Damage to wooden flooring caused by delivery drivers

leelnj

In our new property we gutted the place and put down new real wood flooring, ordered new kitchen appliances. On the 7th of August our first appliance came which was the fridge which came with setup (no others came this day). The delivery drivers unpacked the fridge from its packaging outside the property and carried the fridge inside the front door. Once the fridge was on the flooring they proceeded to drag the fridge to the kitchen. I asked if the fridge would scratch the floor and was told no as the fridge had wheels. Later that evening we noticed that the fridge had scratched the floor from the door to the kitchen. We rang knowhow the following day regarding the scratch and they requested photos, video evidence and a description of what happened along with quotes for the replacement flooring They then sent a letter saying there delivery company would handle the claim even though I did not have a contract with there delivery firm. There delivery firms responded to us on the 6th December with

“As part of our investigation into this matter we have interviewed the delivery crew concerned and they advised that the old fridge unit was pulled out prior to their arrival and that the track marks were already present on the floor. The size of these track marks matched the old item and not the new item which is smaller. Therefore we reject the claim”

We proceeded to contact knowhow with evidence that there was no fridge prior to moving in via the solicitor’s inventory. We also sent date stamped pictures of the kitchen prior to purchase which showed no fridge. We also sent original invoice of floor fitting which was done after the purchase of the property. Knowhow then proceeded to refer us again to there delivery people who sent out an inspector. The delivery people then responded with

"after interviewing the crew, detailed inspection we are still of the opinion that the damage was not caused by our crew and is not consistent with the delivery methods described so we are rejecting your claim"

So we are now considering taking them to small claims court as we spent a lot of money on our flooring and are blatantly lying. Can anyone let us know what our steps should be? Thanks in advance

somethingcorporate

Send them a letter before action and then just proceed with a claim. They are clearly lying and trying it on to get you to go away. Call their bluff, they'll fold in seconds when they know you are serious (or will lose in court).

Good luck

neilmcl

OP, the exact same thing happened to me a number of years ago, although I suspect a different but similar retailer. After initial denials and arguments that as I'd signed their delivery form they were no longer liable, I eventually got the store manager to come out an look at the damage followed by an inspector from their insurer. They couldn't really deny that they were at fault given that the "tracks" carved into my floor from front door all the way to the kitchen exactly matched the so-called "wheels" on the FF.

The upshot was the insurers had to pay out for the entire flooring to be replaced which I think cost them around £3K.