and sneering. Some staff are helpful in part but the matter is still not resolved. I'm having to pay my fitter more than I expected as he's having to spend more time...and I do not have a working kitchen 4 months later. What do I do? Letters are ignored, all I want is what I've paid for, is that too much to ask?
I have bought several kitchens from Mr. Miller over the past 6 years and have always found him helpful and a true gentleman. I think that the problems were overstated and that the claimants were overreacting as it was probably just a bit of fun as he has an incouragable sense of humour.