Unopened faulty goods - out of warranty

jockanese_2

hi, i had kitchen units delivered from b&q in june 2009, due to ongoing renovations at the property these items were stored at the property unopened until 2 days ago. I opened the coloured glass accent doors to discover a scratch down the entire length of the glass, the scratch runs under the assembly for fixing this glass onto drawer fronts etc which is pressed together in manufacturing. the fact that this scratch is underneath the fixings proves there is no way this could have been done other than during manufacturing.
i have spoken to both the branch manager and the customer service dept at b&q who said that it is my duty of care to check the units within so many weeks upon receipt and that as the 12 month guarantee is up they will do nothing. i argued that if i had goods which had become faulty i had up to 5 years to make a complaint if the normal expected life was expected to be this long, their reply was that the goods were faulty upon receipt and it is my responsibilty. I have 4 of these drawer fronts, all 1m long and all with the same scratch.
can anybody help??
thanks

somethingcorporate

Why did you not inspect them sooner? I think you could be out of luck with this one I am afriad.

jockanese_2

thanks for the reply
i was just hoping there might be something i could do. everything was left packaged to keep it all in good condition until the renovations were finished and i was fitting the kitchen. serves me right i suppose!

withabix

Do they still sell them?

It would be very unfortunate if you ordered some more, changed your mind, got them mixed up with the old ones when they were delivered and accidentally returned the wrong ones for a refund, wouldn't it?

jockanese_2

good thinking, unfortunately no they don't thanks for the thought

adam.mt

Actually Consumer Direct mention that the retailer should take delayed inspection into account if you can show a good reason for why it was so (their example is Winter ski wear bought in a summer sale). However, since it's now over a year for your case I'd think that too long to be honest.

Do as mentioned and consider a SoGA claim for an inherent fault. If you advise B&Q of the legislation wording and make it clear that's what you are claiming under that should assist.

fthl

if they don't make them anymore, what are you after?

you can make a claim, but you'll need to prove that the goods were faulty at delivery.

Esqui

There'd be absolutely no way to prove that, surely?

jockanese_2

the scratch goes underneath a mounting frame which is fixed to the glass before packing, this proves that the goods where faulty prior to dispatch. I've phoned the external company that manufactures them and they appear to be a lot more helpful than b&q even though it's nothing to do with them, if i can buy replacement glass for a reasonable price i would be happy with that.
B&Q still do the same size of accent door in various colours but without the glass, I'll send an email to their head office and see if i have any joy.
thanks for the help everyone

tifo

withabix wrote: »

Do they still sell them?

It would be very unfortunate if you ordered some more, changed your mind, got them mixed up with the old ones when they were delivered and accidentally returned the wrong ones for a refund, wouldn't it?

Are you asking the OP to commit fraud?