kitchen legal help(or advise) required

stationairy

hi need some help

bought a kitchen 3 and a half years ago, not a cheap one £7500 for a small place. well over last 3 months or so i have noticed the units bubbling and it is just get worse and worse.

so i contacted guy who fitted and supplied units and he came out and had a look and stated its water damage and this is not covered and will cost £800 to replace.

so i said its a kitchen there is going to be water and steam but no more than any other kitchen and asked if any problems with any other of these he has fitted, he said no (which is what i expected), so i said maybe faulty batch
so he said would contact manufacturer.

well they sent someone out and he said well i must wiping units down with too much water and this is not covered, so i said well i wipe it sown with same amount of water (which is very minimal) on left as i do on right side and they have not gone, so he said would take it back to manufacturer and see what say.

well have received letter this morning and states we are not covered and we can get them replaced but at a cost of £800

so really i am just after a bit of advise what to do next

because surely wiping units down should not make them bubble and if so why have the other units not gone

micko2602

What is near to the damaged units? Are they close to your cooker, tumble drier or dish washer.

stationairy

close to cooker but thats it the washing machine and everything is in another room

morwenna_macro

Because it is so long after being fitted, you may have difficulty claiming under the Sale of Goods Act. If you go against the manufacturer, you have to prove an inherent defect (which may be difficult). If you keep pursuing it they may cave in - why not offer to pay half the £800? At least it will be done. NB does the guarantee define "water damage" and have you seen it?

stationairy

morwenna_macro wrote:

Because it is so long after being fitted, you may have difficulty claiming under the Sale of Goods Act. If you go against the manufacturer, you have to prove an inherent defect (which may be difficult). If you keep pursuing it they may cave in - why not offer to pay half the £800? At least it will be done. NB does the guarantee define "water damage" and have you seen it?

thanks for reply no not seen guarentee from manufacturer

but surely when you put kitchens units in a kitchen there is going to be water so they should be protected against this

i mean kitchen had before had it for 10 years and no bubbling
just dont understand how companys can get away with these things time and time again
i mean i may not be due to water they just picked that out there heads and thought we will run with it

ka7e

I would think it's more likely to be heat damage than water. I have a high-gloss laminate kitchen and the laminate at the edges of some doors has shrunk near the cooker and over the microwave. It is only noticeable when the doors are open and the suppliers gave us some spare doors should we want to replace them. The design was discontinued very quickly (!). Surely "water damage" might apply to units damaged in a flood, but they should be able to withstand washing down and the levels of humidity normally found in kitchens (especially as your tumble dryer is in another room).

stationairy

ka7e wrote:

I would think it's more likely to be heat damage than water. I have a high-gloss laminate kitchen and the laminate at the edges of some doors has shrunk near the cooker and over the microwave. It is only noticeable when the doors are open and the suppliers gave us some spare doors should we want to replace them. The design was discontinued very quickly (!). Surely "water damage" might apply to units damaged in a flood, but they should be able to withstand washing down and the levels of humidity normally found in kitchens (especially as your tumble dryer is in another room).

hi thanks for reply thats what i would have though i mean if it was water damage say my house had been flodded then yes i could understand but it has not. they are saying just by wiping down units has caused this damage

where do you recommend i could take this to

you no you said they replaced your doors, did you have to put up a fight to get the spare doors

ka7e

stationairy wrote:

hi thanks for reply thats what i would have though i mean if it was water damage say my house had been flodded then yes i could understand but it has not. they are saying just by wiping down units has caused this damage

where do you recommend i could take this to

you no you said they replaced your doors, did you have to put up a fight to get the spare doors

You could contact your local Trading Standards office, see what they recommend.
Your original contract was with the supplier/fitter - was it him or the manufacturer that wrote to you? You could ask another fitter to have a look and ask what is his opinion of the cause of the damage. If you have advice from the TS office and an independant fitter, the original fitter may reconsider. If not, take the information to the manufacturer. I would take some photos of the damage and send the pics directly to them. State that this was an expensive kitchen that should not deteriorate so badly with only 3 years of normal wear. Would they be willing to replace the doors as a gesture of goodwill?
I had no problem getting my replacement doors - but as they were being discontinued, there were a lot going spare!!