B and Q - who is the customer?

Ab195

All,

I would be really grateful for views on the line B and Q is taking with me. I recently complained (via the CEO to get the main complaints team) to B&Q as follows:

"Dear Michael,

I’m getting married this year (to XXXX, cced), and I have also recently changed jobs and bought a new house – as I am sure you can appreciate, it’s quite a stressful time for us.

As part of renovating our new house we bought a kitchen and utility room from B&Q last summer (reference XXXXX) and very nice they are too. We bought them from your XXXXX store and in general the staff there we very pleasant and friendly, but I’m afraid that’s where the complimentary part of this email ends.

Most of the kitchen was delivered in June 2016 but the final pieces were not delivered until Christmas, meaning it wasn’t fully installed until the early part of this year and my turkey had to be cooked elsewhere. That’s not on really is it, Michael?

One of the key things that was missing was an oak breakfast bar, but a laminate one had been delivered (you’ll find it under the item list for my utility room). The laminate breakfast bar was either designed into the project in error, or may have become surplus to requirements when we discovered our kitchen fitter had enough spare oak from our kitchen for the work surfaces of the utility room, which we had originally planned to be laminate (I suspect it’s the former as we had a lot of laminate delivered!). Either way we ended up with a laminate breakfast bar we did not need and your staff collected it in December. However – I was not refunded for its cost. That’s not really on either is it, Michael?

I went into the store in January and complained, and the very helpful local staff rang up your delivery team who accepted I should have been refunded and agreed to do so. This never happened. That’s not really on either is it, Michael?

You might wonder why I have taken three months to complain but as I told you at the start of this email, I have had a lot on, and remember that we paid for the kitchen in June and have just got used to going backwards and forwards (also remember that it took 6 months to get the whole kitchen delivered). I have not gone back to the store as this is clearly not their fault (when I went in in January it was apparent they have no control over deliveries). Please therefore do not treat this email as a complaint against them – that would not be on, would it Michael?

Where is my refund Michael? Also, now that we have finally been able to get the kitchen finished, we have some other left over stuff (boxes of tiles and some extra panels, still boxed. I’d like to return them, but I’d like to be paid this time please Michael. Could you arrange for me to have someone to speak to about the issue?

In general I am afraid to say that I am not very happy with your delivery or customer services team and I am sure you will understand why when you look at your own records and see the 6 month lag between ordering a kitchen and having all of the parts delivered. So in addition to the refund I am owed, and arranging the collection of and refund for the excess parts, I think a good will gesture would be in order. As it happens we are considering buying a new bathroom in 2018 after we are married, and a contribution towards that project seems like a proportionate gesture to me.

Thanks in advance for helping us Michael.

Best regards,

Ab195"

B and Q is taking the line that they can only deal via my kitchen fitter (it was a Tradepoint project) but I am taking the line that I paid for the items, I have a receipt, and the discussion about collection was with me. Do they have an argument or can I press on?

Thanks for reading.

Valli

why mess about with such a wordy email?

Tell them what you want (refund of £XX) why (in respect of returned item Y) and by when (say 21 days) or you will escalate to small claims (court) when you will increase the amount claimed to include the cost of bringing the action.

wealdroam

Ab195 wrote: »

<snip the carp>

B and Q is taking the line that they can only deal via my kitchen fitter (it was a Tradepoint project) but I am taking the line that I paid for the items, I have a receipt, and the discussion about collection was with me. Do they have an argument or can I press on?

If your kitchen fitter made the purchase then he is the customer of B&Q.

Did you pay B&Q direct or did the fitter pay B&Q and you then paid the fitter and he passed the B&Q receipt to you?

Unless you paid B&Q directly, then you are not B&Q's customer, they have no contract with you and the position they have taken is the right one.

If the fitter paid for the goods, and was subsequently reimbursed by you, then any complaint you have about the goods should be addressed to the fitter. Of course, if he so wishes, the fitter can complain about the goods to his supplier, B&Q, but that relationship is likely to be a business to business one and as such consumer rights will not apply.

beeg0d

As it was brought via tradepoint whoever the tradepoint account is registered to is the custmer and so they are the ones who are due any refund (if any are due). Its also worth noting that buying under the tradepoint programe you are confirming you are purchacing as a business which can limit your consumer rights (because your not purchacing as a comsumer).

Takeaway_Addict

Ab195 wrote: »

All,

I would be really grateful for views on the line B and Q is taking with me. I recently complained (via the CEO to get the main complaints team) to B&Q as follows:

"Dear Michael,

I’m getting married this year (to XXXX, cced), and I have also recently changed jobs and bought a new house – as I am sure you can appreciate, it’s quite a stressful time for us.

