Granite worktop - unexpected cut

iamcornholio

akitchendesigner wrote: »

As a kitchen designer we use professional suppliers who would always confirm details in writing. This sort of issue wouldn't arise.

Exactly.

A supplier should confirm the details in writing (or even just verbally)

Anything else is not professional, and not to be expected. A supplier needs to confirm the details and not supply some random lengths of worktop just so they fit in his van conveniently

CKdesigner

akitchendesigner wrote: »

mikey72 -



As a matter of fact they do. PM me if you like and I will direct you to independently written testimonials from our client and you can then decide for yourself



You don't know that, so before you make such comments please pause and reconsider.

We never supply only worktops as a matter of policy the question of drawing plans etc is irrrelevant, but if we did, the least we would do is produce a drawing. Think about how much grief OP would have avoided is this supplier had taken the effort of putting something in writing or producing a drawing on a plain sheet of paper.

You will find that most respectable and reputable kitchen companies will produce detailed plans and elevations that they provide to clients for sign off. Likewise, most good fabricators will produce a drawing prior to fabrication to alleviate any doubt.

Far too often we forget that 'you get what you pay for' stands true.

Spot on Akitchendesigner.

Its all about being professional and minimizing the chances of mistakes happening, our customers certainly don't want mistakes, we as kitchen designers don't want mistakes as it costs time, money and sometimes reputation.

CK

Leif

keystone wrote: »

At the risk of appearing picky there is no such thing. Hearings are usually allocated to the small claims track if the claim is less than £ 5,000 but it all takes place in the County Court. Small claims is a process not a court.

I don't wish to be unpicky but numerous legal firms use the term. For example:

http://www.contactlaw.co.uk/how-to-use-the-small-claims-court.html
http://county-courts.co.uk/county-court-procedure/small-claims-court/

Even the government use the term:

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/kent/factsheets/FS4NEW%20nov07%20smallclaimscourt.pdf

I guess it might be okay to continue to use it.

Leif

phill99 wrote: »

Problem is tha because you just did it verbally, there is no document or diagram to refer to. You asked for something and they have provided it. What you thought was going to be provided wasn't what the supplier thought was to be provided. It's one persons word against the other.

I have a similar case, where it is their word against mine. The Trading Standards officer came to the conclusion that even if I had asked them to do it wrongly, a professional should have known better, and advised against it.

It depends what the supplier says. If they say they were asked for a 2.6m long worktop, and supplied two pieces, then the OP should be on safe ground. You could argue that a professional worktop supplier should have double checked that two pieces would have been okay. But if they claim the OP explicitly asked for two pieces, then the court would have to decide who to beleive. If the OP does not want 2 pieces, then there is no way he would explicitly ask for two pieces. So they must have inferred it. And that I think puts them in the wrong.

IMO the OP would win in the Small Claims Court.

However, the OP should contact Trading Standards and get an educated opinion from someone with real knowledge.

George_Bray

Many thanks to everyone for your opinions and suggestions on this matter. It's very good of you all and shows how great this website and forum are.

There's a bit of an update, though, and I wonder if this changes everything or nothing...the worktop belongs to a friend of mine and I haven't actually seen it. I'm now told it's quartz, rather than granite. The overall cost of the 2.6m length and a couple of other sections, to fit a "U" shaped kitchen, was over £3000. Is quartz as routinely supplied as granite in lengths of up to 3 metres, or does quartz snap more easily, or are there any other factors excusing the use of 2 off 1.3 metre lengths?

akitchendesigner

Quartz is made in 3050mm slabs and Silestone make some colours in longer lengths. For Quartz there is NO excuse to not have a 3m length even if it includes cutouts. Its extremely strong.

Our fabricators will recommend not using granites in some colours in slabs longer than 2.5m if there are multiple cutouts in them. This goes to 2.8m for black granites in 20mm thickness with 2 cutouts. We have gone to 3.15 m for 30mm granite with a single cutout but this is subject to site access conditions etc.

Innys

I find this incredulous - the OP's friend ordered kitchen worktops totalling £3k and didn't get it confirmed in writing???

Irrespective of the material, £3k is a lot of money - for most people at least.