Problem with Victorian Plumbing

dysucker

Hi all,

I have a quick request to see if I am right with my gripe with Victorian Plumbing.

I purchased a bath from them in July, and when it was delivered, I did a visual inspection, and saw no obvious damage to the protective box around the bath.

I have since gone on to install the bath, and on removing the protective packaging, there is quite a large break on one corner; this is not at all obvious prior to unboxing, as the box itself is in perfect condition on the corner in question.

I immediately called Victorian Plumbing on assessing the damage to request a replacement, their response was that since it was over 30 days, I'd have to send photos of the damage to their replacements team via a support ticket that the support representative would open on my behalf.

I duly did so, I immediately sent a picture of the bath in situ, with the box partially removed as it was when I was in the process of removing the packaging, a close up of the break, and also a picture of the box in the corner to show no obvious damage to the box.

Today, 3 days after I reported the issue, they have responded stating they will not consider a replacement.

So... I have responded citing the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that I can request a replacement for an item that is not satisfactory as described, I also simultaneously opened a dispute for the order through PayPal (I unfortunately used PayPal because Victorian Plumbing do not accept Amex), and I stated the same.

I wanted to know - am I right? Has anybody else had the same or similar problem with Victorian Plumbing? What happened?

My only concern with this is that they may opt to drag their heels on this one, and I am hoping to get the bathroom finished for my elderly father in law before Christmas Buying another bath isn't really an option this late in the day!

Thanks for any comments and advice in advance! :beer:

naedanger

dysucker wrote: »

I wanted to know - am I right?

It probably depends.

If they don't dispute that the item was faulty when you received it then they should repair, replace or refund - their choice.

However if they allege that the bath was damaged after delivery then you may need to take them to court and the court will decide. They will need to show on the balance of probability that the damage was caused after delivery otherwise you should win. Unfortunately it may take time and effort to resolve if they are disputing when the bath was damaged.

I don't know if paypal offer any alternative resolution process.

dysucker

naedanger wrote: »

However if they allege that the bath was damaged after delivery then you may need to take them to court and the court will decide. They will need to show on the balance of probability that the damage was caused after delivery otherwise you should win. Unfortunately it may take time and effort to resolve if they are disputing when the bath was damaged.

But I have read on Money Saving Expert, Which! and Citizens Advice, that it's up to them to prove that the damage didn't exist prior to delivery in the period of 30 days after purchase and 6 months after purchase; so if they choose to not replace on this basis, surely if I take them to court, it would be up to them to prove the damage was caused whilst within my possession, and I would simply have to state what I have previously.

My original assessment of the situation would be that I would have to swallow the damage, but on discussing the situation with a colleague, he had a carbon copy incident of the same nature, the same thing happened, and he also cited the Consumer Rights Act and got a replacement relatively quickly.

So I'd be interested if anybody else has had similar issues with this retailer.

naedanger

dysucker wrote: »

But I have read on Money Saving Expert, Which! and Citizens Advice, that it's up to them to prove that the damage didn't exist prior to delivery in the period of 30 days after purchase and 6 months after purchase; so if they choose to not replace on this basis, surely if I take them to court, it would be up to them to prove the damage was caused whilst within my possession, and I would simply have to state what I have previously.

Agreed. That is what I was trying to say, albeit in different words.

However note that if they allege the item was damaged after delivery they only need to convince a court on the balance of probability, i.e. they only need to show this was the most likely cause.

So, for example, if they provide evidence showing they had good quality control, the package wasn't damaged, that the damage was consistent with impact damage, and there was a significant delay in reporting the damage then this might be enough to convince a judge in the absence of evidence to the contrary to find in their favour. Obviously it will all depend on the actual evidence, not the hypothetical version I have given here.

wealdroam

dysucker wrote: »

But I have read on Money Saving Expert, Which! and Citizens Advice, that it's up to them to prove that the damage didn't exist prior to delivery in the period of 30 days after purchase and 6 months after purchase; so if they choose to not replace on this basis, surely if I take them to court, it would be up to them to prove the damage was caused whilst within my possession, and I would simply have to state what I have previously.

Isn't that exactly what naedanger said?

dysucker

wealdroam wrote: »

Isn't that exactly what naedanger said?

I obviously misunderstood what was being said.

I'd like to think they wouldn't go down that route, as I have sent them photo evidence that the box is in perfect condition in that specific area; so I'd like to know how they would be able to explain how damage to the corner of the bath could have occurred without also damaging the box.

fleshandbone

I believe the company are within there rights to refuse your claim, 30 days is a reasonable amount of time to allow you to make a claim which you did not.

hollydays

dysucker wrote: »

I obviously misunderstood what was being said.

I'd like to think they wouldn't go down that route, as I have sent them photo evidence that the box is in perfect condition in that specific area; so I'd like to know how they would be able to explain how damage to the corner of the bath could have occurred without also damaging the box.

From their point of view , you could have damaged it after you took the packaging off.

naedanger

dysucker wrote: »

I obviously misunderstood what was being said.

I'd like to think they wouldn't go down that route, as I have sent them photo evidence that the box is in perfect condition in that specific area; so I'd like to know how they would be able to explain how damage to the corner of the bath could have occurred without also damaging the box.

Hopefully they will settle the matter to your satisfaction with minimum fuss. If they do dispute the matter and it gets to court you get to put your case, and should state all points that support your case and challenge their case.

Ultimately the judge would decide based on all the evidence. In my view it is difficult for posters on here to give an informed view as to what might be decided as they can't know what all the evidence is or how much weight a judge would give to competing evidence.

fleshandbone

naedanger wrote: »

Hopefully they will settle the matter to your satisfaction with minimum fuss. If they do dispute the matter and it gets to court you get to put your case, and should state all points that support your case and challenge their case.

Ultimately the judge would decide based on all the evidence. In my view it is difficult for posters on here to give an informed view as to what might be decided as they can't know what all the evidence is or how much weight a judge would give to competing evidence.

The evidence is clear, the 30 day period lapsed before the OP made a claim, case closed.

takman

dysucker wrote: »

I obviously misunderstood what was being said.

I'd like to think they wouldn't go down that route, as I have sent them photo evidence that the box is in perfect condition in that specific area; so I'd like to know how they would be able to explain how damage to the corner of the bath could have occurred without also damaging the box.

They could then use that photo as evidence I court that the package arrived to you without any damage caused to the package so you must have damaged it after you took possession of it.

Considering it has been quite some months since you took delivery of the package it won't be very easy to prove it was damaged when arrived if they decide to not accept that.