Customer record · Last updated 22 October 2026
Love Awnings: deposit only partly refunded for work that was never started
In July 2024 I paid a £10,380 deposit to Alexander Scott Bingham, trading as Love Awnings, for a glass veranda at my home in East Ayrshire. No work was started. In April 2025 Kilmarnock Sheriff Court ordered Mr Bingham to pay me £5,000, which he has paid. The remaining £5,380 has not been recovered. This page sets out what happened, in date order, with the documents behind each step.
Love Awnings traded from Boundary Road, Ayr, and advertised through the website awningsscotland.com. Mr Bingham is also the director of Love Awnings UK Ltd and of Retract UK Ltd, Prestwick.
Timeline
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Love Awnings quotes £20,760 (including VAT) for a glass veranda with sliding doors and heaters at my property. Before quoting, Mr Bingham tells me my existing slab is suitable for the veranda. Quotation Slab advice: my own account, no written record
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I pay a 50% deposit of £10,380 to Love Awnings by bank transfer. Bank statement extract
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Love Awnings emails me invoice 2520 for the deposit, marked "Paid in full", and corrects it the same day at my request. The invoice is in the name "Love Awnings", not the limited company. Invoice
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I ask for an update on the survey. Mr Bingham replies that the survey will follow once his team are back from holiday. Email thread
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After the survey, I am told the existing slab is not suitable and would need to be replaced before the veranda can be installed. My own account; my 20 September email refers to the cost of replacing the slab
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Because of the cost of replacing my existing slab, I ask whether the order can be cancelled and the deposit returned. Mr Bingham replies that he is on holiday and will discuss it on his return. Email thread
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Back from holiday, Mr Bingham phones me and tells me the deposit will not be returned. I agree to find a way to replace the slab so the installation can go ahead. Phone call: my own account, no written record
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I tell Mr Bingham the groundworks will be finished by mid-November and ask to go ahead. He confirms installation can start in November. Email thread
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A new company, Retract UK Ltd, is incorporated with Mr Bingham as director. Company records
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Mr Bingham emails to say "we took the decision to close Love Awnings last week" because costs "got out of control", and refers me to my card provider for a refund. I reply that I paid by bank transfer. Email
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I object to Companies House striking off Love Awnings UK Ltd. The same day, a member of my family who had asked Mr Bingham for a quote receives a £19,944 quotation from Retract UK Ltd for a similar glass veranda. It gives the Love Awnings email address and website. Quotation
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Companies House logs my objection and suspends the strike-off until 16 May 2025. Companies House email
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East and South Ayrshire Trading Standards visit Mr Bingham. They report that he says he is trying to return deposits, and that he contracted with customers personally as a sole trader under the name Love Awnings, not through the limited company. Trading Standards email
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I contact Mr Bingham several times by phone and email about repayment. No repayment is made.
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Kilmarnock Sheriff Court orders Mr Bingham to pay me £5,000, by instalments of £1,000 a month. Court decision
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Mr Bingham pays the £5,000 ordered by the court. I then contact him about the remaining £5,380. He does not answer my calls.
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The £5,000 ordered by the court has been paid. The remaining £5,380 of the deposit has not been returned. Recovering it through the courts would mean a separate, far more formal action, with the risk of being ordered to pay Mr Bingham's legal costs if it failed, and I am not in a position to take that on.
Court decision
- Court
- Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, simple procedure
- Case reference
- KIL-SG98-25
- Respondent
- Alexander Scott Bingham, as an individual (sole trader)
- Date of decision
- 16 April 2025
- Order
- Payment of £5,000, by instalments of £1,000 per month (time to pay direction under the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, consented to by the claimant)
- Expenses
- None awarded to either party
Simple procedure covers claims of up to £5,000. I limited the claim to that amount to recover part of the deposit and bring the matter to a close. The court did not make any decision about the remaining £5,380.
Documents
Personal details, bank details and the names of uninvolved people are redacted. Select a document to view it full size.
Company records
From the public Companies House register, checked on 22 October 2026.
Love Awnings UK Ltd
- Number
- SC706328
- Incorporated
- 10 August 2021
- Status
- Active, with an active proposal to strike off. Accounts and confirmation statement overdue.
- Registered office
- 43 Boundary Road, Ayr, KA8 9DJ
Retract UK Ltd
- Number
- SC826044
- Incorporated
- 16 October 2024
- Status
- Active
- Registered office
- 10 Moor Park Place, Prestwick, KA9 2NH
Director of both companies: Alexander Scott Bingham. Love Awnings advertises through awningsscotland.com, and the Retract UK Ltd quotation gives the Love Awnings email address and website.
About this page
I am the customer described above, and I wrote this page. It describes my own experience and is based on the documents shown here, the court decision and the public Companies House register. It does not describe any other customer's dealings. Statements made by Mr Bingham are quoted from his emails, or as reported by Trading Standards.
If Mr Bingham believes something on this page is inaccurate or incomplete, he can contact me directly with details. I will review it and correct the page, noting the date of any change.