B&Q and the dodgy door

cw22

Hello
does anyone have any advice on how to proceed with this issue please?
I bought a front door & frame set from B&Q last August. When it turned up, the frame was split - looked like a manufacturing issue as the packaging was undamaged. A replacement was supplied & arrived in early Sept. A carpenter fitted the door in early Oct & I painted the front face & edges a week later. In January, I found the door was warping. This was a bit of surprise as it was a pine veneer timber door supplied already primed. I complained to B&Q, using the template letters from the MSE site, quoting the sale of goods act, asking them to either replace, fit & paint a new one or compensate me to the tune of £770 (cost of door, fitting & painting etc).
They declined on the basis that I had not treated the door in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. I'm not clear what these were as I didn't find any instructions when the door was unpacked, though from what they've said, I should have also painted the inside of the door, even though it was already primed.
We have reached an impasse with them refusing to budge. The next logical step is to complain to the furniture ombudsman, but, from what I've read this appears to be a trade linked body with a track record of finding in favour of the supplier.
I'm not sure whether I should go to the ombudsman, trading standards or proceed to legal action. Any advice would be gratefully received, as I've never been in this position before. Thanks

AJXX

How much was the actual door? i.e. can you break down the £770 cost you have demanded from them?

B&Q would be entitle to repair, refund (and at that minus usage) or replace the door though I suspect you may have gone in all guns blazing and left no room for negotiations thus they've flat out refused to do anything at all.

You may also need to consider an independent report to state this was through no fault of your own as the door is 6 months old.

FYI: trading standards will do very little and I'd hold off threatening any legal action until you have an independent report as the report could very well side with B&Q rather than yourself.

wealdroam

cw22 wrote: »

Hello
does anyone have any advice on how to proceed with this issue please?
I bought a front door & frame set from B&Q last August. When it turned up, the frame was split - looked like a manufacturing issue as the packaging was undamaged. A replacement was supplied & arrived in early Sept. A carpenter fitted the door in early Oct & I painted the front face & edges a week later. In January, I found the door was warping. This was a bit of surprise as it was a pine veneer timber door supplied already primed. I complained to B&Q, using the template letters from the MSE site, quoting the sale of goods act, asking them to either replace, fit & paint a new one or compensate me to the tune of £770 (cost of door, fitting & painting etc).
They declined on the basis that I had not treated the door in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. I'm not clear what these were as I didn't find any instructions when the door was unpacked, though from what they've said, I should have also painted the inside of the door, even though it was already primed.
We have reached an impasse with them refusing to budge. The next logical step is to complain to the furniture ombudsman, but, from what I've read this appears to be a trade linked body with a track record of finding in favour of the supplier.
I'm not sure whether I should go to the ombudsman, trading standards or proceed to legal action. Any advice would be gratefully received, as I've never been in this position before. Thanks

As you were supplied with no instructions, it is difficult to understand how you have failed to adhere to them.

Just for clarity... have you left one side of the door in primer as supplied, but painted the other side?
If so, then that is why the door has warped.
Both sides of a door should be treated similarly - so that they are either both sealed with paint, varnish, etc., or both left untreated to absorb moisture from the atmosphere equally - although that would be wrong for an external door.

As this is an external door, you were right to protect the outside from the weather - it was the outside you painted, wasn't it? - but a balancing coat of paint should've been applied on the inside.

Can you supply a link to the product you have purchased?

naedanger

cw22 wrote: »

I'm not sure whether I should go to the ombudsman, trading standards or proceed to legal action.

Would you have anything to lose by going to the Ombudsman, other than possibly time? I know with some other Ombudsman schemes that their decisions are not binding on the consumer. So if you disagree with their decision you could reject it (in its entirety) and still take legal action.

You could also try Citizen's Advice for their advice. Trading Standards are v. unlikely to help you.

{Personally I would not have known that you need to paint both sides of an external door to keep it balanced, but I don't have any DIY competence. If any reasonable DIY book would make this point then that would probably weaken your case.}

cw22

Thanks to all who've replied & for the advice offered. I can break down the costs & did this in my complaint to B&Q. Unfortunately, as I a new user of the forum, I'm not allowed to post web links, but it was purchased from diy.com. It is under front doors/ paintable doors.
I posted the short version of the story; I had had several conversations with B&Q by phone before I proceeded to a formal complaint with the sale of goods etc letter.
From what's been said, it looks like I should have also painted the inside of the door, though, I, too, am not a great DIY-ist & didn't understand this at the time! I did paint the inside, but not until a couple of months after the outside was done (December 2015). I think I will try the Furniture Ombudsman first.


A couple of other thoughts which I'd welcome a view on:
1 I thought that external doors (like solid wood furniture) were made of fully seasoned timber, which is why I was surprised when it warped.
2 Would it be worth trying the credit card company as the item was bought on a credit card?
Many thanks

wealdroam

cw22 wrote: »

A couple of other thoughts which I'd welcome a view on:
1 I thought that external doors (like solid wood furniture) were made of fully seasoned timber, which is why I was surprised when it warped.
2 Would it be worth trying the credit card company as the item was bought on a credit card?

1. Yes it may well be fully seasoned timber. Fully seasoned timber will absorb moisture.

2. Worth a phone call I would've thought. Have a read of MSE's Section 75 article first.
Remember, your rights against the credit provider are exactly the same as against the seller.