Better Bathrooms.com complaint

Rob_180

Hi, I purchased a new bathroom suite at the end of January on the internet, on delivery the box was not damaged, I opened it and all looked OK so left it in the garage. I then booked plumbers who could not fit it until last week. On starting the work they picked the toilet up to discover a crack to the base which was not noticeable from above. I have complained several times and the company have refused to replace as they say I have not notified them in a reasonable period of time (although the first lady I spoke with thought this was reasonable.)
I have health issues so am unable to lift this myself as it weighs 30KG. Reading about consumer rights it looks as if I am entitled to an exchange as long as I have notified the damage within 6 months.
Do you think I have a case to take this further as I did not notice the damage for 2 months, my initial thought is small claims court ??

zzzzzzzzz

I think that this company have grown too fast as their customer service is not good enough. Their website said that all items were in stock and that I would have them in 3-5 working days. 6 working days later one of the items is out of stock and now they say that my order is on a 14 day delivery - not what I agreed to and my credit card was charged as soon as I ordered. If you are happy to wait for the cheap prices then fine; if you have a time sensitive order then go elsewhere. I will next time. I may yet cancel the entire order as it takes 15mins on an 0844 number before some "customer services" person fobs you off.

gre24l18

I too bought a bathroom from them including a shower and valve. The shower was installed and left under pressure for close to two weeks ( i know this as I was moaning that i couldn't get showered). 8 months later we were stood in our kitchen underneath the bathroom when we noticed a leak, after further investigation (and tiles off our brand new bathroom, the shower screen ripped off and the whole bathroom and upstairs of our house in disrepair) we found that therte was a small crack in the shower valve which must have been leaking for the best part of 8 months which has resulted in water damage to the kitchen floor and damp all up the outside of our house. When we contacted BB they concluded that this was caused by overtightening of the valve by our plumber (they did this by just looking at one photograph). I didn't accept this as I knew it had been under pressure for nearly two weeks so if this was the case it would have leaked whilst we had the tiles off, so I paid an independant plumber to come and give his diagnostic and he conlcuded that it was not caused by overtightening. I then contacted BB again and go the snootiest young girl on the phone who told me she could not pass my call onto her supervisor, nor the techinical department who had ruled that the damage was not a manufacturing fault and nor the compamny director who had the last say in this matter, I could in fact speak to noone apart from the girl on the end of the phone who has the unfortunate luck of being the one to answer my phone call. She could in fact not even diclose the company directors name which to me is the oddest statement to come out of BB. Now nearly 9 months i am still without a shower, shower screen and any order restored to the upstairs of my house and BB still not admitting defeat, so now it is going to cost me nearly £400 to just get my bathroom functional again and god only knows how much to repair the damage in the ceiling and damp to the outisde of the house :-(

(sorry for the long rant but as you can see i'm abit touchy about the subject)

markbuffin

I recently installed my new bathroom and it is looking much better than before,with the help of my bathroom vanities,my bathroom looks good and best.

Scorer

I ordered a bathroom suite from Better Bathrooms which included a mixer bath tap. Both hot and cold taps would only move one-quarter of a turn and water only dribbles out. I reported this on a Wednesday afternoon and was told I would be contacted by the technical department - nothing. Rang next day and was told by a rather aloof lady that the technical department was too busy, but I would by contacted by end ot the day - nothing. Rang the next day, was quite plainly stone-walled and my request to speak to somebody in authority was refused. I was promised a call by the evening - nothing. It has now been 13 days since my first report - nothing. How can a company do business like this?

Trahamokato

Just had a similar experience with Quadra Waterfall taps from Better bathrooms.

Bought from Warrington showroom and nobody told us that these taps only perform well on a pressurised system.. Ours also dribble out. Phone Customer services and was told " it says on the website that they need a pressure system.

I didn't buy off the website so how am I to know that. You would have thought the salesman would have warned us.

Answer from Customer services " You'll just have to buy a pump now"

Be very careful if you are thinking of buying at Better Bathrooms.

Thankfully we bought everything else from Bathstore. They were Brilliant..

