B&Q Customer Guarantee

tony6403

Bought some "own brand" tree cutters from B&Q .They lasted for five cuts before a handle snapped in half whilst cutting a 35mm diameter branch.
Given their assurance on the packaging that apart from your consumer rights they would ensure customer satisfaction ,I took the tool back for a refund.
It was a very humiliating experience .
A succession of staff were called to give their opinions , none of them were be able to give any definitive advice.
After 20 minutes I was , grudgingly, given a refund. I really had to press my case.
Why do they give this assurance on their products and then put customers through such an interrogation.

Outpost

tony6403 wrote: »

Why do they give this assurance on their products and then put customers through such an interrogation.

A few staff were asked for their opinions admittedly, but I think claiming that you've been put through an 'interrogation' is probably a bit excessive. An interrogation is a little different to the conversation at a DIY store returns desk that you describe.

squack

I think maybe that expecting B&Q own brand cutters to tackle a 35mm branch might be a bit ambitious! I have a £90 pair of loppers which I would barely expect to cut something that diameter, especially if the branch is harder wood. the amount of force required is bound to damage cheaper tools

fluffnutter

35mm is pretty big. What were these cutters like? Were they proper loppers or more like a hedge cutter?

bcl999

They did at least keep the promise but I agree with what you are saying.

One of my pet hates is when a retailer or manufacturer makes a statement unasked and then doesn't meet it e.g "no-quibble returns" and they make you jump through hoops to return something, supermarket flowers "guaranteed to last XX days" and they don't - I keep the wrapping and if they don't last XX days from the sell-by date, I return them. In my long-gone Safeway, the manager once tried to argue that it was XX days from when you buy them and not from the sell-by date so I then had to ask him did he mean if I bought them on the sell-by date, they were not guaranteed XX days despite the claim on the packaging? He realised he was just digging a bigger hole for himself and relented.

Nobody asks them to guarantee the da*n things, they offer it so if they don't meet their offer then I let them know!

tony6403

fluffnutter wrote: »

35mm is pretty big. What were these cutters like? Were they proper loppers or more like a hedge cutter?

They were loppers with handles that extended to 90cm. If they can't tackle a 35mm diameter branch then the cutters should not open wide enough to accommodate this size - there is no maximum cutting capability given with the product.
If you think that 35mm is big, the Draper Soft Grip Anvil Cutters that I have now bought have a stated max cut of 55mm.
£27.99
Outpost - this was no benign "conversation" . There was hostility.

Boomtown

Have had occasion to make returns several times to B & Q and never encountered any problems. I suppose different branches . . different staff . . has a lot to do with it. No accounting for human nature - and jobsworths.