so upset with B&Q and don't know what to do?? sos

mizNibblet

On Friday 18th November 2011, my new bathroom suite was delivered by B&Q's subcontractors PJH Group. Unfortunately, the delivery was incomplete with the sink basin being absent. We informed the delivery man, who promised to log this as soon as he returned to the depot and reassured us that we should have the above said item within “a day or two.” This was extremely inconvenient for ourselves as we had agreed to pay our builders at a daily rate, and without the basin, the bathroom could not be completed on the day arranged and we had to arrange for the builders to return another day. In addition, because the bathroom could not be finished at the agreed time my husband and I were forced to pay out for additional nights in a hotel as our property only has one bathroom, which was undergoing renovation.
On the evening of the 18th we received a phone call from PJH confirming that the driver had logged the missing basin and would call us “first thing the next morning” to arrange delivery for that morning. After the delivery men had left, we also noticed that the feet for the bath were incorrect and therefore asked for them to also arrange delivery of the correct feet. We were informed that this was a separate incident and therefore they would let B&Q know and would call us back within an hour. By 1pm on the 19th November we had neither received a follow up phone call regarding the bath feet nor a call from the driver.
We had to be up early in readiness for the delivery of the basin and had to stay in a house with no toilet on the off chance that B&Q did as promised. When the delivery/phone call didn’t happen, we called up B&Q in Wednesbury and were told by the sales assistant that she would chase up the matter.
An hour later and we still had not heard anything so decided to go directly to the store. The sales assistant said she had talked to the delivery driver and that the basin would be delivered between 2-6pm that day. Unfortunately the feet would not be delivered until the following Friday. My husband and I hastily returned home for our much awaited delivery but by 5:30pm I insisted that my husband call again as I was convinced that we had once again been given incorrect information.
The sales operator confirmed that we had indeed been given incorrect information. She informed us that there was no log of a delivery for that day, or in fact, any day!! She said she would make a few calls and get back to us, which true to her word, she did. The remaining items were delivered on Monday 21st November only the feet were again incorrect. In addition, my husband called up on the morning of the 21st November to see if the basin could be delivered to a different address for convenience. The delivery person confirmed this would be fine and did deliver the basin to the new address, which was signed for by a family member. Unfortunately at the same time, my husband received a call from the PJH group to say the basin was being delivered to our home address. Not realising that a basin had already been delivered to the other address my husband rushed over to sign for the delivery. It was only later that we realised we had two basins!!
Regarding the bath feet, we had to endure another three incorrect deliveries. After the third delivery of white rather than chrome feet, my husband and I concluded that there must be a barcode error so when the warehouse staff were scanning the box the item was displaying as chrome but in fact the box content was white. We relayed this concern to customer services and a check of the barcode confirmed we were correct in our assumption. However this was after much duress since customer services were extremely adamant that their stock was correct! My husband and I do know the difference between chrome and white, as do the two delivery drivers who saw the feet and called up on our behalf to resolve the issue. We were then told by the customer service operative, on our advice, that they would ensure that the box was physically opened before sent the next time. We were so hopeful after this revelation, but alas we were send a further two sets of white feet before we finally received our much awaited chrome feet on the 6th delivery. Can I also add that on the 5th delivery of the white feet we were actually told by customer services that the feet were chrome but we had failed to remove the white packaging? I find this a total insult to my intelligence.
Finally when we did have everything and the builders got started on fitting our new suite we encountered another problem. The toilet flush mechanism did not work and was not fit for purpose. One of the builders was a professional plumber and managed to identify the faulty part which we returned to B&Q Wednesbury. The member of staff explained that the part was not in stock at the store so we would have to call the PJH group the following day for a replacement. We did this, but were told by a rather rude operator that it was not a manufacturer’s fault but our plumber’s!! We actually watched the plumber fit the toilet and the faulty part was already contained within the top of the unit and therefore was not touched prior to installation. The fault only came to light when we tried to flush the toilet which worked once but then failed to work again.
The operator was so dismissive that I asked the plumber to call up and explain using his technical know-how; however he was also dismissed despite being on the phone for an hour. After nearly a week at a hotel we were desperate to get back home and therefore, left with no choice but to purchase another part at the cost of £30. In addition the part had to be cut to fit the toilet and because it is not the original part, the top of the unit does not sit correctly and the flush is weak.
I would also like to add that because of the delay in receiving our sink basin, and the fact we were paying a daily rate to our builders, on the day of the initial delivery (minus the sink) we had to get our builder to do everything he could to get value for money. This meant that our builder put all the pipes ready for our suite and had to predict where the pipes would go for our bathroom sink in its absence. The result is that the pipes are now on show, something we had hoped would not occur. This has meant that the aesthetics of our bathroom has also been compromised by the delay.
Despite finally receiving all the goods, we have been left at a considerable financial loss because of the numerous mistakes and misinformation we have received (an extra week in a hotel (£45/night), six extra days charged by builders (£125/day), several days booked off work (loss of earnings) to be at home to receive our deliveries, one of which was to pick up the extra basin and incorrect feet, so of no benefit to ourselves.
The aesthetics of our bathroom has been compromised; we have been left emotionally drained and stressed and this on top of the vast financial loss we have incurred.

I wrote a complaint to B&Q and today, 20th December, we got a phone call to say that the B&Q were not taking responsibility and that their subcontractors would offer us £60 max!! I refused this offer but don't know what to do next. Any ideas?

vicmorrow

How does not having a bathroom sink mean you've got to stay at a hotel?

baza52

I smell a compo claim.....

maureen59

Take the £60, put it down to bad luck.The further you fight it the more it will cost you, they have more money than you do, so they can fight on.

CrazyRatLady_2

vicmorrow wrote: »

How does not having a bathroom sink mean you've got to stay at a hotel?

I'm interested to know this too - surely you can use the kitchen sink to wash your teeth and have a strip wash if the bath was not all plumbed in?

pulliptears

You can flush toilets with a bucket of water. You would have loved living in my house then when we refitted, we managed adequately for 3 weeks with no kitchen, and whilst the bathroom was being fitted we got through with flushing with a bucket and using the kitchen sink....its not luxurious but its not requiring moving into a hotel either! You can pick up a porta potty for under the cost of 2 nights hotel stay....

I dont see how you can expect B&Q to pay for hotels to be honest. If you can justify it I may change my opinion.

arcon5

wow, what a bunch of small but irrating issues turned into a mountain of problems!

So you stayed at a hotel because the basin wasn't in place? Thats barmy. (which was reported the Friday and replaced the Monday)

And your looking to be compensated a whopping £1300ish for a delayed basin and some incorrect bath legs :eek:.

At most they should reimburse the £30 for the part + perhaps £60 goodwill gesture!

molerat

That's what you get ordering things from B&Q, if you can't walk out of the store with it don't bother. Just think what fun you would have had if you let their [STRIKE]cowboys[/STRIKE] highly skilled fitters fit it.

nuttyp

why the hell do people rip out a bathroom prior to actually receiving the delivery. Surely the correct way would of obtaining the delivery before getting your builder to take the old one out and replace it. common sense really,but be grateful they are offering £60. Most companies mention this just incase there are unforseen circumstances.

nuttyp

If your builders were there for 6 days more, what exactly did they do?? drink tea?? watch jeremy kyle???

jonesMUFCforever

If OP is wanting compo then please cut the post by 95% as it is unreadable and in its present form would find its way into the bin.