As part of renovating our new house we bought a kitchen and utility room from B&Q last summer (reference XXXXX) and very nice they are too. We bought them from your XXXXX store and in general the staff there we very pleasant and friendly, but I’m afraid that’s where the complimentary part of this email ends.

Most of the kitchen was delivered in June 2016 but the final pieces were not delivered until Christmas, meaning it wasn’t fully installed until the early part of this year and my turkey had to be cooked elsewhere. That’s not on really is it, Michael?

One of the key things that was missing was an oak breakfast bar, but a laminate one had been delivered (you’ll find it under the item list for my utility room). The laminate breakfast bar was either designed into the project in error, or may have become surplus to requirements when we discovered our kitchen fitter had enough spare oak from our kitchen for the work surfaces of the utility room, which we had originally planned to be laminate (I suspect it’s the former as we had a lot of laminate delivered!). Either way we ended up with a laminate breakfast bar we did not need and your staff collected it in December. However – I was not refunded for its cost. That’s not really on either is it, Michael?

I went into the store in January and complained, and the very helpful local staff rang up your delivery team who accepted I should have been refunded and agreed to do so. This never happened. That’s not really on either is it, Michael?

You might wonder why I have taken three months to complain but as I told you at the start of this email, I have had a lot on, and remember that we paid for the kitchen in June and have just got used to going backwards and forwards (also remember that it took 6 months to get the whole kitchen delivered). I have not gone back to the store as this is clearly not their fault (when I went in in January it was apparent they have no control over deliveries). Please therefore do not treat this email as a complaint against them – that would not be on, would it Michael?

Where is my refund Michael? Also, now that we have finally been able to get the kitchen finished, we have some other left over stuff (boxes of tiles and some extra panels, still boxed. I’d like to return them, but I’d like to be paid this time please Michael. Could you arrange for me to have someone to speak to about the issue?

In general I am afraid to say that I am not very happy with your delivery or customer services team and I am sure you will understand why when you look at your own records and see the 6 month lag between ordering a kitchen and having all of the parts delivered. So in addition to the refund I am owed, and arranging the collection of and refund for the excess parts, I think a good will gesture would be in order. As it happens we are considering buying a new bathroom in 2018 after we are married, and a contribution towards that project seems like a proportionate gesture to me.

Thanks in advance for helping us Michael.

Best regards,

Ab195"

B and Q is taking the line that they can only deal via my kitchen fitter (it was a Tradepoint project) but I am taking the line that I paid for the items, I have a receipt, and the discussion about collection was with me. Do they have an argument or can I press on?

Thanks for reading.

Sure Michael loves being patronised. Isn't that true Michael?

unholyangel

beeg0d wrote: »

As it was brought via tradepoint whoever the tradepoint account is registered to is the custmer and so they are the ones who are due any refund (if any are due). Its also worth noting that buying under the tradepoint programe you are confirming you are purchacing as a business which can limit your consumer rights (because your not purchacing as a comsumer).

Sorry but I'm a pedant. If you're purchasing as a business it wont limit your consumer rights because you don't have any to limit.

What happens in those circumstances is that the trader becomes liable to the consumer and B&Q are liable to the trader - except B&Q can limit their liability to the trader via contractual terms where the trader cannot limit their liability to the consumer.



As for OP, you are taking the Michael with how many times you use his name imo, comes across as kind of creepy.

photome

I didn't read it all, got fed up seeing Michael mentioned so many times, guessing Michael probably won't read it either

Ab195

Ah, ok. I made the purchase (possibly from my credit card, which is an avenue I hadn't thought of and could help). They added he kitchen fitter to the account, and made no mention of this affecting the relationship (other than to benefit from his discount). So that sounds like I have my answer, thank you.

wealdroam

Ab195 wrote: »

Ah, ok. I made the purchase (possibly from my credit card, which is an avenue I hadn't thought of and could help). They added he kitchen fitter to the account, and made no mention of this affecting the relationship (other than to benefit from his discount). So that sounds like I have my answer, thank you.

What is 'the account' you speak of?

Do you have an account with B&Q or Tradepoint?

Or did you perhaps use your fitter's account and just used your card to pay?

So you 'possibly' used your credit card. That's a strange statement. Did you use your credit card or not? Perhaps you used a debit card? You really need to a lot clearer if you want the right answers.

comeandgo

You address a CEO, who you don't know as Michael? If I was Michael your e mail totally ignored. It is so disrespectful.

bris

The customer is the trade point account holder, this is a B2B transaction between the trade point customer and trade point.


Op your contract is with the trade point customer. B&Q don't even come into as trade point operate their own stores with B&Q.


Any problems you have should be the responsibility of your fitter, they have a separate problem with trade point but that's not your problem.