Mrash

Well betterbathrooms.com are actually trading illegally. They have a company policy which is not to allow refunds, which, I understand to be against the sales of goods act, and actually illegal. I ordered a toilet and sink from their Manchester store, and was due to collect it for they Warrington depot the following day. This was back in July. When they fetched the goods they were damaged so I rejected them. They brought another pallet, again, they were damaged also. This happened 4 times. I then politely asked for my money back as they couldn't supply me with goods fit for purpose. They refused. My credit card company said a chargeback would be unsuccessful due to their company policy too!!! Tomorrow, I'm seeing a solicitor. I want to make sure this company gets what they deserve. Disgusting flouting of the laws.

gspspringer

I have bought a few things from better bathrooms, but was wary of their exchange only policy, no refunds. I even heard them tell someone at their collection depot he could only have an exchange, but he had purchased online, thought distance selling regulations would apply!
I only purchased items which I knew would not need to be returned unless faulty. However, this has proved to be a big mistake, bought a bath shower mixer which has developed a fault. Initially didn't seem a problem, they would send me a replacement thermostat & instructions on how to fit it. The thermostat arrived, but the instructions were for the wrong model. No Reply to subsequent emails, long waits on phone, promised correct instructions didn't arrive.
They totally ignore the Sale of Goods. I will write to Colin Stevens the MD, but I'm not holding my breath!

wealdroam

gspspringer wrote: »

I will write to Colin Stevens the MD, but I'm not holding my breath!

Why don't you do a small claims court action to recover your money?
Read here.

Did you originally pay by credit card?
If so, read MSE's Section 75 Refunds article.

notnowjohn

I recently ordered our dream bathroom from this company and I have never been so dissapointed in an on-line order since the internet began !

Having ordered the Revive suite with soft close lid, towell rail radiator and tiles with adhesive and grout with a total cost of nearly £1300 it was delivered as promised and on time. This is the only thing that went right from the time that it was delivered.

You only have 20 mins to inspect your delivery,& when you have 30 or more items to check it's not nearly long enough ! Luckily I noticed that a pack of tiles were damaged and got the driver to sign my invoice to confirm this. Having called better bathrooms informing them of the damage,they reluctantly replaced them about a week later. So far so good you may think.

The plumber arrives and fits the whole suite, this is when the problems began.
Firstly the bathwaste broke in his hand. His words were 'i've never seen so much cheap rubbish in all my days as a plumber'.He had to buy a replacement at my expense. The bath and basin taps that i ordered were ok for the bath but were to high mounted for the basin and the water shoots over the basin onto the floor. Better bathrooms said 'these taps are not suitable for that type of basin'. Well why wasn't i told that when i ordered ?

The basin itself had a flaw, it looks like to me,that during the casting process a bubble has appeared and popped, leaving a small hole, the basin came with a plug on a chain & a fixing bolt on the end, but nowhere for it to be fixed on the basin. We now have to place it on the side next to the tap ! Yet again better bathrooms were not interested, they told me to send it back at a cost of £30 to me. How can i do that when it's fitted to my wall ?

The toilet is nice & i've not got a problem with it, but the soft close lid is appalling quality ! When you sit on it, it moves around the rim until it finds a comfy spot, it's floopy & flimsy. If a big person wants to sit on it, i have no doubt in my mind that it will break, being 11st I have just managed to get away with it, somehow ! Again, better bathrooms were not interested.
The towel rail radiator looks very nice, the plumber fitted it and refilled the heating system, only for it to pour out all over my newly plastered & painted wall. The bleed valve was useless, it could not be closed off. I didn't phone better bathrooms to complain, it's a waste of time so i replaced it myself.

Every time that i spoke to better bathrooms, all that they wanted were photos or videos of the problems. I'm sorry but not everybody has all the modern digital equipment to do this, and it's so frustating that there is no other way of dealing with genuine customer complaints.

All in all, it's rubbish quality from a rubbish company.

h00fhearted

Hello,
I have read through all the threads regarding this company and in my experience they won't be around much longer. Their customer service is shocking and the way they treat customers with regards to refunds is archaic. I would rather pay more than buy anything from this company.

Be warned do not buy anything from these cowboys !!!